Community Corner

Crew Safe After Edmonds-Based Fishing Boat Sinks

The Mary Kay went down Thursday night, the Coast Guard says.

The crew of a fishing boat reportedly based out of Edmonds is safe after the vessel sank off the southeastern coast of Alaska.

The Mary Kay sank Thursday night in about 600 feet of water, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement Friday.

"We are investigating the cause of the sinking and any potential pollution but it is unlikely the vessel will be recovered due to the depth of water it sank in," said Lt. Ryan Erickson, a search and rescue controller at Coast Guard Sector Juneau. "We were very fortunate to have so many good Samaritans respond to this sinking which limited the amount of time the crew was exposed to the elements."

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The Coast Guard did not identify the boat’s home port, but KOMO News reported that the Mary Kay was based out of Edmonds, with at least one crew member from the Puget Sound area.

Here’s more from the Coast Guard statement:

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The Coast Guard was notified at about 10:46 p.m. Thursday that the vessel was taking on water off Cape Chacon near South Prince of Wales Island. Coast Guard Sector Juneau issued an urgent marine information broadcast to which several vessels and aircraft responded.

An 18-foot Alaska Wildlife Trooper skiff that self-launched from Cordova Bay and a tender from the good Samaritan fishing vessel Irish Rose were first to arrive on scene and located the four crewmen of the Mary Kay in immersion suits and a life raft. The crew of the Alaska Wildlife Trooper skiff took the four survivors aboard from the life raft and transferred them to the nearby good Samaritan fishing vessel North Wind.

The survivors reported no medical issues or injuries and were taken to Ketchikan aboard the North Wind. They arrived there early Friday morning.

 


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