Marine Accident Report: Sinking of U.S. Fish Processing Vessel Alaska Ranger Bering Sea, March 23, 2008

This report discusses the March 23, 2008, sinking of the U.S. fish processing vessel Alaska Ranger in the Bering Sea, 120 nautical miles west of Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The Alaska Ranger had left Dutch Harbor the previous day to fish on Petrel Bank, a fishing ground 500 nautical miles to the west. About 0230 on the morning of March 23, the crew discovered flooding in the vessel’s rudder room, and at 0246, the vessel broadcast a Mayday call. The U.S. Coast Guard immediately launched search and rescue operations. The crew evacuated the vessel before it sank sometime after 0430. The Coast Guard and the crew of another fishing vessel, the Alaska Warrior, rescued 42 of the 47 persons who had been on the Alaska Ranger. Five crewmembers died in the accident. The wreckage of the Alaska Ranger lies in 6,000 feet of water at the bottom of the Bering Sea and was not examined. The vessel’s estimated replacement value was $15 million.