Being a Chignik fisherman, Ryan Yovino had walked the beach in Kujulik Bay many times before, mostly finding glass bulbs and fishing nets. This time was different.
Expert testimony on deadly Scandies Rose sinking in Gulf of Alaska forces new look at safety rules for crab boats Published February 25
This undated photo shows the Scandies Rose vessel in Seattle. The 130-foot crab fishing boat from Dutch Harbor sank on New Year s Eve 2019. Two crew members were rescued while five others died. (Mike Fancher/The Seattle Times via AP)
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Print article Three Washington state naval architects this week laid out a damning critique of flaws in a federal rule that guides the loading of crab boats amid dangerous, icy conditions off Alaska. Their testimony came Wednesday during hearings called by the Coast Guard Board of Investigation, which has launched an inquiry into the deadly Dec. 31, 2019, sinking of the Scandies Rose in the Gulf of Alaska. Five of the seven crew were killed.
× By Hal Bernton, The Seattle Times
Published: February 26, 2021, 7:34am
Share: This undated photo shows the Scandies Rose vessel in Seattle. The search for five crew members of the Scandies Rose in Alaska has been suspended, the U.S. Coast Guard said after two other crew members of the vessel were rescued after the 130-foot crab fishing boat from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, sank on New Year s Eve.(Mike Fancher/The Seattle Times via AP)
Three Washington naval architects this week laid out a damning critique of flaws in a federal rule that guides the loading of crab boats amid dangerous, icy conditions off Alaska.
Three Washington naval architects with deep experience in the North Pacific fishing industry testified this week about serious flaws in a federal regulation that guides crucial stability calculations for ice buildup on the fleet of more than 60 Bering Sea crab boats.
This information has prompted the Coast Guard to reexamine the rule.
The naval architects say the Coast Guard regulation underestimates how much ice can build up on a boat during chill bouts of weather, fails to take into account that it may form unevenly, and also ignores the potential for dense ice within the webbed interior of crab pots. These shortcomings can result in naval architects drawing up instructions that erode safety margins by allowing hazardous numbers of pots to be carried during winter storms that generate freezing spray.
Coast Guard opens hearing into 2019 sinking of crab boat Scandies Rose
By AP News Staff
EDMONDS, Wash. - The Coast Guard has opened an inquiry into the deadly sinking of the crab boat Scandies Rose in the Gulf of Alaska.
Five of the boat’s seven crew members lost their lives when it overturned in heavy seas and freezing spray near Sutwick Island the night of Dec. 31, 2019.
Survivor of capsized boat talks about harrowing efforts to survive
Survivor of capsized boat talks about harrowing efforts to survive
The Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigations is holding a two-week public hearing in Edmonds, Washington, that will include testimony from the vessel’s co-owner, two survivors, former crew and naval architects, The Seattle Times reported. It’s aimed at finding a probable cause of the sinking, as well as recommendations for improving safety in the Alaska fleet that joins in winter harvests for snow and king crab.