Crew from the 82-foot F/V NORTHERN PRIDE called out a Mayday around 2 pm on April 21, 2015 and abandoned ship due to a fire in the engine room. The Good Samaritan F/V DANCER relayed the Mayday to the Coast Guard who sent a Kodiak, Alaska Jayhawk helicopter crew to the life raft located off Stevenson Entrance, 60 miles north of Kodiak.
“We couldn’t fight the fire; it was too smoky; it was scary,” said Scott Beckstrom, captain of the NORTHERN PRIDE. “So we made a distress call, put on our survival suits, manually launched the life raft and got in safely, turned on the EPIRB and waited for our heroes who came within a half hour.”
Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Lindsey Green, operations specialist, Sector Anchorage command center said, “The crew of the NORTHERN PRIDE was prepared and took the necessary steps to ensure their safety when their vessel caught on fire. Emergencies can occur at any time and having the right safety equipment is critical when operating in Alaska’s extreme environments.”
The three crewmembers were reported in good condition. Weather at the time was 20 mph winds and seas of 3-4 feet. The fate of the NORTHERN PRIDE is currently unknown.