BOSTON. At 2 a.m. on February 2, 2007 the Coast Guard received an electronic signal from the 52-foot commercial fishing vessel, Lady Luck, indicating the vessel may be in distress. The signal did not include any information on its position. An urgent marine broadcast was sent out at 2:55 a.m. alerting boaters in the area where the boat was believed to have been, to be on the lookout.
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BOSTON. On January 27, 2007 the Coast Guard began its search for the fishing vessel Lady of Grace and it four-person crew, who never arrived in New Bedford Harbor at its expected time.
Last contact with Lady of Grace was reportedly with the fishing vessel Lisa Ann II, by e-mail the night of the 26th. Lisa Ann II’s crew became concerned when the Lady of Grace did not respond to their last e-mail at around 10 pm.
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Four crewmen from the 43-foot fishing vessel “Ash” have been reported missing after the boat capsized and sunk at the entrance to the Rogue River in Oregon. At 3:40pm on December 16th, 2006, the Coast Guard received a report that the vessel had overturned and was sinking. The vessel was apparently trying to cross the river bar at the time of the incident.
The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched a helicopter and a motor life boat and searched the area extensively. The vessel’s life raft, two survival suits, and small pieces of debris have been recovered, but there has been no sign of survivors.
Source: U.S. Coast Guard Press Release
October 20, 2006
On Thursday night, October 19th, the search for the 26-year-old missing crewman of the Ocean Challenger was officially called off. Officials had searched more than 1,730 square miles in the North Pacific for two days. After 48 hours there is very little chance of survival in water temperatures of 48 degrees. The missing man was not wearing a survival suit.
It is still not known what caused the boat to capsize, but the weather was known to be severe.
The 58-foot commercial fishing Ocean Challenger capsized Wednesday in the stormy Pacific Ocean, 90 miles south of Sand Point, Alaska. Four were on board the fishing boat. Moments before the boat capsized, the fishermen launched a life raft, but none of them were able to get in it, overtaken by waves two stories high.
The Ocean Challenger was a longliner and home-ported out of Adak, Alaska. The Ocean Challenger had been fishing for black cod near the Sanak Islands and was traveling back to the Aleutian fishing town of Sand Point when it disappeared into the water.
The survivor, 28-year-old Kevin Ferrell, was the only person wearing a survival suit, the Coast Guard said. The two other men, skipper David “Cowboy” Hasselquist of Hoonah, Alaska and Walter Foster of Westport, Washington, were dead when pulled from the water by a rescue swimmer. The missing man, a 26-year-old Kodiak fisherman, was reportedly not wearing a survival suit, the Coast Guard said
On July 5, 2006, Peter Horn, 54, suffered chest pains and mutiple abrasionas and lacerations to his abdomen when a rigging form the 50-foot vessel, Ann Elizabeth, fell overboard, taking him with it. Horn was pinned between the cable and hull of the vessel. His shipmates helped him back aboard the boat after he freed himself.
A Coast Guard helicopter from the Air Station in Atlantic City was dispatched to the scene and medevaced Horn to South Jersey Medical Center in Neptune, N.J. The accident took place 25 miles off the coast of Manasquan Inlet, N.J. The Ann Elizabeth home ports in Barnegat Light, N.J.
Source: USCG Press Release
At around 11:30 pm on May 7, 2006, the 30-foot fishing vessel, Lady Alliene, AKA Calico Dog, had two crewmen aboard when it overturned on its way into Unalaska Bay near Dutch Harbor. The boat was returning from cod fishing, and had 2,700 pounds of cod on deck, when the accident occurred. Weather at the time of the incident was dark and rainy, with poor visibility and five-foot seas.
One of the two crewmen was able to crawl out onto the top of the overturned hull. He was eventually rescued by a passing Alaska State Trooper vessel, the Stimpson. The second man has not been found. Neither man was wearing a life jacket or survival suit.
Source: USCG Alaska Press Release
SEATTLE – The Coast Guard is investigating the collision of a fishing boat with several vessels and a pier in Tillamook Bay, Ore., that occurred Thursday evening. The fishing vessel Swell Rider, a 73-foot commercial fishing vessel, collided with the vessels and pier while attempting to navigate to its moorage in the harbor.
Personnel from Coast Guard Station Tillamook Bay boarded the vessel and performed an inspection. Inspections after a search and rescue case or marine accident are a normal procedure.
No injuries or pollution were reported but the pier suffered extensive damage. Further assessment of all vessels involved will continue to determine the full extent of damage. The cause of the accident is under investigation. The master of the vessel is fully cooperating with Coast Guard officials.
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The Coast Guard received a mayday call at 6:54 am Friday morning, March 10th from the 34-foot gillnetter, Slayer. The caller stated, “Going down, two hands on board Port Gardner.”
The hands onboard Slayer were Rick Nebert, 42, of Juneau, and Matthew Young, 18, of Sitka. Rick was the owner/operator of the vessel. Rick’s wife, Jennifer, said that her husband had been longlining for cod near Kake and was headed to Sitka to unload his catch.
Within 50 minutes of the mayday call, a Coast Guard helicopter arrived at the scene, and with the assistance of a nearby vessel, the Aleutian Dream, searched the area. Approximately five miles south of Port Gardner they located a raft, survival suit, and a life ring. Later in the morning an additional HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and the Coast Guard Cutter, Anacapa, joined in the search. By early afternoon, two Civil Air Patrol aircraft also joined in the effort. On Friday night the Coast Guard used a helicopter equipped with infra red and night vision technology.
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At 1:30 am on February 7, 2006, the Coast Guard received a VHF call. Two red flares were spotted near Tillamook Bay, Oregon. A Jayhawk helicopter and two 47-foot motor lifeboats were dispatched to the area.
Debris was found identifying the vessel as the Catherine M., a 45-foot crabber whose homeport was Warrenton, Oregon. The body of Jeff King, 30, of Garibaldi, was also found on a nearby beach by a local rescue team, along with a life raft and three survival suits. The bodies of Trona Griffin 30, of Garibaldi, Oregon, and Craig Larson, 31, of Hammond, Oregon, washed ashore in the days following.
The last contact from the crew came the night before the incident, when Craig Larson’s wife spoke to him by phone. She was told the boat was returning to port with around 1,200 pounds of crab.
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