Boat on the sea
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The Coast Guard rescued two people after their vessel caught fire on the Fourth of July. The 70-foot pleasure boat was near Destruction Island, Washington, when the engine caught fire, prompting the two to put out a distress call on VHF-FM radio channel 16.
Both a Motor Life Boat crew and a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew responded to the call, and rescued both the man and his wife. The vessel, the LA PIETRA, is from Beverly Hills, California.

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June 12, PACIFIC QUEEN grounded while moored at Harris Harbor in Juneau. Her hull sustained some minor damage, but the main concern was for the approximately 150 gallons of diesel fuel on board. A small sheen was noted, although the vessel was stabilized by the owner before it got worse. The Coast Guard is overseeing any pollution and safety issues concerned with this grounding.

PACIFIC QUEEN is a 71-foot wooden hulled fishing vessel based in Wrangell, Alaska. She was built in 1938.

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Friday morning, the crew of purse seiner VERNON contacted the Coast Guard with the news that they had a foot of water in their engine room. This happened near Ketchikan, Alaska, in seas of two feet with 10 mph winds. The Coast Guard sent out two boats in response. A Coast Guard team with four dewatering pump were able stabilize the flooding enough to escort VERNON back to port. The cause of the flooding is under investigation.

VERNON appears to be home ported in Seattle, with owners based in Renton, Washington. This vessel is wooden-hulled and built in 1920.

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On the morning of July 6, while weighing anchor near King Cove, Alaska, a large swell broadsided 32-foot, Juneau-based MATT-MICHELLE, sending 53-year-old Rudy Dushkin Jr. overboard. The only other person on the vessel was the owner/captain, Bert Bendixon. Mr. Bendixon sent a distress call as he threw a life ring to Mr. Dushkin, but Mr. Dushkin had already drifted too far away. Some details of the recovery efforts have yet to be verified, but according to one report, the captain was eventually able to get to Mr. Dushkin with a long line and then, after donning a survival suit, he jumped into the frigid water and pulled Mr. Dushkin to land. Mr. Dushkin is said to not have been wearing a life jacket.

On land, the F/V MISS ROXANNE crew assisted in trying to revive Mr. Dushkin. Sadly, no one was able to resuscitate him.

As an investigation by authorities continues, our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Rudy Paul Dushkin, Jr.

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Yesterday, the crew of 67-foot JEANOAH began taking on water in the Shelikof Straight about 40 miles west of Kodiak, Alaska. The captain contacted the Coast Guard with the news that they’d struck a rock and needed help. The Coast Guard sent out a helicopter and a cutter, as well as issued an urgent marine information broadcast.

The crew of KATHERINE heard the UMIB and headed over to help tow JEANOAH into safer water. A Coast Guard swimmer from the cutter, ROANOKE ISLAND, delivered dewatering pumps and effected basic temporary repairs. Seaworthy enough to travel under her own power again, JEANOAH then began her trip back in calm weather to her home port of Kodiak, escorted by ROANOKE ISLAND.

Quick action and help from the Coast Guard and KATHERINE saved JEANOAH from what might have been a very different fate.

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On June 20, around 9:20 a.m, a 25-foot aluminum fishing guide boat with six men on board went down in near the Columbia River bar. Witnesses say the boat flipped over in heavy waves. All six of the men on the boat were wearing life jackets, so the men on TERESA D, were able to locate five of them and fish them out safely. Unfortunately, a six man, said to be Craig Robert Biggs of West Linn, Oregon, had become entangled in line or net, and could not be resuscitated when the Coast Guard located him.

The TERESA D crew had seen that the fishing boat was having trouble, so they had been keeping an eye on them and following. This, their safety preparedness and communication equipment, and their quick action saved the five men.

Good Samaritans play a huge role in keeping each other safe out there. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Craig Robert Biggs.

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Recently, the Coast Guard in Alaska terminated three fishing vessel voyages, one for not having emergency flares, and two for not having other necessary safety gear on board. All commercial fishing vessels are required by law to have safety gear and a crew trained in how to use it.

Briefly, depending on vessel and crew size and working distance from shore, each fishing vessel is required to carry personal flotation devices (PDFs), emersion suits, and/or survival craft; lifesaving rings; distress signals like flares, flags, and smoke signals; an electronic position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB); and fire fighting equipment. All this equipment must be maintained and tested as specified. For the requirements pertaining to your fishing vessel, check out 46 CFR 28.100 – 165.

The Coast Guard continues to conduct free dockside safely inspections, free of penalties. If there are discrepancies, they will provide a list of what you need to do to correct them. Vessels passing inspection receive a safety decal to display. The dockside safety inspection is voluntary until October 16, 2015, when it becomes mandatory. The Coast Guard can conduct at-sea inspections at their own discretion, and the 46 CFR 28 requirements must be met or the voyage is terminated and remains terminated until the problems are rectified. To request a voluntary dockside safety inspection, please click here.

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According to reports, on June 10, about 90 miles south of Seward, Alaska, a 28-year-old crewman aboard OPTIMUS suffered a serious laceration from a fish hook, serious enough that the Coast Guard flight surgeon recommended a four-hour window for the medevac via Coast Guard helicopter to Anchorage for treatment. The medevac was completed in 2-1/2 hours.

OPTIMUS is 58 feet long and hails out of Sitka. Weather at the time was 10mph hour winds and four-foot seas.

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The Coast Guard and Kodiak Police Department are investigating the death of a 30-year-old Cody Cecil, of Everett, Washington, who died yesterday on board F/V ALPINE COVE while the vessel was moored in Kodiak, Alaska. Four other crew members were evacuated and much of the harbor had to be cleared. One man, Francis Rutten of Snohomish, Washington, had to remain in the hospital for further treatment.

Apparently, the crew was asleep when a chemical, possibly chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), from the vessel refrigeration system leaked. According to reports, one of the crew smelled something strange and called Emergency for help as he tried to waken the crew. The investigation includes looking into any potential connection with some welding work had been done on the vessel hours earlier.

F/V ALPINE COVE is a 76-foot vessel, built in 2001, owned by Alpine Cove Fisheries, LLC, of Woodinville, Washington. At the time of the leak, ALPINE COVE was moored in St. Herman’s Harbor, one of the marinas located at Near Island in Kodiak.

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On May 18, moments after she touched water in her very first launch, 85-foot, $10 million M/V BADEN capsized on her port side and began to sink.

The launch came after more than two years of pain-staking at Northern Marine Industries to build this beautifully appointed expedition style vessel. She was rolled out to the Fidalgo Bay Marina in Anacortes, Washington, christened, and began her short, sad journey into the drink.

At one point during the launch, she seemed to shift in her cradle, but no problem could be found, and the launch proceeded. There were about six people on board at the time, some of whom had gone down below to adjust the ballast at the first signs of instability. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do as she took on water. All who were on board besides one man were rescued fairly quickly, but that one man was trapped below decks until one of the officers took a fire ax to a port hole and pulled him out. No one was seriously injured, although the man who’d been trapped suffered scrapes and bruises from his ordeal, and felt lucky to have been rescued.

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Contact Information
Stacey & Jacobsen, PLLC Seattle, Washington
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Seattle, WA 98199
Phone: 206-282-3100 Toll Free: 877-332-5529 Fax: 206-282-1149
Stacey & Jacobsen, PLLC Anchorage, Alaska
205 E Benson Blvd #321
Anchorage, AK 99503
Phone: 907-751-2588 Toll Free: 877-332-5529

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