LaPUSH — Coast Guard crews rescued three fishermen from their boat as it was sinking two miles west of James Island this morning (Friday, Sept. 27) and is investigating the cause.
The three unidentified fishermen on the 50-foot Fjord Mist were taken safely to the Coast Guard station at Quillayute River after a call for help made at 8:33 a.m., said spokesman Petty Officer 1st Class David Mosley.
“There were no medical concerns,” he said.
The Fjord Mist is a seiner fishing vessel homeported in LaPush. It is not a tribal boat.
The crew was reportedly fishing for hagfish, also known as slime eels, Mosley said.
He did not know their names.
The boat sank in 103 feet of water at 11:23 a.m. Investigation into the cause could take days or weeks, Mosley said.
The fishing vessel was reportedly carrying 150 gallons of fuel when it sank, he said.
A light fuel sheen has been reported from the area. A light sheen cannot be cleaned up and no cleanup is underway, according to Mosley.
Two boat crews from Station Quillayute River and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from the Coast Guard station in Port Angeles were directed to the sinking vessel.
A dewatering pump was provided to the fishing vessel crew, but the pump was unable to keep up with the flooding.
“Despite the delivery of a dewatering pump, our on scene crews determined that for their safety, the fishermen needed to be evacuated from the sinking vessel,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Stephen Fleming, an operations specialist at Sector Puget Sound.
“The fishermen were safely taken to the small boat station where Coast Guard investigators will work with them to understand the circumstances leading up to the rescue.”
