“I realize it was a fake spaceship, but dangit it was a ship nonetheless and Mr. Spock served on it. Here’s to one of the great humans of our time.” Rob Almeida
Rob Almeida is Partner and Chief Marketing Officer at gCaptain Maritime & Offshore News – gcaptain.com.
In the early morning of February 16, the Alaska Coast Guard received a 406 Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) alert from the 81-foot Fish Tender SAVANNAH RAY. Coast Guard watchstanders made callouts asking if the vessel needed assistance and received a broken MAYDAY from the crew. The vessel had run aground in Chiniak Bay near Kodiak, Alaska, and the four fishermen on board had donned their survival suits and deployed the life raft. A Jayhawk Kodiak helicopter crew flew to the grounded tender, safely hoisted the four fishermen, and flew them to emergency medical services in Kodiak. The weather at the time of the rescue was reported as 51 mph winds with 11-foot seas.
“This rescue highlights how critical it is to have a registered 406 EPIRB onboard when operating a vessel of any size,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Andrew Sheean, watchstander, Sector Anchorage. “During an emergency, especially in the cold waters of Alaska, it’s important for responders to immediately know that an event has occurred and the location of your vessel.”
On July 26, 2013, SAVANNAH RAY grounded in Bainbridge Passage in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The tender floated off the rocks on the incoming tide.
Crew from the 285′ Factory Trawler AMERICAN TRIUMPH called the Coast Guard on February 12 to report that a 36-year old man had two of his fingers severed by a steel door. A Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crew in Cold Bay flew approximately 92 miles north to the trawler, safely medevaced the man, and flew him back to Cold Bay for emergency medical services.
AMERICAN TRIUMPH is owned by American Seafoods Company. According to the company’s website, the trawler is currently catching and processing pollack, hake, and sole.
A couple beachcombing near Paradise Point in Port Orford, Oregon saw a small recreational fishing boat caught between large ocean swells and crashing surf on Sunday, January 25. Suddenly the 24′ boat flipped over, dumping the three passengers into the water. Michael Fowler, 38, and Ariana Hall, 19, who was wearing a life vest, struggled through the surf to get to shore. The third passenger, Albert Self, 37, yelled for help in the ocean surf. All three lived in Port Orford, Oregon.
The beachcombing couple, Jim and Medette Hayman, immediately called 911 at 1:45 pm and rushed to help Fowler and Hall to safety. Other beachcombers also ran to assist. No one could reach Self before he disappeared in the water. It is believed he was not wearing a life vest.
The Coast Guard responded as well as members of the Coos County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement. Crews searched for Self for nine hours, covering more than 169 miles without finding him.
At 1 pm on January 26, 2015, the Puget Sound Coast Guard received a phone call from the Kitsap County 911 operator stating that a small red and white plane had crashed in the waters of the Hood Canal. The Coast Guard launched two helicopter crews, a 45′ response boat crew, and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter HENRY BLAKE to the reported crash site. Other agency responders included personnel from Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, Mason County Sheriff’s Office and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
At around 2:30 pm, a helicopter crew found airplane debris near Seabeck, Washington. Search crews recovered a driver’s license and other items which allowed investigators to identify the pilot and notify the next of kin. It is Coast Guard policy to withhold names for 24 hours after next of kin have been notified. The pilot was believed to be the only person aboard.
“Our prayers and heartfelt wishes go out to the friends and loved ones of those affected by this tragedy,” said Lieutenant Raphael Sadowitz, the command duty officer at Sector Puget Sound. “We also extend our gratitude to the good Samaritans who were quick to report the incident and the local law enforcement personnel who aided in our search. Their efforts helped ensure our ability to swiftly find the location of the crash and thoroughly cover the surrounding areas.”
A crewmember on board the 80-foot tender F/V EYAK called the Juneau Coast Guard at 5:45 am on January 19, 2015 to report they had grounded and the boat was taking on water. The tender was located near Calligan Island, about 16 miles south of Sitka Harbor. The Coast Guard flew a helicopter from Air Station Sitka and also asked for assistance from Sitka Police and Fire Departments and the Alaska State Troopers.
Sitka’s emergency response vessel (ERV), jointly operated by the fire department and police department, and a boat from the Alaska State Troopers arrived at the EYAK around 7:30 a.m. The four EYAK crewmembers wore survival suits and had inflated the life raft. Sitka Police Ryan Silva was aboard the ERV. “I’m just glad we got there when we did because it was under 45 minutes later that it (the EYAK) slipped into the water fully,” Silva said.
The crew was transferred safely to the ERV, along with their dog. All four were uninjured and did not require medical attention, according to the Trooper report.
Icicle Seafoods, Inc., a major harvester and processor of wild and farmed seafood in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, is for sale. Private equity investment firm Paine & Partners bought Icicle in 2007 and is now looking for a buyer.
Icicle Seafoods began in 1965 when a group of employees and fishermen in Petersburg, Alaska bought the Pacific American Fisheries cannery. The company has grown to own and operate on-shore canneries in Seward, Homer, Egegik on Bristol Bay, Larsen Bay on Kodiak Island, and Wood River out of Dillingham. They also own and operate processing ships and fishing boats throughout Alaska and process salmon, pollack, and crab.
Icicle also runs a farmed salmon business in the Pacific Northwest, with farms at Bainbridge Island, Cypress Island, Port Angeles, and Hope Island, WA. They also expanded to a farmed salmon venture in Chile, raising and selling farm-raised coho and Atlantic salmon.
A crab fisherman reportedly injured his abdomen while pulling in crab pots on the F/V IRENE H on January 13, 2015. Crew from the fishing vessel called the Coast Guard to report the injury and ask for medical assistance. The Kodiak Coast Guard Air Station then flew a Jayhawk helicopter crew to Shelikof Strait and the IRENE H.
Weather conditions were rough: reportedly 25 mph winds and 7-foot seas.
“The operation was challenging from the start,” said Lt. Greg Dahl, pilot of the Jayhawk. “The dynamic weather conditions made for a rough ride but once on scene, the captain and crew of the vessel were very cooperative which enabled us to smoothly execute a successful rescue.”
Newport Fishermen’s Wives and the Newport, Oregon community fought hard and won the one-year extension of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Newport helicopter base.
Fishermen’s Wives of Newport, a non-profit, and co-complainants sued the Coast Guard when the Newport air station was slated to close due to budget ills. Their lawsuit states that closing the air station violates the Coast Guard’s legacy missions including marine safety, search and rescue, and aids to navigation.
On December 11, Congress passed a bill that prohibited the Coast Guard from closing the Newport air station. “It was an enormously impressive effort on the part of stakeholders and the community to challenge this on all fronts: politically, in the press and in the courts,” said Fishermen’s Wives of Newport’s attorney Michael Haglund. The helicopter base in Newport will remain open until January 1, 2016.
Many ambitious hopefuls or romantic souls dream of flying to Alaska in the summer to win the salmon season lottery. I was one of those dreamers and fortunately worked in Bristol Bay for 10 summers. Although I didn’t get rich, I am rich with memories of hard work, camaraderie, and the long and light days in Naknek, Alaska.
There are many other Alaskan fisheries to work in besides salmon, however. Here’s a list of fisheries and opening dates compiled from information from Laine Welch, a Kodiak-based fisheries journalist.
January 1: Boats with hook and line gear or pots will fish the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska for Pacific cod, rockfish and other groundfish.
Maritime Injury Law Blog