ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Naushon terminated the voyage of the fishing vessel Donna Jean near Kake after discovering several safety issues aboard the vessel Friday.
The crew of the Naushon escorted the 40-foot fishing vessel, with five adults and three children aboard, to Kake Harbor.
The crew of the Naushon conducted the boarding in Keku Strait when they discovered the vessel had an expired life raft, insufficient survival suits and inadequate fire suppression equipment. The Donna Jean’s crew has been ordered to fix discrepancies in coordination with a commercial fishing vessel examiner prior to getting underway again.
“We perform at-sea safety inspections to ensure mariners are operating in compliance with required standard safety gear regulations, ” said Cmdr. Marc Burd, chief of the Sector Juneau response department. “These regulations help ensure the safety of those who work at sea, which is one of our primary missions, and we will take the necessary steps to ensure that safety, including sending a vessel back to port to fix any safety issues.”
Free vessel safety checks can be obtained in most Alaska ports by contacting the nearest Coast Guard sector, marine safety detachment or contacting Ken Lawrenson, 17th District commercial fishing vessel safety coordinator. A dockside safety check doesn’t exempt mariners from at-sea boardings but it can speed the process along and help ensure any issues have already been addressed before getting underway.
Coast Guard Sector Anchorage – 907-271-6700
Coast Guard Sector Juneau – 907-463-2448
Marine Safety Unit Valdez – 907-835-7210
Marine Safety Detachment Dutch Harbor – 907-581-3466
Marine Safety Detachment Kodiak – 907-486-5918
Marine Safety Detachment Homer – 907-235-3292
Marine Safety Detachment Sitka – 907-966-5454
Marine Safety Detachment Ketchikan – 907-225-4496
Ken Lawrenson – 907-463-2810
The Coast Guard Cutter Naushon is a 110-foot Island-class patrol boat homeported in Ketchikan.
