Five Missing After Fishing Vessel Capsizes in Treacherous Alaskan Waters

The U.S. Coast Guard, alongside Good Samaritans, is conducting an urgent search operation for five people after their fishing vessel Wind Walker capsized near Couverden Point, Alaska, in an area called the Icy Strait.

The incident began when Coast Guard watchstanders received a distress call on Sunday at 12:10 a.m. on VHF channel 16, moments before the approximately 50-foot vessel began overturning. Following the initial mayday call, communications ceased, but an emergency position-indicating radio beacon was detected south of Point Couverden in the Icy Strait.

“The number of people aboard has not been officially confirmed,” said Coast Guard officials, noting that preliminary reports from sources familiar with the vessel’s crew suggest five individuals were on board.

Search efforts are being hampered by severe weather conditions, including heavy snow, winds reaching 45-60 mph, and 6-foot seas. Search teams have located seven cold-water immersion suits and two strobe lights in the search area.

A coordinated response effort includes assets from Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska, Air Station Sitka, Station Juneau, and the Coast Guard Cutter Healy. The ferry vessel AMHS Hubbard was first to arrive on scene after responding to the urgent marine broadcast.

This incident follows other tragic events in Alaska’s commercial fishing industry, including the 2019 New Year’s Eve sinking of the F/V Scandies Rose, where five crew members were lost, and the 2017 sinking of F/V Destination, which claimed six lives. Ice accumulation played a role in both instances, according to the NTSB.

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