Fishing boat sinks off Alaska, 4 dead

[fishlipper]

Here's a follow-up on that boat. Seems they were due for a safety inspection, but hadn't scheduled by the latest trip:



ANCHORAGE -- The fishing vessel that sank quickly off the Alaska coast was enrolled in a safety program but had not fully completed the requirements, a Coast Guard official said Thursday.
The Alaska Ranger was among about 70 vessels enrolled in the Alternative Compliance Safety Agreement Program, set up by the Coast Guard in 2006 for fishing vessels in the "head and gut" fleet that were doing more than minimal processing of fish, Ken Lawrenson, the Coast Guard's 17th District fishing vessel safety coordinator, said Thursday.
"It was participating. It had not fully completed the program requirements," Lawrenson said.
Vessels have until January 2009 to complete the program.
Since the program began, owners have reported spending $40 million on their vessels to bring them into program compliance. While the program is voluntary, compliance is required if the vessels want to continue producing value-added products. Those products include the processing of fish heads, cheeks, chins, stomachs, pectoral girdles, roe and milt, Lawrenson said.
The alternative safety program was needed because the classification societies that normally certified processing vessels were not interested in taking on the older vessels. Many of them, the Alaska Ranger included, were converted to fishing from other uses. The Alaska Ranger, owned by the Seattle-based Fishing Company of Alaska, used to be an oil services vessel.
In a statement, the company said, "We are proud of our vessels, their crews and our maintenance and safety record. We have worked with the Coast Guard on a voluntary safety program under which the Coast Guard inspected the Alaska Ranger when she was last in dry dock."
The statement says that three of the five who died when the boat sank on Sunday were senior officers aboard the vessel.
"They were experienced, well-respected officers who would not have put their lives and the lives of their crew at risk by commanding an unsafe vessel," the statement says.
Lawrenson said many of the vessels underwent considerable modifications in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Coast Guard came up with the alternative program where compliance is determined by third parties so that the vessels doing some processing could come into compliance with regulations.
"We are trying to take all of these vessels and bring them to a state where they are much, much improved as to their structural condition, their watertight integrity, stability and the ability of their crews to fight problems on board and survive casualties," Lawrenson said.
Stability can be a problem for ships that have been modified, such as the Alaska Ranger, because they can become top heavy with bigger nets, reels and power winches, said Jerry Dzugan, director of the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association in Sitka.
It's not uncommon when an oil services vessel is converted to fishing that fish processing machines and other equipment are installed in what were once watertight spaces.
"Those watertight spaces get compromised," Dzugan said.
The safety program looks at the ship's stability. In addition, the ship's machinery, electrical system, subdivisions within the vessel, openings within the hull and watertight hatches are checked, Lawrenson said.
He said the vessels must routinely be inspected in drydock. Hulls are tested for corrosion and weak spots. The inspections include pulling the rudder shafts for examination.
The Alaska Ranger reportedly began taking on water after it lost control of its rudder.
Crewmember Jeremy Freitag told ABC News that the boat was in such disrepair the crew called it "the Ranger Danger." He said not only were repairs not done but the ship had numerous leaks, including in the galley, bathrooms and laundry room. He said the pumps to empty water from the ship did not work.
The boat "rode rough," said Freitag. "If you went from that boat to another one, you could tell the difference ... it bounced around a lot."
The company disputes the allegations, describing them as "not based in fact."

[nitestrikes]

I remember one of the deadliest catch shows where the dude almost got washed off the deck. Not a great job if you wanna live to be older.