Secure Process
Coast Guard - Alaskan Monarch Rescue in the Bearing Sea
Video Description
On March 14, 1990, the F/V Alaskan Monarch was enroute to the St. Paul harbor to deliver 100,000 pounds of crab to Pribilof Island Processors (PIP). The Alaskan Monarch continued toward the harbor; it encountered an ice floe about one and one-half miles from the harbor entrance. The Alaska Mist, a 300-foot processing vessel, was exiting the harbor, and in doing so cleared a path to the harbor entrance. In an attempt to reach the harbor, the Captain piloted the Alaskan Monarch into the wake of the Alaska Mist. The Alaskan Monarch, however, traveled only another quarter of a mile before becoming caught in the ice. After the ice trapped the vessel, the ship radioed a call for help to other vessels and learned that a number were also stuck or unable to come to their assistance. Throughout the rest of that day and the next, the crew tried to free the vessel from the ice and fix the damage already done by the jagged ice. The ship radioed a Mayday signal when weather conditions worsened on March 15. The Alaskan Monarch was then getting very close to shore. A U.S. Coast Guard cutter attempting to help was unable to secure a towline to the vessel. A Coast Guard helicopter lifted four crew members off the vessel, leaving only two crew members aboard for a final attempt to save the ship. Soon after, the vessel went aground on a jetty near the harbor entrance and was holed in its bow. The Coast Guard eventually pulled both men from the water.
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