Captain ignores forecast, fishing vessel goes down in gale force winds
December 5, 2019
The sinking of a fishing vessel off Portland, Maine last year sounds very much like a scene from the Hollywood movie, “A Perfect Storm," starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg. Fortunately, the real-life crew survived, unlike their cinematic counterparts – although their rescue was not without some tense moments. In both cases, however, a major factor in the calamity which endangered crew members was the captain’s decision not to return directly to port despite extreme weather conditions.
An unusually large wave thwarted a fishing crew’s attempts to ride out heavy weather in the Bering Sea last year, according to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into the incident. No fatalities or injuries were reported when the commercial fishing vessel Progress was severely damaged north of Unimak Island, Alaska on January 26.
A too-large catch was behind the sinking of a commercial fishing vessel last year off the coast of Virginia, according to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report. There were no injuries or fatalities among the crew, but the five people on board the Langley Douglas had to be rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter.
Commercial fishing vessels in the cold, remote waters of Alaska are required to carry equipment to survive vessel sinkings. NIOSH examined the importance of this lifesaving equipment and the need for marine safety training in a recent study published in the journal Safety Science.
A coalition of environmental, consumer, and commercial and recreational fishing organizations today sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approving the first-ever genetically engineered (GE) food animal, an Atlantic salmon engineered to grow quickly.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its "Safer Seas 2014: Lessons Learned From Marine Accident Investigations" report. Safer Seas is a compilation of accident investigations that were published in 2014, organized by vessel type with links to the more detailed accident reports.
An expert panel has awarded NIOSH’s research program to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths in the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Sector the highest rating – a five on a scale of 1-5 – based on its relevance.
Research conducted by the federally-funded National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has helped to reduce fatalities among commercial fisherman by 42 percent.
The fish are better protected than the fishermen, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which today issued new safety recommendations to the U. S. Coast Guard regarding tougher standards for commercial fishing vessels, crew training and increased use of flotation devices.
