Coast Guard and State of Alaska personnel continue to monitor response efforts to remove pollution threats and fish cargo from the 65-foot fishing tender Fate Hunter, grounded near Shoup Bay, four miles west of Valdez, Alaska, Aug. 16, 2013. As of Aug. 15, 2013, approximately 320 gallons of diesel, 40 gallons of hydraulic oil, and 342 gallons of fuel and water mixture have been recovered from the vessel by Alaska Chadux and Global Diving & Salvage. U.S. Coast Guard photo by MSU Valdez.
2013 will prove to have been a rough year for the Alaska fishing vessels and their crews. Several fishermen have died and a high number of vessels grounded across the entire state. One accident involving the fishing tender Lone Star shut down the commercial Sockeye salmon fishery in the Igushik River due to concerns over oil pollution.
Some Known 2013 Alaska Fishing Vessel Incidents:
- January 10, 2013 – 50-foot fishing vessel Neptune grounded near Raspberry Island
- March 15, 2013 – 169-foot fish processor Pacific Producer grounded on Kodiak Island with 10,000 gallons of fuel aboard.
- March 16, 2013 – A crew was treated for hypothermia after a fall overboard from the fishing vessel Stella in Shelikof Strait.
- May 3, 2013 – A skipper died in a fall overboard on the fishing vessel Taurus in King Cove.
- June 12, 2013 – Fishing vessel Blue Pacific caught fire at the dock in Unalaska.
- June 19, 2013 – A crewman dies from a fall overboard on the fishing vessel Swift near Porpose Island.
- June 26, 2013 – 76-foot fishing vessel Ocean Viking sank near Kodiak.
- June 27, 2013 – Fish processor/tender Eigil B suffers an ammonia leak in Sitka, causing a death.
- June 30, 2013 – 78-foot fish tender Lone Star grounded in the Igushik River, Nughagak Bay with 13,750 gallons of fuel aboard.
- July 4, 2013 – A crewman died in an anchor winch accident on the fishing vessel Anna Lane near Homer.
- July 4, 2013 – A crewman died after falling on an engine shaft of the fishing vessel Aleut Sisters in Chignik Lagoon.
- July 4, 2013 – A crewman died in a fire aboard the 32-foot fishing vessel Pauline II in Egegik.
- July 6, 2013 – 104-foot fish tender Naknek Spirit went aground in the Passage Canal east of Whittier with 2,000 gallons fuel aboard.
- July 7, 2013 – The fishing vessel Kelly Anne grounded in Ketchikan.
- July 26, 2013 – 81-foot fish tender Savannah Ray grounded in Bainbridge Passage in Prince William Sound. It had 8,000 gallons of fuel and 150,000 pounds of fish aboard.
- August 5, 2013 – A crewman is injured by a winch on the 54-foot fishing vessel Jerilyn 92 miles southeast of Sitka. August 11, 2013 – 65-foot Fate Hunter grounded seven miles west of Valdez, near Shoup Bay, with 1,500 gallons of fuel and 150,000 pounds of fish aboard.
- August 13, 2013 – A crewman is injured by deck equipment on the 54-foot fishing vessel Beverly Ann 50 miles southeast of Seward.
- August 14, 2013 – 75-foot fish tender Pacific Queen grounded 40 miles south of Petersburg.
- August 14, 2013 – 56-foot fishing vessel Coral Sea grounded at Gourd Island, southwest of Ketchikan.
