Four reported safe after seiner capsizes at Kodiak

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Kodiak

Type: Rescue

On 7/22/23, at 12:50 p.m., Alaska Wildlife Troopers became aware of a commercial seine vessel that had capsized in Whale Passage, with four people onboard. Troopers responded to the scene and contacted the four occupants of the vessel, as well as residents of a nearby lodge, who saw the vessel shortly after it capsized and were able to render aid. When the vessel capsized, the skipper was in the wheelhouse and the crew was in the main cabin. The crew estimated they were trapped for approximately three minutes before they were able to escape the inverted vessel. They were then able to get aboard their seine skiff, which had remained upright. They all declined medical attention and appeared to have received only minor cuts and bruises. Another fishing vessel volunteered to tow the seiner to shallow water, by a nearby beach, and secure it. The four crewmembers of the seiner were transported to Kodiak aboard the P/V Cama'i.

Southeast seiner fined, vessel forfeited

Here's the press release.

Injured man hoisted off seiner near Sand Point

The U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday airlifted an injured man off a fishing vessel near Sand Point.

The 28-year-old patient was reported to have a head injury. He was aboard a 48-foot boat listed in state records as the Capt'n Jay, a purse seiner.

Here's a video of the rescue.

Limit seiners and the law

State Rep. Dan Ortiz, of Ketchikan, has filed a bill titled "An act relating to the length of vessels used in a salmon seine fishery."

The bill seems to be a bid to clarify in Alaska statutes that 58 feet is the maximum allowable length overall for a salmon seiner.

It would appear to take away the authority of the Board of Fisheries to provide by regulation for the use of longer vessels.

Deckboss has heard some talk about the motivation behind this bill, but is not yet clear enough on the details to say more about it.

Four rescued after seiner capsizes near Valdez

A 40-foot purse seiner, the Auriga, capsized Monday near Valdez, the U.S. Coast Guard reports.

The four crewmen climbed aboard the Auriga's skiff and the good Samaritan vessel Cornelia Marie rescued them, the Coast Guard says.

The Auriga was fishing in the vicinity of Eaglek Bay when a storm approached from the southeast.

"The crew ceased fishing operations and prepared for the storm but a large wave reportedly caused the Auriga to capsize," the Coast Guard says. "The Auriga remains capsized and partially submerged in the vicinity of Unakwik Inlet."

The boat had about 18,000 pounds of fish aboard.

State records indicate the Auriga, a fiberglass Beck built in 1980, belongs to Thomas Lopez.

Crew safe after seiner capsizes at Valdez

Details in this news release from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Purse seiner Davis Barrett crosses the bar

Here's the obituary.

Injured seine boat crewman needs medevac

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter today hoisted an injured crewman off the F/V Beverly Ann about 50 miles southeast of Seward.

The call for help was that deck equipment had struck the 22-year-old crewman in the head, the Coast Guard said.

The Beverly Ann is a 54-foot purse seiner out of Cordova.

Tough day

We had plenty of trouble on the water Monday.

At 7:30 a.m., police in Cordova received a 911 call from the purse seiner Esperanza reporting a man was lost overboard, had been recovered and was undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The Alaska Wildlife Troopers patrol boat Churchill and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter responded in heavy fog.

The victim couldn't be revived, and the body was transferred to the Churchill.

Troopers said the deceased, Cornell Perry Bean Jr., 40, of Kake, wasn't wearing a life preserver.

In a separate mishap, a crewman on the trawler Alaska Spirit needed an emergency airlift.

The crewman, who wasn't identified, had a crushed finger, the Coast Guard said.

The Alaska Spirit was located 58 miles southeast of Nunivak Island in the Bering Sea.

The victim initially was transferred by small boat to the cutter Boutwell, where the decision was made to medevac him via helicopter.

"Our health care professionals recommended getting the man to a higher level of care within seven hours to have the best chance of restoring functionality to his finger," said Lt. Bernard Auth, a Coast Guard search and rescue controller.

The Alaska Spirit is a 221-foot trawler belonging to Fishing Company of Alaska.

Prince William Sound seiner burns, crew OK

The U.S. Coast Guard tells me fire broke out in the engine room of a Prince William Sound fishing vessel, the Tempest, and the boat burned to the waterline.

The four crewmen made it onto a Good Samaritan vessel.

The incident happened in the vicinity of Knight Island. The Coast Guard says it was notified at 10:28 p.m. Friday.

The Coast Guard conducted a helicopter flyover of the scene Saturday and found no sign of the burned vessel, nor any fuel sheen.

I've received informal word that folks in Cordova have really come together with clothing and other provisions for the surviving crewmen.

Public records indicate the Tempest, a 41-foot purse seiner, belongs to Jerry Lundli of Shoreline, Wash.

Sunken salmon seiner salvaged

The Lively Jane, a salmon seiner that hit a rock and sank July 13 southwest of Valdez, has been refloated. That's her there on the right, with the salvage tug Oswell Foss to starboard. The plan is to tow the seiner to Cordova for drydocking and repair, the U.S. Coast Guard said this afternoon. USCG photo

A pretty lady lost

The Lively Jane in happier times. Joshua Roper photo

We told you last week about the Lively Jane, a Prince William Sound salmon seiner that hit a rock and sank in Anderson Bay six miles southwest of Valdez.

Sometimes when we hear a report that a boat has sunk, it means she just swamped. But as you can see by the smaller photo from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Lively Jane went to the bottom. Boom was deployed around the sunken seiner to corral any fuel or oil leakage.

Divers were able to plug the vessel's fuel vents and "remove the 20 feet of seine net and bridle from the vessel," said the Coast Guard, noting it was monitoring salvage efforts.

Fortunately, all five crewmen got off safely. But too bad for this pretty boat.

My thanks to Joshua Roper Photography for the nice shot of the Lively Jane.

Crew safe after seiner sinks near Valdez

The U.S. Coast Guard reports the purse seiner Lively Jane hit a submerged rock and sank this morning in Anderson Bay, six miles southwest of Valdez.

The five crewmen were able to climb aboard a skiff before the seiner went down, the Coast Guard says.

As always, the cause is said to be "under investigation."

The owner of the 56-foot Lively Jane is listed in state records as Jon L. Andrews Jr. of Seward.

Abandon ship!

Michael Hand, running a tender at Sitka, shot this awesome video of the seiner Infinite Grace's scary moment in Friday's herring opener.

Polar Star update

Just talked with the U.S. Coast Guard about the seiner Polar Star, which went aground Tuesday west of Kodiak.

Sounds like the boat will be saved.

She was refloated, taken to a safe place called Geographic Harbor along the Alaska Peninsula, and then deliberately beached so the crew could better patch a hole in the hull.

The plan, I'm told, is to tow the boat out tomorrow.

Let's pull for the Polar Star

The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched a rescue helicopter and C-130 airplane this morning after the captain of the Polar Star radioed a mayday, saying the 58-foot seiner was taking on water and the crew of five was about to abandon ship. Rescuers arrived on the scene along the southern side of the Alaska Peninsula, some 65 miles west of Kodiak, to find the Polar Star crew in a skiff near the grounded vessel. The aircraft left the scene after the crew indicated they'll wait until high tide at 9:17 p.m. to try to refloat the seiner. The Coast Guard and a good Samaritan fishing boat are maintaining communications with the Polar Star crew. USCG photo

Nice save

U.S. Coast Guard responders in Kodiak this morning helped save the 42-foot seiner Hail Mary, which was aground and taking on water in Womens Bay near the Coast Guard base. Guardsmen and the four-man seiner crew managed to plug a hole and used a dewatering pump to refloat the boat in about an hour. "The fishing vessel crew used their own skiff to tow the Hail Mary to the dock at Alaska Pacific Seafoods in Kodiak City, arriving at 12:48 p.m.," a Coast Guard press release said. USCG Seamen Grant DeVuyst photo

Seiner goes down at Wrangell

The seiner Siren, partially submerged. SEAPRO photo

The U.S. Coast Guard is reporting the salmon seiner Siren ran aground in Wrangell harbor on Saturday.

The vessel belongs to Michael A. File of Petersburg, according to the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.

Here's the Coast Guard press release:

July 11, 2009

Coast Guard responds to grounded vessel in Wrangell Harbor

JUNEAU, Alaska — The Coast Guard responded to the 58-foot fishing vessel Siren which grounded with 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board in Wrangell Harbor at 1:10 a.m. Saturday.

A crewmember from the Siren contacted the Coast Guard Sector Juneau Rescue Coordination Center by VHF-FM radio to report the grounding and then safely made it to shore after disembarking from the Siren in a small motor vessel.

Personnel from the Southeast Alaska Petroleum Resource Organization in Wrangell placed boom around the vessel at 6:30 a.m. and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew conducted an overflight of the vessel and reported that there was no sheen at 9:38 a.m.

Personnel will work with the tide levels to attempt to refloat the fishing vessel. No injuries have been reported and the cause of the grounding is not known at this time. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the grounding.

The Siren is homeported in Petersburg and was en route from Petersburg to Wrangell during the grounding.

Good Samaritans, Coast Guard save seiner Luna

Friends rally around the sinking seiner. U.S. Coast Guard photo

This just in:

U.S. Coast Guard, 17th District

July 7, 2009

Coast Guard assists fishing vessel taking on water in Shelikof Strait

KODIAK, Alaska — The Coast Guard assisted a 50-foot fishing vessel from Kodiak on the northwest side of Kodiak Island in Spiridon Bay after it began sinking Monday.

The Coast Guard Command Center in Anchorage received a call from the fishing vessel Lady Ashely at noon reporting the Luna was in need of assistance after it struck a rock.

An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and an HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Kodiak launched at approximately 12:20 p.m. The Jayhawk lowered a dewatering pump to the Luna and the Hercules dropped two additional pumps.

Several good Samaritan vessels in the area assisted the Luna with dewatering. The flooding was controlled and the good Samaritan vessels remained in the area to assist.

The Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment in Kodiak reports there are no environmental issues at this time. The Luna’s crew is making repairs to the vessel in preparation to return to Kodiak.

The Luna was fishing for salmon at the time of the accident.