Boat on the sea
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Earnest Tug Boat
The Oregon State Department of Environmental Quality and the US Coast Guard responded to an 82-foot sunken tug at 8:49pm on the evening of Sunday, September 25th. The Earnest, a wooden-hulled vessel, sank on the Columbia River in Goble, OR. The incident was reported via the National Response Center.

Divers from Ballard Diving were contracted by the Incident Management Division in Portland to assess and address any fuel or other sources of pollution which may have been present after the sinking.

Clay Jonak, the owner of the Earnest, reported the vessel was carrying approximately 100 gallons of residual diesel fuel when it sank in Columbia County. Several other older tugs and barges are owned by Jonak, which he is attempting to salvage and scrap.

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Seacrest_Park_Seattle_WA_DivingThe 22-year-old student diver who was rescued near Seacrest Park in West Seattle on August 28th, has died.

The police report states that visibility underwater was very poor. Divers were signaled to surface, and all three divers in the class gave a “thumbs up” sign, indicating that they understood. However, upon reaching the surface, only two students were accounted for; the instructor was unable to locate the third student diver and 911 was dispatched.

The missing student diver was found approximately 30 minutes later in 69 feet of water. She was brought to the surface and medics performed CPR. Seattle Fire Medic 32 rushed the woman to Harborview Medical Center. She died shortly after 2:30pm.

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A 20-year old student diver in critical condition was rescued off Alki Beach in West Seattle on August 28, 2016. According to Seattle Fire Department (SFD) Captain Shata Stephenson, the diver “was within her first five dives.” An initial investigation indicates that she was paired with a partner and they became disoriented while diving.   The partner surfaced, expecting that the other diver would, too, but she did not. She was missing in 40 feet of water for about 30 minutes before SFD divers found her and brought her to a SFD boat. A Coast Guard helicopter flew her to Harborview Medical Center.

The diving accident was assisted by the US Coast Guard, SFD, Seattle Police Harbor Patrol, and members of the diving class.

IMG_5304-e1472417609881-652x489                                                    photo credit to Seattle Times

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At around 10:30 a.m. at Terminal 46 on Alaskan Way South, a loader overturned, trapping the 50-year-old driver inside the cab. Seattle Fire Department responded by 11:00 a.m. and after about 15 minutes, the rescue was successful.

SFD reported that the man suffered minor injuries and was taken to Harborview Medical Center for evaluation and treatment.

Fire Capt. Shata Stephenson did not know how the incident occurred, though the loader appeared to have overturned and hurled the vehicle’s cab into the air while lifting a heavy load.

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At 11:54 a.m. on Sunday, August 14, watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Bend received a mayday call from 60-foot F/V McCALIS about 8 miles west of Cape Blanco, Oregon. The crew reported that their vessel was taking on water through the fish hold and the dewatering pumps were not keeping up. The three fishermen aboard the vessel also announced their intention to abandon ship onto a liferaft.

The Coast Guard launched a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat Crew from Search and Rescue Detachment Coquille River and an aircrew aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter. Both crews arrived to the scene around 1:15 p.m., but with only 300-feet of visibility due to fog, the boat crew picked up the fishermen from their liferaft.

The three fishermen aboard the McCALIS are reportedly uninjured, and en route to Station Coos Bay in Charleston, Oregon.

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The 751-foot cargo vessel reportedly ran aground near Skamokawa, Washington at 7:49 p.m. on Friday evening. It then refloated, traveled a few miles upstream and grounded again while at anchor.

The Coast Guard conducted an overflight of the grounded motor vessel Friday night, and will arrange another as weather conditions permit.

As of 7:40 a.m. on Saturday, the vessel had refloated with the tide, leaving no indication of discharged pollution.

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Rscue-300x199The ALASKA JURIS, a fishing vessel owned by Fishing Company Of Alaska (FCA), started taking on water on July 26, 2016 while fishing off the Aleutian chain of islands. The captain sent out a mayday. The crew donned their survival suits, got into life rafts, and abandoned ship. No other vessel was in sight. After several hours floating in the open sea near Adak, good Samaritan vessels arrived at the scene to rescue the crew.

This is the same fishing company that owned and operated the ALASKA RANGER, a factory trawler that sank in March 2008. Five crew died in that sinking.

We understand FCA and its insurance company are now offering $20,000 to survivors of the ALASKA JURIS to settle any and all claims they may have as a result of the sinking ordeal. The offer comes with a written explanation. FCA and its insurance company compare the sinking of the RANGER to the sinking of the JURIS as justification as to why they are only offering $20,000 to settle.

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Northern Idaho authorities have confirmed that the bodies of the 3 persons missing following the Saturday night boat collision have been recovered.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement late Wednesday that a dive team pulled the bodies from Lake Coeur d’Alene shortly after the crash.

Officials identified the dead as 34-year-old Justin M. Luhr of Medical Lake, Spokane County, 21-year-old Justin T. Honken of Post Falls, Idaho, and 21-year-old Caitlin A. Breeze of Spokane.

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Coast Guard 17th District watchstanders received a call Monday morning from Health Force Partners to report the deteriorating medical condition of a crewmember aboard F/V UNIMAK. After consulting the duty flight surgeon, the Coast Guard directed the launch of a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew to the scene.

The man had been experiencing abdominal pain, headaches, and a fever for several days. His worsening condition prompted an immediate medevac. He was hoisted and transported to emergency medical services in Dutch Harbor, Alaska.

Chief Warrant Officer Joseph Ayd, District 17 command duty officer commented, “the aircrew’s readiness allowed the man to receive advanced medical care as quickly as possible.”

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On the afternoon of Sunday, July 31, M/V BIG RED was traveling in Favorite Channel near Juneau, Alaska when it began taking on water. Watchstanders from coast Guard Sector Juneau received the distress call and issued an urgent marine information broadcast calling for assistance from nearby vessels. All persons aboard the 35-foot whale-watching vessel were rescued by Coast Guard and multiple Good Samaritan vessels.

The 16 passengers and 2 crewmembers were transferred onto M/V ST. HERMAN with the help of recreational vessel See You, and transported to Allen Marine Dock to await Coast Guard and medical personnel. One knee injury was reported.

Lt. Jennifer Ferreira, sector Juneau command duty officer, commended the BIG RED crew for their swift, decisive action to ensure that all passengers were handed life vests when the vessel began taking on water.

Contact Information
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