The Alaska crab boat Scandies Rose sank Tuesday night in the Gulf of Alaska. Search and rescue efforts to find five missing crewmen has been suspended by the Coast Guard.
The Scandies Rose sent a May Day message around 10:00 P.M. on Tuesday indicating they were in need of emergency help. Coast Guard helicopter crews were dispatched to help the seven-man crew of the Scandies Rose. The helicopters located two Life rafts from the vessel approximately 170 miles southwest of Kodiak. Weather conditions at the scene were described as 40 mile per hour winds with seas of 15-20 feet Two crewmen in survival suits were hoisted from one life raft, the second life raft was empty. The surviving crewmen were taken to Kodiak Hospital for medical assessment.
The 130-foot-long Scandies Rose is a well-known Alaska Crab boat home ported in Dutch Harbor. Reports indicate the Scandies Rose is managed by Mattsen Management LLC officed in Seattle and owned by Scandies Rose Venture LLC with an official address of Bremerton Washington.
Few details about the loss of the Scandies Rose are currently available and the identities of the lost crewmen have not yet been released to the public.
Crab fishing in Alaska remains one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. The crewmen who work aboard these vessels face some of the worst working conditions of all commercial fishermen. Maritime laws governing Alaska fishing boat sinkings such as this are extremely complex. There are far too few safety regulations which govern the commercial crab vessels the size of the Scandies Rose.
Johnson Beard & Jacobsen PC are experienced maritime injury lawyers located in Anchorage. The lawyers in the firm have been involved in many Alaska crab boat sinking investigations. As more information becomes available about this tragedy this blog will be updated.