U.S. Coast Guard suspends search for 5 missing fishermen after crab vessel sinks off Alaska

U.S. Coast Guard suspends search for 5 missing fishermen after crab vessel sinks off Alaska
Gail Kapusnick/marinetraffic.com
The U.S. Coast Guard says the Scandies Rose sank in the Gulf of Alaska.

The United States Coast Guard has suspended the search for five fishermen after a crab fishing vessel sank near Sutwik Island in Alaska.

The fishing vessel capsized and sank approximately eight kilometres southeast of Sutwik Island Tuesday night.

Two people who were on the vessel were rescued from a life raft by a Jayhawk helicopter crew. They were taken to a hospital in Kodiak, Alaska, and are reportedly in stable condition.

Sutwik Island is seen on Google Maps.

The U.S. Coast Guard says it is looking for five people after a fishing vessel sank near Sutwik Island in Alaska. (Google Maps)

On Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard named the five missing fishermen:

  • Gary Cobban, Jr. (Master)
  • David Lee Cobban
  • Arthur Ganacias
  • Brock Rainey
  • Seth Rousseau-Gano

The two survivors are:

  • Dean Gribble, Jr.
  • John Lawler

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the F/V Scandies Rose, a 40-metre crab fishing vessel sank at approximately 10 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2019, with seven crew members on board. The vessel’s last known position was 274 kilometres southwest of the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Communications Detachment Kodiak received the mayday call from Scandies Rose. Jayhawk helicopter and Hercules airplane crews then went to the area from Air Station Kodiak.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the search went on for over 20 hours and spanned 3,626 square kilometres. Four Jayhawk helicopter crews and two Hercules airplane crews looked for the fishermen.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mellon was diverted from the Bering Sea to take part in the search.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it suspends an active search, pending new information or developments, after exhausting all leads and careful consideration of survival probability,

“The decision to suspend an active search and rescue case is never easy, and it’s only made after careful consideration of a myriad of factors,” Rear Adm. Matthew Bell, 17th District Commander said in a statement. “Our deepest condolences to the friends and families impacted by this tragedy.”

Scandies Rose is managed by Mattsen Management LLC of Seattle. The steel crab vessel was built in 1978 and its homeport is Dutch Harbor,  Amaknak Island in Unalaska, Alaska.  The harbour is featured in the Discovery Channel reality television series Deadliest Catch. 

According to Marine Traffic, the vessel’s reported destination on Dec. 30 was Seattle. 

A video of the boat can be seen in a 2010 YouTube video.

More to come. With files from King 5. 

Alexa HuffmanAlexa Huffman

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