ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Nine crew members were lifted by helicopter from a commercial crabbing vessel amid gale-force winds, strong downdrafts from a nearby cliff and rough seas after the fishing vessel landed on an Alaskan island in the Bering Sea.
The Coast Guard said the crew of the Arctic Sea, a 134-foot (41-meter) boat owned by the Coastal Villages Region Foundation that fishes for tanner crab, were not injured.
The ship landed Monday off the north shore of St. George Island, the southernmost of the small group of Pribilof Islands, home to fewer than 100 people, mostly Aleuts. The island group is located about 750 miles (1,207 kilometers) west of Anchorage.
“I'm in the fog, I'm on the beach, we've lost control,” someone from Arctic Sea tells the Coast Guard during a distress call, according to audio provided by the Coast Guard. “We're getting water.”
The boat came to rest near a rock rising hundreds of feet above the water, said Lt. Cmdr. Conor Regan and Lt. Cmdr. Rescue helicopter pilot Josh Womboldt said in a joint statement to The Associated Press.
The pilots positioned the MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter about 50 feet (15 meters) above the Arctic Sea and hovered in harsh conditions to conduct the rescue mission.
“Because of how strong the winds were, we took care to account for downdrafts from the cliffs and severe turbulence when lifting crew members out of the Arctic Sea,” Regan said in an email to the AP.
“The crew also recovered all nine crew members and a rescue swimmer in approximately 25 minutes, which is a testament to the skill and professionalism of the crew,” Regan said.
Winds of nearly 60 mph (96 kph) and waves as high as 10 feet (3 meters) caused the Arctic Sea to take on water and ultimately run aground around 4 a.m. Monday. Video taken by a local resident from the top of the cliff shows waves crashing onto the stranded ship.
The North Sea, another fishing vessel belonging to the coastal villages, was nearby, but could not help the Arctic Sea due to the weather and the shallow waters where it stopped.
However, the North Sea remained nearby and kept the line of communication open for the coastguard, who deployed a helicopter, a plane and rerouted their vessel, the Alex Haley.
The Arctic Sea crew donned their space suits around 8 a.m. and activated an emergency beacon to indicate their location, Eric Deakin, CEO of the Coastal Villages Regional Foundation, said in an email to the AP.
The ship's fire extinguishing system was activated, forcing the crew members to leave the closed bridge onto the deck, where they awaited rescue.
The helicopter arrived around 11:30 a.m. Monday and carried out a rescue operation. The rescued crew members were flown to St. Paul Island, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest, because there was no emergency medical service on St. George Island and the helicopter had no way to refuel there.
A private company has been contracted to oversee rescue operations in the Arctic Sea, the Coast Guard said.
