Articles Posted in Missing Crewmembers/persons

The 45′ fishing vessel NO LIMITS, based out of Cushing, Maine, sent out a radio beacon distress signal off of Matinicus Island, Maine the afternoon of November 1, 2014. When the NO LIMITS crew did not answer the Coast Guard’s many response calls, the Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine Command Centers coordinated a wide-scale, multi-agency rescue effort.

The Coast Guard newsroom reported that crew in a Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod spotted a flare fired from one survivor inside a life raft. They safely hoisted him aboard and flew to Maine Medical Hospital in Portland. According to WMTW 8 TV in Maine, the survivor is the boat’s captain, Chris Hutchinson, who has been released from the hospital.

The Coast Guard and Maine Marine Patrol searched for the remaining two crewmembers for more than 17 hours, covering 130 nautical square miles. Weather conditions included high winds, freezing spray and the first winter storm of the season. There were no signs of the two missing fishermen, and the search was suspended Sunday, November 2 pending further developments.

On noon Saturday, May 18, the crew of M/V MAERSK KURE discovered an overturned hull of a sailing yacht about 1,000 miles east of the U.S. northeast coast. That’s where the last beacon from CHEEKI RAFIKI had been noted. Because of 15-foot seas and winds of over 50 knots, the MAERSK KURE crew was not able to get close enough to confirm the hull as that of CHEEKI RAFIKI. However, the container ship remained in the area until Sunday night in hope of finding survivors before having to sail on.

The first sign of distress had come at 12:30 a.m., May 16, with the activation of two EPIRBs and word that CHEEKI RAFIKI was taking on water in foul weather. The initial search by U.S., Canadian, and other nation’s assets for the yacht initiated from that time and continued until 5:00 a.m., May 19, covering over 4,000 square miles by sea and by air, in hopes that the crew had found safety in their life raft. That search was called off because it had more than twice surpassed the 20 hours that survival models indicated for such weather conditions.

CHEEKI RAFIKI, a Beneteau 40.7, was en route to the U.K. from the Caribbean at the time of her distress. Her crew are said to be Paul Goslin, 56; Steve Warren, 52; James Male, 23; and Andrew Bridge, 21, all experienced sailors from the south of England.

Last week the F/V RANDI capsized near the entrance to Coos Bay. Three men were aboard the boat, which was reportedly loaded with gear in anticipation of the opening of the dungeness crab season. Jim Peterson of Coos Bay was reportedly in the wheel house of the vessel when the capsizing occurred. Two other deckhands were saved, but Peterson was not found. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the accident. The Washington and Oregon dungeness crab fishery remains one of the most deadly and dangerous fisheries in the world.

A Coast Guard aircrew assisted in the rescue of three fishermen who had been missing for three days and found around 100 miles west of Tarawa, Kiribati on Thursday, June 2.

The government of the Republic of Kiribati sent an official request to assist in the search to watchstanders in Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu. The fishermen were last seen on Monday, May 30 aboard a 17-foot skill. The Coast Guard aircrew began searching at 1 p.m. Thursday, June 2.
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The Coast Guard has called a halt to the search for a crewman who fell overboard off a sail boat in the Columbia River. The 46-year old sailor was lost on Sunday when he fell off the 65-foot sailboat BAD DOG near Kelly, Oregon. Despite an air and sea search by the Coast Guard, the man was unable to be located. The man was reported to not be wearing a life jacket at the time of the accident.

A 32 years old crewman was lost overboard and drown Wednesday while working on the crab boat BALLAD. The accident happened 10 miles from the Columbia River Entrance. The man was reported to be wearing only rain gear and no flotation work vest at the time of the accident.

The BALLAD is home ported in Chinook, Washington and is a 56 foot crab fishing vessel. Coast Guard records indicate the vessel is owned by Ballad Inc. of Chinook, Washington. The crew of the BALLAD issued a may day call at 1:00 p.m. reporting the man overboard. Helicopter crews from North Bend and Astoria responded to the call and a motor life boat crew from Cape Disappointment in Ilwaco was also dispatched to the search for the crewman. A dive team from Clatsop County was able to recover the crewman’s body whose identity is being withheld pending notification of family.

Tragically, this death again highlights the extreme dangers of the Washington and Oregon State Dungeness crab fisheries. Resent studies released by the National Transportation and Safety Board showed that Dungeness crab fisherman in Washington and Oregon were ten times more likely to die while working than other commercial fisherman. The Coast Guard had implemented operation Safe Crab in an attempt educate fisherman on common safety concerns. Owners of some crab boats in the Ilwaco and Chinook areas require all crewman to wear a floatation type work vest while working on deck.

On November 12, 2009 the search for three fishermen aboard the F/V Sea Tractor was suspended by the United States Coast Guard. The F/V Sea Tractor was a 44-foot commercial fishing vessel home ported in Cape May. The vessel is believed to have sank in heavy seas of up to 20 feet and high winds. The accident happened approximately 20 miles east of Cape May. The Coast Guard was alerted to the disaster when it received a transmission from the vessel emergency positioning locating beacon (epirb). A Coast Guard helicopter was on the scene approximately an hour later and discovered an empty life raft with a strobe light attached. A fishing vessel in the area reported finding a debris field and the vessel’s epirb.

Believed lost in the tragedy are the vessel’s captain, Kenneth Rose Sr., his son Kenneth Jr., and crewman Larry Forrest. All of the crewmen are reported to be from North Carolina. The loss of the crew of the F/V Sea Tractor follows the loss of six crewmen from the F/V Lady Mary. The Lady Mary was also home ported in Cape May.

The search has been suspended for Gregory Luckett who is reported to have fallen into the water off a 25 foot construction barge near the mouth of the South River in Chesapeake Bay. Luckett and two other workers were reportedly returning from a construction site towing a barge when they encountered stormy weather, Luckett apparently lost his balance and went overboard. It is unknown whether or not he was wearing any personal flotation device or work vest. The Coast Guard indicated that despite an exhaustive search they were unable to locate Luckett. The case remains under investigation by the Coast Guard.

A body has been found in the search area for the cruise line passenger who went missing aboard Holland America’s Zaandam cruise ship on Monday. The body was taken to Juneau for positive identification. The individual who went missing, 45-year-old Amber Malkuch of Washington State, is believed to have fallen overboard somewhere between Douglas Island and Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska. The woman ordered room service at midnight, when the vessel was near Douglas Island, but was reported missing by a friend at 10 a.m. the next morning when the vessel was at Glacier Bay National Park. The United States Coast Guard was immediately called and dispatched to the area; however the search to find the woman was not immediately successful. The water temperature where the woman would have fallen overboard was 57 degrees at the time of the search. The Coast Guard will continue its search for the woman until a positive identification has been made. The police will review footage from the ship’s security cameras to better understand what occurred. Chief Petty Officer Dana Warr said there were no immediate signs of foul play.
The maritime lawyers at Beard Stacey Trueb & Jacobsen, PLLC represent injured mariners throughout the nation in claims involving the Jones Act and General Maritime Law. For any questions regarding maritime law or injuries sustained while working aboard a vessel, contact us at 206.282.3100 or visit our website at www.atsealawyer.com.

The United States Coast Guard is searching for a 31-year old fisherman who fell overboard on Friday, July 31 in Togiak Bay, Alaska. The fisherman, Benjamin Symmes, was working aboard a 28-foot fishing vessel, the Miss Colleen, when he fell overboard approximately one half mile off Anchor Point in Togiak Bay. He was last seen aboard the Miss Colleen at 9:45 p.m. wearing a bright orange rain suit. The Coast Guard was immediately called and dispatched a search party, however was unsuccessful in retrieving Mr. Symmes after searching Friday night and Saturday morning. The Miss Colleen is homeported in Metlakatla, Alaska.
The maritime lawyers at Beard Stacey Trueb & Jacobsen, PLLC represent injured mariners throughout the nation in claims involving the Jones Act and General Maritime Law. For any questions regarding maritime law or injuries sustained while working aboard a vessel, contact us at 206.282.3100 or visit our website at atsealawyer.com.