News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 17th District Alaska Contact: 17th District Public Affairs Office: (907) 463-2065 After Hours: (907) 209-8731 17th District online newsroom

Coast Guard, locals, good Samaritan rescue five fisherman after vessel sunk near Black Island, Alaska

JUNEAU, Alaska — Coast Guard and Alaska State Trooper boat crews, as well as the crew of a good Samaritan vessel, rescued five fishermen after their vessel sunk near Black Island, Sunday.

A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Ketchikan returned four of the five fisherman to Ketchikan, while the master of the vessel returned aboard a skiff after the retrieval of their net. 

At 10:55 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Juneau watchstanders received a distress call over VHF channel 16 from an operator of the fishing vessel Daffnie. They stated the vessel had capsized and sank, all five people who were aboard had abandoned ship into a skiff and provided the coordinates for the skiff, as well as noted there was only one life jacket.

Coast Guard 17th District watchstanders also received notification from the emergency position indication radio beacon registered to the vessel restating the vessel sank and all aboard transferred to the skiff, as well as that they only had one handheld radio, one survival suit and were holding onto their seine net.

A RM-B crew and an Alaska State Trooper boat crew launched in response.

An Alaska State wildlife trooper arrived shortly after noon and confirmed the location of the skiff. The RB-M boat crew and good Samaritans aboard the fishing vessel Lovie Joann arrived within the following 10 minutes.

The master of the Daffnie stayed on scene aboard the skiff to retrieve the net with the assistance of the Lovie Joann crew. The RB-M crew transferred the other four people to their boat, recovered a life raft and EPIRB, and returned them all to Ketchikan.

The Daffnie, a 49-foot commercial fishing vessel, sunk in approximately 500-foot deep water with a max potential of 400 gallons of diesel fuel aboard.

The RB-M crew reported a sheen visible while on scene, pollution and potential salvage response pending further investigation by Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Ketchikan personnel.

-USCG-