Alaska Fishing Vessel Issues Mayday – Crew of Polar Star Safe

Tuesday, the 58-foot seiner POLAR STAR ran aground and began taking on water 65 miles west of Kodiak. The crew of the vessel issued a mayday message indicating the crew of five were abandoning ship into the vessel’s seine skiff. The Coast Guard responded to the emergency via helicopter. The crew planned to return to the vessel at high tide to see if they could refloat the vessel. The cause of the grounding was unknown. Weather conditions at the time of the accident were mild, with 23 knot winds and three-foot seas.