Five fishermen aboard a commercial fishing boat in Revillagigedo Channel southeast of Ketchikan were rescued on July 14, thanks to the combined efforts of the Coast Guard, Alaska State Troopers and the crew of a Good Samaritan vessel.
According to Coast Guard Sector Juneau, all five people on board the 49-foot F/V Daffnie were able to abandon ship into a skiff. They provided coordinates for the skiff, and noted they had one life jacket, one survival suit, one handheld radio, and were holding on to their seine net, the Coast Guard said.
Coast Guard watchstanders received a distress call over VHF channel 16 from an operator of the Daffnie at midmorning on July 14, stating the vessel had capsized and sank, but all on board were safe in the skiff.
A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station
Ketchikan and an Alaska State Trooper Boat crew responded, as did good
Samaritans aboard the F/V Lovie Joann.
The master of the Daffnie stayed on scene aboard the skiff to retrieve the net
with assistance of the Lovie Joann crew, while the Coast Guard transferred the
other four people to their boat, recovered life raft and EPIRB, and returned
them all to Ketchikan. The Coast Guard did not have any information about fish
on board the sunken vessel.
The Daffnie sunk in approximately 500 feet of water with a maximum potential of 400 gallons of diesel fuel on board. The Coast Guard reported a sheen visible while on scene, pollution and potential salvage response pending further investigation by the Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Ketchikan.
