Due to a variety of television programs, films and books devoted to the perils of commercial fishing and oil production, the American public is gaining a better and better understanding of just how dangerous maritime work tends to be. Tragically, not all offshore accidents result only in maritime injury and…
Six fishermen are safe after their vessel began taking on water and sank approximately two miles off the coast of Kahoolawe, Maui, Monday. Coast Guard Sector Honolulu watchstanders received a radio call from the captain of the 43-foot charter fishing vessel Piper at 12 p.m. The captain reported the vessel…
A 28-year-old man was medevaced after sustaining about a 20-foot fall aboard a tanker in the fairway anchorage off Sabine, off the coast of Texas, Saturday afternoon. The captain of the 800-foot Cyprus flagged tanker, Nordmark, radioed watchstanders at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston for assistance, reporting that a crewmember…
A fish processing vessel that went hard aground on Kodiak Island was struck by other problems earlier this year, including a diesel spill and two ammonia leaks. The 169-foot Pacific Producer grounded in 9-foot tides early Friday while traveling through a narrow passage between Kodiak and Spruce islands. The vessel…
When Bret A. Simpson heard the hulking old barge Davy Crockett was for sale several years ago, “he saw the steel and he saw dollar signs,” said assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Oesterle. Simpson, of Ellensburg, figured he could scrap the 400-foot former Navy ship and walk off with a tidy…
On Friday, March 15, a 35-year-old crewman of the 58-foot fishing vessel Stella fell overboard into Shelikof Strait, Alaska. The crewman spent 25 minutes in the 37.6 degree water without a survival suit before he was brought back aboard by his fellow crewmen. Weather at the time of the incident…
The 47-foot tug Shanon E. Settoon was pushing a 154-foot oil barge when it allided with a submerged pipeline 6 p.m., Tuesday. The Coast Guard has responded to the scene near Bayou Perot 30 miles south of New Orleans. A worker at a local marina reported that the tug exploded…
The Coast Guard is supervising the salvage and pollution response operations of a sunken towing vessel in the Mississippi River at Mile Marker 161.5 near New Orleans. The cause of the sinking is still under investigation. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a report around 2 a.m. Thursday that…
Commercial fishing and other maritime work is inherently dangerous. In fact, commercial fishing is America’s most dangerous industry. When seafarers board their vessels and navigate machinery in uncertain weather conditions in open water, they require every possible safety precaution in order to prevent maritime injuries and wrongful death. One key…
The 893 foot Carnival cruise ship Triumph reported a fire in the aft engine room Sunday morning. The ship’s fire control system and cruise ship personnel isolated and extinguished the engine room fire, but the vessel lost main propulsion and was left dead in the water in the Gulf of…