NEAH BAY — Coast Guard crews rescued five fishermen who had to abandon ship when it flooded west of Cape Alava.
A 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew from Coast Guard Station Quillayute River took the fishermen aboard Wednesday and transported them to Coast Guard Station Neah Bay with no reported medical concerns.
The 87-foot fishing vessel Sunnfjord, which regularly docked in Port Angeles, sank about six miles offshore in an estimated 300 feet of water. It had about 800 gallons of diesel onboard, the Coast Guard said.
No sheen or pollution was seen during a flyover Thursday, said Petty Officer Amanda Norcross. No cleanup is planned, she said.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound received a report at 1:14 p.m. Wednesday that the Sunnfjord was flooding. With all their dewatering pumps running, the crew was unable to keep up with the rising water.
Crews onboard the Coast Guard cutters Cuttyhunk and Swordfish — both homeported in Port Angeles — and a MH-65 dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles, the MLB from Station Quillayute River and an MLB from Station Neah Bay responded, as well as good Samaritans aboard the vessels Island Voyager and Equinox, and the crew of the vessel Eclipse.
While responders were en route, the fishermen reported they had donned survival suits and life jackets and that the captain put his cellphone in a plastic bag to help keep it dry because they were experiencing issues with their handheld radio and the water had risen in the engine room to above the floorboards, the Coast Guard said.
The helicopter crew had been conducted training when it was diverted for the response. The initial plan was for them to pick up a dewatering pump from the air station, but as the nature of the distress worsened, the plan changed and they were told to head straight to the Sunnfjord after refueling at Neah Bay, the Coast Guard said.
Once the crew of the Cuttyhunk was on scene, the captain told sector watchstanders that he wanted to dewater and not abandon ship. The watchstanders requested he use his radio to coordinate the transfer of a dewatering pump from the Cuttyhunk crew.
However, the Sunnfjord lost its main engine as the water continued to rise.
Both good Samaritan crews were asked at that point to stand down while the crew of the Equinox, another vessel owned by the same company as the Sunnfjord, stayed on scene to help if needed.
Unable to start either of two pumps passed from the Cuttyhunk crew or keep up with the rising water, the fishermen prepared to abandon ship.
The crew of the Cuttyhunk readied its rescue swimmer, but the MLB from Station Quillayute River arrived and was able to pick up the fishermen instead.
