The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Anacapa opened fire today on the Ryou-Un Maru, sinking her in 6,072 feet of water 180 miles off the Southeast Alaska coast.
Click here for Coast Guard video and photos.
Showing posts with label sinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sinking. Show all posts
NTSB report examines cause of Katmai tragedy
The National Transportation Safey Board has posted its report on the October 2008 sinking of the cod boat Katmai in Aleutian waters, killing seven crewmen. Here's the conclusion:
Probable cause
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the sinking of the Katmai was the loss of the vessel's watertight integrity because watertight doors from the main deck to the processing space and the lazarette were left open by the crew at a time when the vessel was overloaded and navigating in severe weather, which allowed water to enter the vessel resulting in progressive flooding and sinking. Contributing to the accident was the master's decision to continue fishing operations during the approach of severe weather rather than seeking shelter and to load twice the amount of cargo addressed in the vessel's stability report. Also contributing to the accident was the owner's failure to ensure that the stability information provided to the master was current and that the master understood it and operated the vessel accordingly.
The report's accident narrative makes for some riveting reading, unfortunately.
The NTSB report follows the U.S. Coast Guard investigative report released last year.
Probable cause
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the sinking of the Katmai was the loss of the vessel's watertight integrity because watertight doors from the main deck to the processing space and the lazarette were left open by the crew at a time when the vessel was overloaded and navigating in severe weather, which allowed water to enter the vessel resulting in progressive flooding and sinking. Contributing to the accident was the master's decision to continue fishing operations during the approach of severe weather rather than seeking shelter and to load twice the amount of cargo addressed in the vessel's stability report. Also contributing to the accident was the owner's failure to ensure that the stability information provided to the master was current and that the master understood it and operated the vessel accordingly.
The report's accident narrative makes for some riveting reading, unfortunately.
The NTSB report follows the U.S. Coast Guard investigative report released last year.
Southeast fisherman survives scary moment
From the Alaska State Troopers:
Location: Angoon
Type: Search and rescue
On 10/6/11, at 1150 hours, the Angoon VPSO received a report of a life raft signaling a passing plane with smoke in Chatham Strait adjacent to Angoon. Angoon SAR responded in their search vessel and located Peter Roddy, 59, of Sitka, in a life raft. Roddy reported that he was under way in the F/V Jager, a 42-foot crabber, when his vessel rolled and the stern went down under the water. While Roddy was deploying his life raft the vessel rolled over onto its side and sank. Roddy was uninjured and transported safely back to Angoon.
Location: Angoon
Type: Search and rescue
On 10/6/11, at 1150 hours, the Angoon VPSO received a report of a life raft signaling a passing plane with smoke in Chatham Strait adjacent to Angoon. Angoon SAR responded in their search vessel and located Peter Roddy, 59, of Sitka, in a life raft. Roddy reported that he was under way in the F/V Jager, a 42-foot crabber, when his vessel rolled and the stern went down under the water. While Roddy was deploying his life raft the vessel rolled over onto its side and sank. Roddy was uninjured and transported safely back to Angoon.
A pretty lady lost
The Lively Jane in happier times. Joshua Roper photoWe told you last week about the Lively Jane, a Prince William Sound salmon seiner that hit a rock and sank in Anderson Bay six miles southwest of Valdez.
Sometimes when we hear a report that a boat has sunk, it means she just swamped. But as you can see by the smaller photo from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Lively Jane went to the bottom. Boom was deployed around the sunken seiner to corral any fuel or oil leakage.
Divers were able to plug the vessel's fuel vents and "remove the 20 feet of seine net and bridle from the vessel," said the Coast Guard, noting it was monitoring salvage efforts.
Fortunately, all five crewmen got off safely. But too bad for this pretty boat.
My thanks to Joshua Roper Photography for the nice shot of the Lively Jane.
Crew safe after seiner sinks near Valdez
The U.S. Coast Guard reports the purse seiner Lively Jane hit a submerged rock and sank this morning in Anderson Bay, six miles southwest of Valdez.
The five crewmen were able to climb aboard a skiff before the seiner went down, the Coast Guard says.
As always, the cause is said to be "under investigation."
The owner of the 56-foot Lively Jane is listed in state records as Jon L. Andrews Jr. of Seward.
The five crewmen were able to climb aboard a skiff before the seiner went down, the Coast Guard says.
As always, the cause is said to be "under investigation."
The owner of the 56-foot Lively Jane is listed in state records as Jon L. Andrews Jr. of Seward.
Abby Louise update
The U.S. Coast Guard says the fishing vessel Abby Louise, which partially sank a few miles outside of Cordova over the weekend, has been raised and towed to the harbor. Here's more.
A sinking and a sub
Dutch Harbor radio reporter Alexandra Gutierrez snapped this curious photo on Thursday. Look at it closely. On the left, under the dock there, you can see the fishing vessel Zenith almost fully submerged and enclosed with orange boom. Gutierrez reported the boat went down quickly Thursday morning "for reasons still unknown," and the U.S. Coast Guard was investigating. Now look to the right side of the photo, out in the water. That would be one of the Navy's fast-attack, Los Angeles-class nuclear submarines, making a rare and brief appearance in the harbor for a crew change. On Thursday morning. Well, let me torpedo any conspiracy theories right now by saying Deckboss is sure the sinking and the sub are entirely, positively unrelated. Vessel owner criticized in Alaska Ranger report
Don McManman, editor of Pacific Fishing magazine, kindly sent this report on today's release of the U.S. Coast Guard investigation into the Alaska Ranger tragedy.
Nearly three years after the deadly sinking, the U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday had brutal words for owners of the F/V Alaska Ranger.
The Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation determined the vessel sank in the Bering Sea because of the "poor material condition of the vessel," said Capt. John P. Nadeau, chairman of the board, in answer to a question from the press.
The sinking — and five deaths — "could have been prevented," Nadeau said during a Seattle news conference.
The Alaska Ranger sank in the early hours of Easter morning on March 23, 2008. The head-and-gut catcher-processor had 47 workers on board. More would have died if not for "exceptional" efforts by the Alaska Warrior, a sister ship also owned by Fishing Company of Alaska, and Coast Guard helicopter and cutter crews, Nadeau said.
Immediately after the sinking, the Coast Guard named a Marine Board of Investigation, which held hearings in Dutch Harbor, Anchorage, Seattle and Boston. During the hearings, the panel promised a full report by the end of 2008.
When asked about the delay, Nadeau said the investigation had been very complex. In addition, the original board chairman had retired in 2009.
The board's report also focused on the alternative compliance program initiated after the F/V Galaxy burned on the Bering Sea in 2002. Safety standards on vessels such as the Galaxy and Alaska Ranger were not fully addressed by federal regulations. To address such lapses, the Coast Guard and vessel owners agreed to a set of standards outside the normal government regulatory process.
The alternative compliance program did not function well in its early months, Nadeau said. It was understaffed and underfunded, he said. Even so, the Alaska Ranger failed the minimal standards enforced in early 2008, Nadeau said.
The vessel had emerged from a major refit in a Japanese shipyard only three months before it sank. But structural deficiencies aboard the Ranger "had not been addressed," said Nadeau.
The Coast Guard confirmed that flooding began in aft compartments and, while it's impossible to prove, the initial catastrophic hull failure likely was caused by weakened struts designed to support the Ranger's Kort nozzle, Nadeau said.
The vessel flooded from aft and, shortly before 4:30 a.m., rolled and sank.
After the Ranger sank, the Coast Guard was faced with a decision of whether to "ditch" the alternative compliance program, Nadeau said. But the Coast Guard commandant chose to "reinvest" in the program, tripling the number of inspectors and improving guidance, Nadeau said.
Such alternative compliance programs are central to new safety regulations imbedded in the Coast Guard authorization bill passed by Congress last fall.
To read the complete 192-page report on the sinking of the Alaska Ranger, click here.
Nearly three years after the deadly sinking, the U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday had brutal words for owners of the F/V Alaska Ranger.
The Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation determined the vessel sank in the Bering Sea because of the "poor material condition of the vessel," said Capt. John P. Nadeau, chairman of the board, in answer to a question from the press.
The sinking — and five deaths — "could have been prevented," Nadeau said during a Seattle news conference.
The Alaska Ranger sank in the early hours of Easter morning on March 23, 2008. The head-and-gut catcher-processor had 47 workers on board. More would have died if not for "exceptional" efforts by the Alaska Warrior, a sister ship also owned by Fishing Company of Alaska, and Coast Guard helicopter and cutter crews, Nadeau said.
Immediately after the sinking, the Coast Guard named a Marine Board of Investigation, which held hearings in Dutch Harbor, Anchorage, Seattle and Boston. During the hearings, the panel promised a full report by the end of 2008.
When asked about the delay, Nadeau said the investigation had been very complex. In addition, the original board chairman had retired in 2009.
The board's report also focused on the alternative compliance program initiated after the F/V Galaxy burned on the Bering Sea in 2002. Safety standards on vessels such as the Galaxy and Alaska Ranger were not fully addressed by federal regulations. To address such lapses, the Coast Guard and vessel owners agreed to a set of standards outside the normal government regulatory process.
The alternative compliance program did not function well in its early months, Nadeau said. It was understaffed and underfunded, he said. Even so, the Alaska Ranger failed the minimal standards enforced in early 2008, Nadeau said.
The vessel had emerged from a major refit in a Japanese shipyard only three months before it sank. But structural deficiencies aboard the Ranger "had not been addressed," said Nadeau.
The Coast Guard confirmed that flooding began in aft compartments and, while it's impossible to prove, the initial catastrophic hull failure likely was caused by weakened struts designed to support the Ranger's Kort nozzle, Nadeau said.
The vessel flooded from aft and, shortly before 4:30 a.m., rolled and sank.
After the Ranger sank, the Coast Guard was faced with a decision of whether to "ditch" the alternative compliance program, Nadeau said. But the Coast Guard commandant chose to "reinvest" in the program, tripling the number of inspectors and improving guidance, Nadeau said.
Such alternative compliance programs are central to new safety regulations imbedded in the Coast Guard authorization bill passed by Congress last fall.
To read the complete 192-page report on the sinking of the Alaska Ranger, click here.
USCG: doomed boat not properly maintained
Here's a press release summarizing U.S. Coast Guard findings in the Alaska Ranger sinking.
Coast Guard to release Alaska Ranger findings
The U.S. Coast Guard says it will hold a media briefing tomorrow afternoon in Seattle to release its investigative report into the Easter 2008 sinking of the Bering Sea trawler Alaska Ranger.
You might recall that the National Transportation Safety Board already released its conclusion on the sinking, in which four crewmen died, one remains missing and 42 were rescued.
You might recall that the National Transportation Safety Board already released its conclusion on the sinking, in which four crewmen died, one remains missing and 42 were rescued.
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