A search is underway for five crew members of crabbing boat F/V Scandies Rose, which sank Tuesday night south of Sutwik Island, west of Kodiak.
Two crew members were air-rescued from a life raft near the vessel’s last known location, about 170 miles southwest of Air Station Kodiak. Another life raft in the area was found empty, said U.S. Coast Guard District 17 spokeswoman Melissa McKenzie. The crew placed a mayday call around 10 p.m. Tuesday, the Coast Guard said. McKenzie said she didn’t know what time the two crew members were found, or what their condition is.
McKenzie said investigators don’t know what might have caused the ship to sink. Efforts right now are focused on finding the remaining five fishermen, then an investigation will launch into causation. She said families of most of the crew have been notified.
McKenzie said the weather last night included winds in excess of 40 mph, 15- to 20-foot waves and one mile visibility. She didn’t know what the crew were fishing for.
The U.S. Coast Guard is using a Jayhawk helicopter and Hercules airplane to search a 300-square-mile area for the remaining five.
The Scandies Rose is a 130-foot steel crabbing vessel built in 1978.
Rescuers battled high swells, frigid temperatures and almost no visibility to save two crew members who survived the capsizing of their crabbing vessel in the Gulf of Alaska on Tuesday night, U.S. Coast Guard rescuers recounted.
A mayday call reporting that the F/V Scandies Rose was taking on water came in at about 10:15 p.m. Tuesday. The boat was south of Sutwik Island, west of Kodiak where it had departed.
Rescuers briefing media from Kodiak Wednesday night said they battled head winds up to nearly 60 mph as they flew west over the ocean, slowing the mission. When they arrived at about 2 a.m., visibility was almost nonexistent. A faint light was picked up through night vision goggles, and a medic was lowered down to find an empty life raft.
Then, the rescue crew saw another light about a half-mile in the distance. It was fixed to a second raft, this one carrying two men. The men were airlifted into the helicopter, where the medic discovered they were uninjured but “extremely hypodermic.” they were very f_uckin cold and soaking wet.
Lt. Chris Clark said had the men not been in the raft, they likely would not have been found.
Temperatures were about 10 degrees, and in the single digits with windchill. The men, 38 and 34 years old, had been in the raft for four hours but were found in good spirits
“Pretty much every variable weighed against both parties” said Lt. Kevin Knaup, who co-piloted a HC-130 Hercules airplane used in the rescue. “Everything was working against being able to find these two people.”
Coast Guard officials have not released the names of the rescued men, or the missing crew members.
Rescuers said there was no sign of the sunken ship or the remaining five crew members. Running out of fuel, the rescue helicopter returned to Kodiak while a plane continued to search.
The men were rescued about 10 miles from the last known location of the Scandies Rose, which was about 170 miles southwest of Air Station Kodiak. Rescuers said they will continue the search for the remaining members as long as they are instructed to by the U.S. Coast Guard District 17 command center.
The rescued fishermen were wearing survival suits to help them endure the elements, stay afloat and be located. They told rescuers they were the only two who made it into a raft, and they didn’t know if their fellow crew members got into survival suits.
Knaup said the elements made the rescue extremely challenging, and said such a mission is “very unique in Alaska.” When a distress call comes in from a vessel, it tends to be a very real emergency, he said.
Much information about the sunken ship has not been released. Only the rescuers took part in Wednesday’s media availability, and said they didn’t know if the crew members were interviewed after the rescue. They did not speak to any evidence pointing to what caused the large steel ship to sink.
Earlier in the day, Coast Guard spokeswoman Melissa McKenzie said efforts are focused on finding the remaining five fishermen, then an investigation will launch. Crews are searching a 300-square-mile area in hopes of finding the remaining crew.
The rescuers said they didn’t know where the vessel was headed, or if it was loaded with gear. Dan Mattsen, part owner of the boat, told the Seattle Times that the boat had a load of crab pots and was headed from Kodiak to the Bering Sea.
News about the Scandies Rose spread rapidly through the tight-knit commercial fishing community Wednesday. Facebook pages for other crabbing vessels posted in support of their sunken sister boat.
Fisherman Jon Ramlo found out when he logged into Facebook around 9 a.m. from Killeen, Texas, where he lives when he’s not out at sea. Ramlo got into the industry in 2016, working to unload ships’ catch onto a processing dock when they come to harbor.
“We’re all trying to play detective here. I’ve been getting a lot of messages,” said Ramlo. "Nobody really knows what the hell happened.”
“That was the first boat I ever stepped foot on,” Ramlo said of the Scandies Rose.
Ramlo said he knows the captain and the two rescued men. He said his heart sank when heard the news. His phone buzzed all day, as he connected with others in the community hoping for some good news.
Last edited by JeffA; 01/02/20. Reason: correct terminology/ strike “extremely hypodermic.”
Then, the rescue crew saw another light about a half-mile in the distance. It was fixed to a second raft, this one carrying two men. The men were airlifted into the helicopter, where the medic discovered they were uninjured but “extremely hypodermic.”
I feel bad for laughing at such a sad story... but?
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
CG search for the 5 missing crew has been suspended. May they Rest In Peace.
Seems really quick to suspend, but conditions are bad and an empty raft gave them little chance. Some are probably stuck in their bunks.
Information from the two survivors may have had something to do with that......
And speaking of the two men the Coast Guard rescued...
These Coasties are one hell'ova breed. 2 AM in the black of night they manage to locate and pluck these two guys outta the water! Sure they knew they were 170 miles southwest of Air Station Kodiak and they probably had the last known coordinates of the vessel, but damn!
From the few facts known, they found them 10 miles from where the boat last reported being. Talk about a needle in a hay stack x100....
10 degrees, 60 mph winds and some medic snaps on and drops down to start checking the life rafts they found. That guy has balls! Helicopter struggling to maintain location and elevation and this guys gonna get out in black dark schitty conditions and drop down on a wire.
Then, the rescue crew saw another light about a half-mile in the distance. It was fixed to a second raft, this one carrying two men. The men were airlifted into the helicopter, where the medic discovered they were uninjured but “extremely hypodermic.”
I feel bad for laughing at such a sad story... but?
I frequently check the nullschool site to see what winds are doing to our weather and the North Pacific has been wild for weeks.......incredible storms common to that area.
Then, the rescue crew saw another light about a half-mile in the distance. It was fixed to a second raft, this one carrying two men. The men were airlifted into the helicopter, where the medic discovered they were uninjured but “extremely hypodermic.”
I feel bad for laughing at such a sad story... but?
You're just needling them now.....
I get the point. Injecting a little humor?
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
Wow what balls to go out in those conditions, in the first place, then the guy snaps on and rides the wire in 60 mph winds while the chopper duck and dives to try to keep on target. The guy on the rope is being buffeted about, the chopper is being tossed about and the raft is being thrown about on the waves. Holy crap what a rescue.
Then, the rescue crew saw another light about a half-mile in the distance. It was fixed to a second raft, this one carrying two men. The men were airlifted into the helicopter, where the medic discovered they were uninjured but “extremely hypodermic.”
I feel bad for laughing at such a sad story... but?
You're just needling them now.....
I get the point. Injecting a little humor?
Well played... x2
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
I frequently check the nullschool site to see what winds are doing to our weather and the North Pacific has been wild for weeks.......incredible storms common to that area.
How much snow have you got in DJ?
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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