Maritime News

Published on: July 21, 2026

The Astoria Regatta Festival: Love Letter to the Sea

Every August, the town of Astoria, Oregon, celebrates the Columbia River, the sea, and the people who have spent generations working it. The Astoria Regatta Festival has been a hometown tradition since 1894, which makes it one of the oldest festivals in the Pacific Northwest, and the oldest celebration in Oregon’s oldest city. This longevity does not happen by accident. It happens because a community keeps deciding, year after year, that their maritime story is important and worth sharing and remembering.

The Astoria Regatta celebrates the area’s maritime tradition. Commercial and recreational boaters alike demonstrate the pride they have in this tradition through land and sea parades, search and rescue demonstrations, boat races, and a Seafarers’ Memorial. Through these events and the Regatta, the community pays homage to the hardworking men and women who built this industry, many of them multi-generational family mariners, and the excitement to continue the tradition for generations to come.

To understand why this festival matters, one must understand the river. Astoria sits where the Columbia meets the Pacific, a stretch of water that has carried Native American canoes, tall-masted clipper ships, U.S. Navy vessels, U.S. Coast Guard cutters, and generations of fishing boats. It is not an easy river to navigate. The bar at the mouth of the river is one of the most dangerous stretches in the world, earning it the nickname “Graveyard of the Pacific.” Every person who has piloted a boat across this bar, whether for a living or for pleasure, knows it demands respect and patience. The Regatta was born out of that knowledge and practice.

Published on: July 14, 2026

Bristol Bay’s 2026 Sockeye Run Nears 29 Million

by Nigel Stacey

Bristol Bay’s sockeye run is closing in on 29 million fish, and the fleet is moving toward the Naknek-Kvichak District for the next part of the season.

According to a Bristol Bay fisheries report, the bay-wide run is sitting at 28.78 million sockeye through July 7th, 2026. Fishermen caught 1.15 million fish on Monday alone, bringing the cumulative catch to 17.95 million sockeye.

Here are the numbers by district:

Published on: June 30, 2026

How Screen Time Is Becoming a New Maritime Fatigue Risk

by Nigel Stacey

We have reported before about how long shifts, overnight watches, and inadequate crew rotation can push maritime workers toward dangerous levels of exhaustion. But a newer and less obvious source of fatigue is showing up in research, and it has nothing to do with how hard someone is working. It has to do with what they are doing during the hours they should be resting.

Internet connectivity at sea has improved dramatically as low-earth-orbit satellite systems, led by Starlink Maritime, replace older geostationary satellites parked 22,000 miles up. Those older systems were slow, laggy, and often expensive as they were billed by the megabyte, so crew members had to use them sparingly. Low-earth-orbit satellites orbit just a few hundred miles up, cutting lag and adding bandwidth at a flat monthly rate. This recent technology has turned a once rationed connection into something on par with home broadband, even on smaller fishing vessels that could never have previously justified the costs.

Workers who once went weeks without contacting home can now call, text, and video chat from the middle of the ocean. Another real advantage to this new satellite technology is the ability to dependably reach help in an emergency. The trouble is that this same connectivity is creating a new and measurable safety problem: digital fatigue.

Published on: June 23, 2026

U.S. Coast Guard Helicopter Crashes Near Sitka, Alaska

by Nigel Stacey

A U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Sitka crashed during a training flight near Harbor Mountain in Sitka, Alaska, on Monday, June 22^nd, 2026. All four crew members aboard survived.

Watchstanders at the Arctic District command center received the initial report of the crash through the activation of the aircrew’s personal locator beacon at approximately 10:07 a.m. Sitka Fire and Rescue arrived on scene at approximately 11:00 a.m. and transported all four crew members to Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center.

“We are incredibly relieved our crew members survived with only minor injuries,” said Rear Adm. Bob Little, commander of the Coast Guard’s Arctic District. “We are grateful for the swift response by the Sitka Fire and Rescue who assisted us during this critical time.”

Published on: June 23, 2026

U.S. Coast Guard Medevacs Crewmember 92 Miles Off Georgia Coast

by Nigel Stacey

A crewmember aboard a commercial fishing vessel was medically evacuated on Friday, June 12th, 2026, after becoming ill while fishing 92 miles offshore Brunswick, Georgia.

The operator of the 44-foot F/V STILL FISHING contacted U.S. Coast Guard Sector Charleston’s command center to report that a 56-year-old male crewmember was experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon, who recommended a medical evacuation.

Because of the vessel’s distance from shore, watchstanders launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Clearwater to conduct the medevac. The crew located the vessel, hoisted the man aboard, and transported him to St. Simons Island Airport in Georgia, where emergency medical services took over his care.

Published on: May 19, 2026

NOAA Determines Gulf of Alaska Chinook Salmon Do Not Warrant ESA Listing

by Nigel Stacey

For commercial fishermen in Alaska’s Gulf waters, a recent federal decision provides clearer regulatory guidance as the season begins. In May 2026, NOAA Fisheries completed a 12-month review of Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon and concluded that listing any of the three identified population groups under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is not warranted at this time.

The review was triggered by a January 2024 petition from the Wild Fish Conservancy, which asked NOAA to evaluate whether one or more distinct groups of Gulf of Alaska Chinook should be listed as threatened or endangered. After a preliminary finding in May 2024 indicated the question deserved a closer look, NOAA assembled a review team, worked with Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists, and consulted with Alaska Native Tribes and corporations throughout the Gulf region.

NOAA’s review identified three distinct Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs), the scientific term for essentially distinct, self-sustaining salmon populations within the Gulf of Alaska:

Published on: April 28, 2026

Six Missing After Cargo Vessel Mariana Capsizes in Typhoon Sinlaku

by Nigel Stacey

On Wednesday, April 15, 2026, watchstanders at the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu received a report from the vessel manager of the M/V MARIANA, a 145-foot U.S. registered dry cargo ship that regularly transports goods between Guam, Tinian, and Saipan. The vessel’s starboard engine was disabled while carrying six people, leaving it stranded approximately 140 miles north-northwest of Saipan. The crew reported the disabled engine just as Typhoon Sinlaku approached the region.

The U.S. Coast Guard established an hourly communication schedule with the M/V MARIANA through the vessel’s manager. On Wednesday evening, communications went silent, and contact was never reestablished.

On Thursday morning, a U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point HC-130 Hercules airplane crew launched from Guam to search for the vessel but were forced to return to Guam due to heavy winds in the search area. That same day, Super Typhoon Sinlaku made landfall on the island of Tinian with sustained winds of 145 mph and torrential rain. The storm pummeled the region for roughly 48 hours. On Saipan, it triggered flooding, tore roofs from buildings, and overturned vehicles. More than 15,000 residents lost power. The Northern Marianas government requested an expedited federal disaster declaration.

Published on: April 7, 2026

Deadliest Catch Deckhand Todd Meadows’ Cause of Death Revealed

by Nigel Stacey

The official cause of death has been released for Todd Meadows, the deckhand who died February 25, 2026, after falling overboard from the F/V ALEUTIAN LADY during filming of Deadliest Catch Season 22. Todd Meadows cause of death was reported as drowning with probable hypothermia and submersion in cold water. The Alaska Department of Health has ruled the incident an accident.

The F/V ALEUTIAN LADY is one of the vessels featured on the long running reality series. Meadows had joined the crew in May 2025 and had not yet appeared on air at the time of his death. Captain Rick Shelford announced the loss on social media, calling it “the most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea.” He remembered Meadows as someone whose enthusiasm and strong work ethic made him family almost immediately.

Meadows was from Montesano, Washington, and leaves behind three young sons. A GoFundMe established in his memory has raised more than $60,000.

Published on: April 7, 2026

Gloucester Crew Rescued After Fishing Boat Runs Aground

by Nigel Stacey

At 7:47 p.m. on April 4, 2026, first responders in Gloucester, Massachusetts were called when the F/V LEGACY ran aground on rocks about twenty yards from shore. Waves battered the hull and pushed the boat harder against the rocks, causing increasingly severe damage.

The two crew members were unable to free the vessel from the rocks. First responders called in the U.S. Coast Guard, which responded with a 47-foot rescue boat from USCG Gloucester Station but even that effort could not pull the F/V LEGACY free from the rocks. As conditions worsened, the decision was made to evacuate the crew.

A coordinated response by Gloucester Fire Engine 1, Ladder 1, and Rescue 1 worked alongside police and the harbormaster to rescue the fishermen. Firefighters had the crew don survival suits, tossed rescue lines to them, and helped them off the rocks onto dry land. Both fishermen were evaluated by officials at the scene, and no injuries were reported. The U.S. Coast Guard remained on the scene to monitor the vessel.

Published on: April 6, 2026

Five Crew Members Rescued from Grounded Vessel Near Umnak Island

by Nigel Stacey

On April 2, 2026, the 58-foot F/V OCEAN BAY ran aground on Umnak Island’s northern shore in the Aleutians. At 4:45 a.m., the U.S. Coast Guard Arctic District Command Center in Juneau received a report that the vessel was taking on water. Watchstanders immediately coordinated a multi-asset response, dispatching an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak and diverted the Cutter WAESCHE to the scene.

A Good Samaritan vessel, F/T SEAFREEZE ALASKA, a 295-foot factory trawler, was first to arrive on the scene at approximately 5 a.m. The Hercules crew and WAESCHE reached the area about three hours later. By that time, the crew of the F/V OCEAN BAY had successfully stopped the flooding and dewatered the vessel.

The Jayhawk aircrew arrived at approximately 11:15 a.m. and hoisted all five crew members to safety, transporting them to Dutch Harbor for medical evaluation. Resolve Marine has been contracted to oversee salvage operations on the grounded vessel.