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Coast Guard comes to the aid of the Ocean Challenger as the crab fleet listens to the news.

Video of USCG ( United States Coast Guard ) rescue of the crew of the Ocean Challenger which sank during the filming of the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch.

In a feature appropriately titled “Worst Case Scenario” Popular Mechanics brings us “The Coast Guard’s Most Extreme Rescue - Alaska Ranger“. They write:

“Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is the Alaska Ranger. 5, 3, 5, 3 North, 1, 6, 9, 5, 8 West… We are flooding, taking on water in our rudder room.”

It was 2:52 am on March 23, Easter morning, when Coast Guard Station Kodiak picked up the distress call from a point almost 800 miles west, in Alaska’s frigid Bering Sea.

“Roger. Good copy on position… Request to know number onboard, over.”

After a static-filled pause, the answer came through loud and clear: “Number of persons: 47.”

Capt. Peter Jacobsen was in the crowded wheelhouse of the 189-ft. fishing vessel. When the trawler’s emergency alarm had first sounded about an hour before, crew members descended below decks to see water rising fast in the ship’s stern compartments. They had pulled out a pump, but the effort soon looked futile. Now Jacobsen, 65, a veteran captain who had been fishing in the Bering Sea for 23 years, was making calls to his ship’s sister vessels, repeating the coordinates of the Ranger’s position 120 miles west of the Aleutian Island port of Dutch Harbor.

Be sure to visit our previous Alaska Ranger Coverage including commentary by Kennebec Captain titled “Sinking of the Alaska Ranger - Fishing Master vs Captain“. Then read Popular Mechanics full article which can be found HERE.

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INTERESTING LINKS:

• Interview With A Helicopter Rescue Team
• Top 10 Coast Guard Rescue Videos
• Full Alaska Ranger Coverage

MayDay Call:

 

 Alaska Ranger Mayday - Fishing Boat Sinking Offshore Alaska: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The fishing vessel Alaska Ranger, which sank last month west of Dutch Harbor had aboard both a captain and a fishing master. Tragically neither survived the sinking. Some of the testimony from crew members has been regarding the relationship between the two. From the Seattle PI coverage of the hearings in Seattle on the sinking of the Alaska Ranger:

Crewman David Hull also told the panel that he believes that the “fish masters” — crew members representing the fish buyer, in many cases Japanese-held companies, responsible for maximizing the catch — often countermanded ship captains working for the Ranger’s owner, Seattle-based Fishing Company of Alaska.

At the company, Hull said, vessel captains can be fired if they don’t follow directions given by the fish masters.

“I don’t want anyone to underestimate the power the Japanese (fish masters) have at FCA,” Hull said. “Honestly, the fish master basically runs the ship. That’s how it stands,” he added.

The Seattle times reported in an earlier article, that crewmembers interviewed testified that:

the relationship between Konno and a previous skipper of the Alaska Ranger was fraught with tension over vessel speeds through ice.

The article reports that the fishing master and the captain at one time had a “yelling match” regarding vessel speed in the ice.

Fishing vessels in Alaska, a demanding, sometime dangerous environment, are faced with balancing results, catching fish and delivering them to port, vs risk, pushing crew and vessel to the limit. How often does this result in yelling matches at sea, fishing master vs captain?

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This post was written by Kennebec Captain who is Master of a large Ro-Ro and graduate of Alaska Maritime Academy where he attended classes at all four campuses: Bering Sea, Aleutian Island, South East and the Gulf. He can also be found at his blog Kennebec Captain.

This past weekend the Alaska Ranger, a fishing vessel in the Bering Sea, made a MAYDAY call (audio, transcript) when the vessel began taking on water near it's rudder. A USCG press release states:

The Coast Guard and fishing vessel Alaska Warrior have recovered 46 of 47 crewmembers from the fishing vessel Alaska Ranger 120 miles west of Dutch Harbor. Four crewmembers are reported deceased and one missing.

"Saving 42 people in Bering Sea in the winter is an incredible accomplishment," said Commander Todd Trimpert, Chief Incident Management 17th Coast Guard District and experienced Alaska rescue pilot, "we were very fortunate to have the Alaska Warrior in the area."

Crews from an H-60 Jayhawk helicopter from St. Paul, H-65 Dolphin helicopter deployed aboard CGC Munro, C-130 Hercules airplane from Air Station Kodiak and CGC Munro from Kodiak rescued 20 crewmembers in 10-foot seas and 25-knot winds seas while the fishing vessel Alaska Warrior rescued 22.

"When we got on scene there was a spread, at least a mile long, of 13 survivors in gumby suits with strobe lights," said Aviation Survival Technician 2nd Class O'Brien Hollow, Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, "I went down without disconnecting from the helicopter and picked them up one at a time."

The Alaska Ranger has been confirmed sunk.

A Timeline of the rescue can be found HERE.

Here is video of the rescue:

Reuters has an update on Australia’s recent attempts to track Japan’s whaling fleet:

CANBERRA, Australia (Reuters) — An Australian fisheries ship has begun pursuing Japan’s whaling fleet near Antarctica to gather evidence for an international court challenge to halt the yearly slaughter, officials said Wednesday.The icebreaker Oceanic Viking, used for customs and fisheries policing, left a base near Perth on Tuesday to track the fleet in the Southern Ocean for up to 20 days, a Home Affairs Ministry spokeswoman said.

The vessel has stowed arms below deck to avoid a confrontation, but Australian customs officials on board plan to gather photographic and video evidence of the Japanese kill.

In mid December The Sydney Morning Herald gave further details on the “customs” ship:

AUSTRALIA plans to spy on the Japanese whaling fleet using an armed P&O cruise ship, with a lesser role for the Australian Defence Force.High-level talks have focused on leasing the commercial vessel, Oceanic Viking, which has a re-enforced hull to cut through ice, a crew trained for polar conditions and “super-telephoto” lenses to record the whale slaughter.

Sources said the ship would also carry video equipment, and the images would be used in Australian international court action planned against the Japanese whale hunt, the largest for 20 years. The images would complement a series of aerial surveys on whale populations, to begin soon.

Under plans being developed, the Oceanic Viking would have two .50-calibre machine-guns manned by a customs boarding party to supply the “muscle”, while working with a civilian P&O crew. Continue Reading…

Since that article was published the Japanese fleet abandoned plans hunt 50 endangered humpback whales, refocusing efforts on a goal of 900 minke whales and 50 fin whales. In response to the changes Australia has decided the guns, while remaining aboard, will be kept under lock and key.

Along with the customs ship Greenpeace has given orders to the M/V Esperanza (photos) to join the effort. The following image is charts planned route of each vessel;

The deputy whaling commissioner Joji Morishita told BBC News that Japan’s position was hugely misunderstood;

What drives Japan is a belief in the principle of sustainable use of resources, whatever they might be, he said.

“Many countries support sustainable use of resources, but somehow they exempt whales from this principle, because they think whales are a special animal.

“But there are many special animals - the cow in India, for example - and if each nation tries to impose its own special animal on other countries, you can see the problem.” Continue reading…

If this story interests you can watch the action live on the M/V Esperanza’s Bridge Cam. Also be sure to check out the following resources:

• BBC’s Guide To The Ships
• Australian Custom Service’s Homepage
• Diary Of The Whale-Chasers
• The Greenpeace Crew Blog
• Lifesize View Of A Whale
• BBC’s Latest Whaling News (Video and updates on right)
• Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society