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New information is being reported relating to the sinking of the Scandies Rose on New Years Eve.   Sadly five crewmen are now lost and presumed drown. The Coast Guard has identified the missing crewmen as including the vessel Master, Gary Cobban and his son David Cobban. Also among the missing are crewmen Arthur Ganacias, Brock Rainey and Seth Rousseau. The two surviving crewmen were identified as Dean Gribble and John Lawler.

New reports indicate the vessel was heading into gale force winds and was experiencing icing conditions. Icing on vessel of this type can cause added weight and move the vessel’s center of gravity upwards exposing the vessel to loss of stability. The Captain of the Scandies Rose had called friends via satellite phone in the hours before the sinking indicating the vessel was icing and had taken on a list. According to the news reports the Captain did not seem concerned about the icing conditions and was looking for shelter from the storm conditions. Icing conditions are frequently encountered by crab fishing vessels such as the Scandies Rose.

The Coast Guard has indicated they will be further investigating the incident. The Coast Guard casualty investigation will attempt to determine the cause of the sinking and to provide information about how sinkings of this type may be prevented in the future.

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The Alaska crab boat Scandies Rose sank Tuesday night in the Gulf of Alaska.  Search and rescue efforts to find five missing crewmen has been suspended by the Coast Guard.

The Scandies Rose sent a May Day message around 10:00 P.M. on Tuesday indicating they were in need of emergency help. Coast Guard helicopter crews were dispatched to help the seven-man crew of the Scandies Rose.  The helicopters located two Life rafts from the vessel approximately 170 miles southwest of Kodiak. Weather conditions at the scene were described as 40 mile per hour winds with seas of 15-20 feet Two crewmen in survival suits were hoisted from one life raft, the second life raft was empty. The surviving crewmen were taken to Kodiak Hospital for medical assessment.

The 130-foot-long Scandies Rose is a well-known Alaska Crab boat home ported in Dutch Harbor.  Reports indicate the Scandies Rose is managed by Mattsen Management LLC officed in Seattle and owned by Scandies Rose Venture LLC with an official address of Bremerton Washington.

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The Alaska crab fishing vessel Scandies reportedly sank in the Gulf of Alaska late Tuesday night. Two crewmen have been rescued from one of the vessel’s life rafts, and the search and rescue efforts are on for five missing crewmen. The two rescued crewmen have been taken to Kodiak Hospital where they are reportedly recovering from the sinking.

Few details about the sinking are currently known. A mayday message was received from the vessel around 10:00 P.M. and Coast Guard helicopters raced to the last known location of the vessel. Weather conditions were reported to be 40 mile per hour winds with waves of 15-20 feet.   The Scandies Rose is a well known Alaska Crab boat home ported in Dutch Harbor Alaska.

Additional information will be posted here as further details are made available. The Alaska crab fishing industry remains one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

 

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The Coast Guard has airlifted a deckhand from the Arctic Storm. The crewman was reportedly struck in the head and suffered a severe head injury after hit by a loose crane hook. The 64-year-old crewman was evacuated from the vessel Monday morning and transferred to shore for emergency medical treatment. The incident happened approximately 25 miles of Brookings.

The Arctic Storm is an Alaska catcher processor. The vessel is 334 feet long and carries a crew of 134 commercial fisherman and fish processors. Crewmen injured working at sea on commercial fishing vessels are protected by the Jones Act and the General Maritime Law. Working at sea aboard commercial fishing vessels remains one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

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A seriously injured Alaska fisherman has been airlifted from the IRENE H.  The injury happened about three miles south of Sitkinak.  Few details of the accident are currently available and the limited information available indicates the crewman suffered an arm injury.  More details will be available from the USCG 2692 casualty report.  Weather conditions at the time of the incident were reported to be 25 MPH winds with 10-12 seas.

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PenAir flight 3296 from Anchorage to Dutch Harbor has crashed after running off the runway in Dutch Harbor on Thursday.    The plane was carrying 39 passengers and three crewmen.  Tragically one man, David Oltman of Washington State, has died from injuries suffered in the crash and another was in critical condition.  Reports indicate multiple passengers suffered injuries and are receiving medical care.  Passengers aboard the plane included a high school swim team from Cordova.  All of the swim team is reported to be safe but shaken by the crash.

The plane was a Saab 2000 aircraft. The plane reportedly abandoned one previous landing attempt before a second attempt resulted in the plane skidding off the end of the runway and down an embankment.  Weather conditions at the time of the accident were reported to be rain, winds of 24 miles with gust to 31 miles per hour.

The plane was lifted from the crash by a large crane and barge on Saturday. The flight data recorder and voice recorder have been recovered from the plane and are being analyzed. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash and has sent a team of investigators to Dutch Harbor to investigate.

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            An injured crewman from the fishing vessel PHOENIX has been airlifted from the boat for emergency medical treatment. The Phoenix was working approximately 25 miles west of La Push, Washington.  The circumstances of the incident are unknown at this time.    

            Serious hand injuries frequently happen aboard Commercial Fishing Vessels. Most of those accidents may have been avoided if proper safety precautions had been followed.  In part regulations in the Fishing Vessel Safety Act, vessel owners are required to guard many parts of the machinery found in a fish factory. 

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A crewman was seriously injured Friday while working aboard the Alaska Fishing Vessel ARAHO.  The 51-year-old crewman was reportedly working in the vessel factory stacking pans when a storage crate fell upon him. The detailed circumstances leading up to the injury are currently unknown.

The crew of the ARAHO called the Coast Guard and injured crewman was airlifted by helicopter to St. Paul Island where he was to be evacuated for further medical treatment.

The ARAHO is a 194-foot Bering Sea trawler owned by O’Hara Fisheries.  The vessel was built as a state of the art fishing vessel in 2017.

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The crew of the Fishing Vessel Masonic put on survival suits and abandoned ship into the vessel life raft on Tuesday.  The 62 foot Masonic went aground near Coronation Island south east of Sitka and the crew radioed a May Day to the Coast Guard.  All crewmen have been rescued by a Coast Guard Helicopter.  The cause of the incident is unknown at this time and will be subject to further investigation.  The crew of the Masonic was prepared for an emergency and had reportedly recently undergone Coast Guard dockside examination.

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Three commercial fishermen lost their lives Tuesday when the MARY B II capsized while crossing Oregon’s Yaquina Bay Bar.  In heavy weather the Yaquina Bay bar is one of the most dangerous bars on the west coast. At the time of the incident sea conditions were reported to be 12-14 waves.  News report indicate that the MARY B II had reportedly asked the Coast Guard for an escort across the bay.  The vessel subsequently sank while crossing the bay.  Attempts to rescue the crewman failed.  One crewman was rescued by a good Samaritan vessel; however, he was unable to be revived.  Two crewmen including the vessels captain washed ashore. Lost in the accident are Joshua Porter, James Lacey and Stephen Biernacki. The accident came following more than a month’s delay in the opening of the commercial crab season.  Heavy winds and seas prevented many vessels from retrieving their pots on the first days of the season.

Further details relating to the capsizing are unavailable at this time.  Commercial fishing in Oregon and Washington remains extremely dangerous for crewman battling high winds and large seas.  Smaller vessels are at more risk during heavy weather conditions.