The Coast Guard had deployed a helicopter, two rescue boats, and a cutter, and currently the Coast Guard cutter is still at the scene. So far, there is no evidence of spilled fuel or other pollution. At last report, PLAN B has not sunk and commercial salvage is being arranged.

The fishermen were prepared with survival suits and working communication equipment. Timely communication and quick action by all crews involved prevented a bad situation from becoming even worse for the two fishermen.

2/22/12 UPDATE

PLAN B was determined by the Coast Guard to be unsafe to board and pump; she continued to take on water and sunk a few hours after her crew was rescued, leaving an oil sheen reported by Coast Guard Station South Portland to be 200 by 200 square feet. The Coast Guard picked up the large debris left by PLAN B and will monitor the pollution caused by the sinking.

NMCRS case workers are trained to address the specific financial needs of service members, veterans, as well as their eligible families and survivors. NMCRS services include student loans or grants, interest-free emergency loans or grants, and financial counseling at no charge. A number of NMCRS offices also run thrift shops and have visiting nurse programs. If you would like to learn more about NMCRS, please visit www.nmcrs.org.

According to Coast Guard reports, a Coast Guard helicopter crew searched during the daylight hours on Sunday and again Monday morning, while Coast Guard boat crews searched through the night. Whidbey Island rescue teams joined the search effort, and Snohomish County Sheriff's Office divers explored the water near the fishing boat and crab pots. A Coast Guard cutter had joined the search by Monday morning. The search was suspended at 10:45 a.m. on Monday, after 21 hours.

The boat is registered as a Swinomish tribal boat. The missing man's identity has not yet been released.

2/20/12 UPDATE

On Wednesday, Swinomish Fisheries and the Swinomish police used the GPS from the crab boat to trace its path in order to recover the body of Joseph Thomas Sias of La Conner. The coroner reports that Mr. Sias drowned after he fell overboard, when his heavy clothing and boots possibly became waterlogged. Mr. Sias was 51, and a member of the Swinomish Tribe who will be missed by his family and community.

In January, HEALY escorted Russian tanker RENDA through ice to Nome, Alaska, to deliver emergency fuel supplies, without which Nome residents would have run out of fuel by March. (Please see our 1/18/12 entry for details.)

Just prior to returning home, HEALY responded to a distress call from a 558-foot Singapore-flagged ship, DRY BEAM, which had lost some of its timber load and had become unstable in 30-foot seas. HEALY escorted DRY BEAM toward Canada, where the Canadian Coast Guard took over the escort.

HEALY and her crew are applauded for their demonstrated ability to serve in such diverse and ever-changing situations.

The night of January 24, Juneau-based KIMBERLY ran aground in Portage Bay. Winds were reported to be a steady 60 knots with 90-knot gusts, with 16-foot seas, precluding the immediate rescue of the four-member crew by a first Coast Guard helicopter. A second helicopter was sent out early the next morning.

January 25 at 6:30 a.m., F/V HERITAGE, which was sinking south of Kodiak, sent her distress call. That second helicopter, which had been bound for KIMBERLY, was diverted directly to the seven-person HERITAGE crew, and a third helicopter was deployed to KIMBERLY to hoist that crew to safety. At HERITAGE, the Coast Guard airlifted two of the crew from the water, while Good Samaritan vessel TUXEDNI picked up the remaining five HERITAGE members from their life raft.

The causes of these incidents are not yet known, but are under investigation. All eleven crewmembers were wearing survival suits and both vessels were equipped with life rafts that were put to timely use; both crews were said to be in good to fair condition at the time of their rescues because of their preparedness.

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) was founded in 1997 as a non-profit organization in order to promote sustainable fishing practices. MSC sets standards by which fisheries in both developed and developing countries do business, including not overfishing, operating in a responsible manner, and limiting ecosystem impact. Certification assessment of a fishery comes through an independent assessor with which the fishery contracts; the assessor determines whether the fishery has met MSC standards and advises whether to certify it. MSC's blue eco-label, which certified fisheries are authorized to use on their products, is globally recognized, and lets conscientious consumers know that the seafood they are buying has a traceable chain of custody at every point of transfer from catch to table, and thus is a marketing tool used to promote and support sustainably run fisheries. The certifications are good for five years, and the fisheries named above are certified to use the eco-label through October 29, 2012.

The Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF) represents Alaska salmon fisheries in MSC certification. Reportedly, in an AFDF statement, one of the reasons given for why the Alaska salmon fisheries are exiting the program is, "it is time to redirect their resources toward a broader marketing message," and "to resolve the issue and quell speculation and confusion in the salmon market." Apparently, there is some question in the industry as to whether MSC certification standards are consistently applied among fisheries, perhaps being too lax in some areas and certifying without enough data, and too stringent in others, and that the program is becoming more and more complex. This announcement comes soon after the last five-year certification process was begun this past December, during which time the assessor found nineteen points for the salmon fisheries to address before certification, mainly involving possible issues with hatchery stock commingling with other salmon.

MSC has expressed regret at the exit of the important Alaska salmon fishery, and hopes that they will volunteer to be certified for the MSC eco-label in the future. MSC will continue working with other fisheries, promoting sustainable fishing practices and management, while Alaska fisheries maintain that they have always operated in a sustainable way, which, they point out, past MSC certification has confirmed.

The Jones Act dates from 1920, created in support of a strong, loyal, U.S. Merchant Marine, U.S. commerce, and national defense. According to the act, as a matter of national security, all commercial vessels operating within three miles of the U.S. coast must be built in the U.S., owned by a U.S. citizen, and have a crew consisting of at least three-quarters of U.S. citizens. Cabotage by foreign vessels is not allowed in U.S. waters between U.S. ports without a Jones Act waiver approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security. A waiver may be granted "in the interest of national defense" only if a foreign vessel can do some pressing work that a U.S. vessel cannot do. If a U.S. vessel can do the work, the waiver will not be granted. Waivers are typically very specific about what work is to be done, what supplies will be involved, and about waiver duration.

Recently, the Jones Act has been the center of some controversy in regard to waivers. In 2005, the Bush administration promptly granted waivers in order that fuel supplies be immediately delivered to ravaged parts of the Gulf after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. But, when the BP oil spill occurred in the Gulf, the Obama administration insisted that U.S. ships could do all the work, and that the aid offered by foreign vessels was therefore not needed. Questions arose whether some or much of the terrible environmental aftermath could have been avoided had a waiver been quickly granted and foreign aid accepted. In the case of Nome, two points were favorable. First, the U.S. Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security, and is directly involved in the fuel delivery, is overseeing the fuel transfer, along with state and local authorities, and will eventually escort RENDA over 360 miles back to the Bering Sea. Second, only RENDA could make the timely delivery, saving Nome residents much time and money, and perhaps saving lives during what is said to be the harshest winter in decades. 

UPDATE:
According to Coast Guard reports, as of the afternoon of January 29, HEALY and RENDA have reached the open, ice-free waters of the Bering Sea.

Nearby F/V FRANCES ANN responded to the broadcast and was able to bring one of the two crewmembers aboard alive. That person is doing well. However, the other crewmember was trapped under the capsized hull of MANDY NESS. A Coast Guard rescue swimmer pulled that person out, but that person remained unresponsive to CPR and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Conditions were not considered rough for January, around 15 knots with three-foot seas, so why MANDY NESS capsized is not yet known.

Update 1/23/12

The Coast Guard is investigating whether another commercial vessel was in the area at the time MANDY NESS capsized. The vessel has not been publicly named, but the crew is cooperating with inspection and queries as authorities try to determine what led up to the tragedy. Capsized MANDY NESS was marked by a buoy, but currently the vessel cannot be located and is thought to have sunk.

An air search ensued, first by the Royal New Zealand Air Force, soon joined and relieved by the Coast Guard out of Barbers Point, using SAROPS (Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System). SAROPS determines the most probable search area by computing information on weather, wind speed and direction, and search object size. The Coast Guard also measured currents using two self-locating data marker buoys. They covered a 2,890 mile search area before suspending the search later on Monday, after taking time, survival probability, and weather data into account.

The Coast Guard expressed their thoughts and prayers to family and friends of the seaman.

Since October until this weekend, crews had removed over 100 tons of fuel and nearly 400 20- and 40-foot cargo containers, full mainly of milk powder, paper, lumber, and plastics. Further work became too dangerous and was halted when the storm arose. When RENA split in half during the weekend storm, another 150 or so of the remaining cargo containers slipped into the ocean.

With this new development, lumber, debris, and what looks like an oil sheen can now be seen all around the reef. Island Air pilot, David Yeo, describes the scene near the sinking as "carnage." Containers and products that continue to wash onto shore are considered potentially hazardous, so locals have been warned not to take or consume any of it. Clean-up and wildlife response crews are ready for when the spilled oil and more debris reaches shorelines.

The Coast Guard sent out an urgent marine information broadcast. Nearby Good Samaritan F/V RHONDA & DENISE picked up the crew from the life raft, soon transferring the VINZENCO crew to a Coast Guard rescue boat. No one was reported injured.

The Coast Guard noted the captain's calm demeanor during the emergency. This is another great example of safety preparedness and teamwork.

This rescue was such a success because the crew was prepared with appropriate safety gear. The EPIRB automatically sends an alert when it's immersed in water or manually activated, and the crew had a life raft ready with flares to further aid timely detection and rescue by the Coast Guard.

No serious injuries were reported, but a couple who were overnighting onboard their boat near the end of the same dock inhaled smoke and were unable to get safely off the dock until Snohomish County firefighters brought them ashore via rescue boat. Both people were treated for minor smoke inhalation and were released from Swedish Edmonds Hospital a few hours later.

The Port of Edmonds quickly placed floating booms to contain fuel, debris, and firefighting chemicals. Most of the fuel is thought to have burned, but an estimated twenty gallons of diesel leaked into the water. The Department of Ecology is assessing the environmental impact and is working to control damage from the fuel and debris.

Firefighters have determined that the fire originated on the boat which sank. That boat was raised Saturday evening, and the investigation continues to date.