When a 39-metre fishing vessel lost power 575 miles south-west of Dutch Harbor, a US Coast Guard cutter was called in to bring the stricken Aleutian No 1 and its eight crew home, with a 160-mile transit to the nearest port at Adak.
Coast guard cutter Alex Haley arrived at the scene at 0100 on Saturday and took Aleutian No 1 in tow, after the fishing vessel’s crew had reported early on Thursday morning that they had been unable to clear a fouled propeller and were drifting approximately three miles north of Amchitka Island.
Alex Haley was recalled from a mid-patrol break and made the 575-mile transit through the Being Sea to provide assistance.
‘As an Alaska-homeported cutter, we’re proud to support Alaskan fishermen and, in this case, tow the vessel to safe harbor to effect necessary repairs and avoid a more serious incident,’ said Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Lynne, Alex Haley’s operations officer.
‘We train hard to ensure we’re able to provide such assistance when the occasion arises, and our crew executed this mission flawlessly in challenging Bering Sea conditions.’
Conditions at the time of the tow were 30-40-knot winds, 3-4-metre seas, periodic snow, sleet and blizzard conditions, with air and water temperatures close to freezing.
Alex Haley towed Aleutian No. 1 into Adak and transferred to fishing vessel Erla-N, which then towed the disabled vessel into Adak where it was moored at the pier with the help of Alex Haley’s cutter boats.
The 86-metre Medium Endurance Cutter Alex Haley performs search and rescue, fisheries law enforcement, and maritime security across Alaska. It has been homeported in Kodiak since 1999.
