2001 — April 1-2, fishing boat Arctic Rose (homeport Seattle, WA) sinks, Bering Sea — 15
— 15 NTSB. “Closeout Accident Investigation Memorandum…Arctic Rose…” 2006, p. 1.
— 15 Seattle Times (Bernton/Carter). “Family finds closure in remains from deep.” 2-8-2015.
— 15 Seattle Times. “Former investigator is convinced hull damage sank the Arctic Rose.” 7-18-2015.
— 15 USCG. Investigation… Sinking of…Arctic Rose…Bering Sea on April 2, 2001. 2003.
Narrative Information
NTSB, Background, 2006: “At approximately 0325 [AK time] on April 2, 2001, the uninspected U.S. commercial fishing vessel Arctic Rose sank in the Bering Sea about 200 miles northwest of St. Paul, Pribilof Islands, Alaska. The vessel, valued at $900,000, was owned by Arctic Rose, LLC, of Seattle, Washington. All 15 crewmembers died in the accident….” (NTSB. “Closeout Accident Investigation Memorandum…Arctic Rose…” 2006, p. 1.)
USCG Summary, 2003-2004: “On March 26, 2001, the fishing vessel Arctic Rose, O.N. 931446 departed Dutch Harbor for the Bering Sea fishing grounds near Zemchug [or Zhemchug] Canyon. The vessel made several uneventful tows on the Slime Banks and proceeded to St. Paul, Alaska to take on fuel oil and top off the potable water tanks. On March 30, 2001 the vessel departed St. Paul for the Zemchug Canyon area to fish the April 1st flathead sole opening. They made several tows, securing fishing operations during the evening. The Arctic Rose sank between 2200 April 1, 2001 and 0335 April 2, 2001 (all times are Alaska Standard Time). The D17 CC received a 406MHz EPIRB alert at 0335, issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast (UMIB) and sent an INMARSAT-C message to all stations to alert other vessels. A Search and Rescue was initiated and USCG aircraft were sent to the EPIRB location. At 0840, a Coast Guard C-130 arrived on-scene and located the vessel’s EBIRB at 58°56.0’N/175°56.3’W. A large debris field and oil sheen was fund in the vicinity. A nearby fishing vessel eventually responded to the UMIB and joined the SAR efforts. Shortly after arriving on-scene, the F/V Alaskan Rose recovered the body of David Rundall from the water. A subsequent search by Coast Guard aircraft, two cutters and two Samaritan fishing vessels in the immediate area failed to recover additional personnel. Fourteen persons are missing and presumed dead.” (USCG. Arctic Rose, 2004, p. 1.)
Seattle Times, Feb 2015: “Olympia….fishermen…[in 2009] brought up three bones from the bottom of the Bering Sea. One bone, a tibia…[was] identified through DNA analysis. It was the remains of…[Jeff] Meinckes. He died on April 2, 2001, when his fishing vessel, the Seattle-based Arctic Rose, went down, claiming the lives of all 15 crew members in the worst U.S. fishing industry disaster of the past half-century. Just what caused the vessel to sink around 3:30 a.m. was never precisely determined. But Coast Guard officials believe the most likely scenario was that water flooded through an open door into a processing area, undermining the vessel’s stability. Whatever went wrong, it happened fast. Only one body, that of skipper Dave Rundall, was ever recovered. Most of the crew likely were in their bunks and may have been trapped on board as the Arctic Rose capsized….
“Jeff was the youngest member of a largely inexperienced crew that left Seattle in January 2001 for the winter harvest in the rough but bountiful waters off the Pribilofs, several treeless islands in the Bering Sea. Jeff never intended to make fishing a career. He planned to go to college and hoped to study veterinary medicine at Washington State University….” (Seattle Times (Bernton/Carter). “Family finds closure in remains from deep.” 2-8-2015.)
Seattle Times (Bernton), July 2015: “In 2001, a remote-operated camera on the bottom of the Bering Sea captured ghostly images of the sunken Arctic Rose fishing vessel, including footage of a narrow, dark splotch along the hull. Could this be a clue to what happened to the Seattle-based vessel and its entire crew of 15 in the worst loss of life in the U.S. fishing industry in the past half century? Coast Guard officers who investigated the April 2, 2001, sinking eventually concluded that the video showed only an area of peeled paint, and was of no consequence in a calamity they say was most likely the result of flooding through an open hatch door.
“But a former National Transportation Safety Board investigator initially assigned to the case came to a radically different view of what went wrong; this theory was never publicly disclosed. Bob Ford, the former investigator, is convinced the video shows a gash in the hull, one of several he thinks were caused by fishing equipment that broke loose during rough weather. He believes that damage caused the Arctic Rose to lose power, take on water and sink….” (Seattle Times (Hal Bernton). “Former investigator is convinced hull damage sank…Arctic Rose.” 7-18-2015.)
Sources
National Transportation Safety Board. “Closeout Accident Investigation Memorandum, Accident No: DCA-01-MM-035, Vessel: Arctic Rose…Sinking…Bering Sea…April 2, 2001.” Washington, DC: NTSB, 9-5-2006, 11 pages. Accessed 11-14-2015 at: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2168053-memorandum.html
Seattle Times (Hal Bernton and Mike Carter). “Family finds closure in remains from deep. A fishing vessel’s chance discovery of human bones from the bottom of the Bering Sea adds an unlikely new chapter to the 2001 sinking of the Arctic Rose, a stunning tragedy in which all of the trawler’s 15 crew members perished.” 2-8-2015. Accessed 11-14-2015 at: http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/family-finds-closure-in-remains-from-deep/
Seattle Times (Hal Bernton). “Former investigator is convinced hull damage sank the Arctic Rose.” 7-18-2015. Accessed 11-14-2015 at: http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/former-investigator-is-convinced-hull-damage-sunk-the-arctic-rose/
United States Coast Guard, Marine Board of Investigation. Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Sinking of the Uninspected Fishing Vessel Arctic Rose, Official Number 931446, in the Bering Sea on April 2, 2001, with one Person Deceased and Fourteen Persons Missing and Presumed Dead (16732). Washington, DC: Commandant, USCG, 19 Dec 2003, amended May 20, 2004, 134 pages. At: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/docs/boards/Arctic%20Rose%20.pdf
Additional Reading
Kugiya, Hugo. 58 Degrees North: The Mysterious Sinking of the Arctic Rose. Bloomsbury USA, 2005.