John McMillen, who grew up in Chimacum, Washington, was honored on the M/V KENNEWICK as the ferry traveled between Port Townsend and Coupeville. McMillen was given the Life Ring award for his role in saving a man’s life earlier this month. On July 17th, McMillen used an automated external defibrillator…
On the morning of Wednesday, July 27th, crewmembers aboard OCEAN PEACE and SEAFISHER were focused on the harvest of Atka mackerel. Some 55 miles away, another trawler vessel, the ALASKA JURIS, was taking on water. Upon receiving this distress call, the two vessels halted fishing and processing to begin the…
At around 11:30am on Tuesday, July 26, Coast Guard 17th District watchstanders received an electronic position alert from fishing vessel ALASKA JURIS. The vessel had been traveling in the Bering Sea near Alaska’s Aleutian Island chain, 150 miles northwest of Adak when it began taking on water. Coast Guard contacted…
A father and son, identified as 75-year-old Larry Roger McWilliams and 48-year-old Gary Roger McWilliams, died Monday, May 30th, after their fishing boat overturned in Glacier Bay National Park. The cause of the vessel capsize remains a mystery, as the weather was clear and calm at the time of the…
On Friday, June 24th, the group of friends were slowly cruising in their pontoon boat along the Rock River in Oregon. Statements from Phil Lukes, a passenger on the pontoon boat, and Al Overton, owner of River Road Marina, revealed that a fishing vessel appeared out of nowhere, and loudly…
On Saturday, June 25, The U.S. Coast Guard received word of an incident aboard the 79-foot fishing vessel, PACIFIC STAR. A medevac flight by a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter was sent to the vessel traveling about 74 miles southeast of Kodiak, Alaska. The call for assistance by the operator of PACIFIC…
Spencer Vaughn Brewer, 20, was crushed between two barges and killed in the mouth of the Naknek River, AK, on June 29, 2016. Brewer, of Seattle, WA, worked as a deckhand for Naknek Barge Lines, a subcontractor of Alaska Marine Lines. The mouth of the Naknek River merges with Bristol Bay in…
The Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial is sponsoring their first “Fishermen’s Safety Fair.” The day long event on May 16th will be held at Dock 9 at Fisherman’s Terminal in Ballard. Prizes will be awarded throughout the day to participants and those attending the festival. The festival is to promote commercial fishing…
April 18, 2016 Three fishermen have been rescued from the water at Makah Bay following the capsizing of their fishing vessel. The vessel was able to radio a Mayday message via VFH radio to the Coast Guard before the vessel capsized. The three men were wearing lifejackets and sitting on…
April 15, 2016 Three crewmen from the commercial fishing vessel Privateer have been rescued by the Coast Guard. The seventy-five foot fishing vessel began taking on water in eight foot swells Friday afternoon approximately a mile from Grays Harbor. The vessel’s crew radioed for help, stating that they were taking…
