NEAH BAY — The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two people from a life raft off the coast of the Makah Reservation after a fire broke out on their crabbing vessel.
The Coast Guard believes that TARKA II, a 59-foot commercial boat, then sank somewhere between 3 and 5 miles off Tatoosh Island this week, according to state Department of Ecology southwest region spills manager Allison Meyers.
The Coast Guard and Makah Fire Department saw the vessel on Wednesday afternoon, Meyers said.
At that point, the fire had gone down on its own, although the vessel was still smoking.
By Wednesday evening, parties were unable to locate the vessel.
“It may have sank at that point, or sometime overnight,” Meyers said.
The vessel is believed to be underneath more than 700 feet of water, Meyers said, so the chance of retrieving it is very unlikely.
The situation began on Tuesday when the two individuals on board reported an emergency to the Coast Guard Sector Command before abandoning the boat and boarding a life raft.
At that point, the boat was about 3 nautical miles from Cape Flattery and 5 miles off Tatoosh Island.
The Coast Guard Station at Neah Bay used a motor lifeboat to bring the two people from the life raft to shore.
According to a post from the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest X account on Wednesday, no sheening was observed in the vicinity of the vessel.
The vessel reportedly had a maximum potential of 9,800 gallons of diesel, although only about 1,000 gallons were reported to be onboard.
Meyers said some of that fuel may have been consumed by the fire, although Ecology will be poised to respond if vessels or the Coast Guard spot fuel or oil in the area.
“We’re absolutely concerned with the vessel sinking,” Meyers said. “Without seeing any oil in the water, there’s not much we can do at this point.”
The Coast Guard and Ecology are unsure how the fire began.
The incident will be addressed through a full investigation that involves the National Transportation and Safety Board, Meyers said. Results of the investigation should be released in about a year, she added.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
