HONOLULU – After more than three months patrolling the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Jarvis arrived back home in Honolulu yesterday. The Jarvis and crew returned from a successful Alaskan fisheries patrol that focused on maritime law enforcement and search and rescue. Crewmembers expressed a definite sense of accomplishment, having safely conducted 22 fisheries boardings, which were filmed by film crews collecting footage for the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch series. Responding to an urgent request for assistance, the Jarvis’s crew assisted the fishing vessel Zenith, when the latter was disabled and adrift 20 miles south of Saint George Island in the Bering Sea. The vessel, with 16 people on board, was drifting toward the remote island at about two knots (about 3 miles an hour). Working in 18-foot seas and 45-knot winds, the Jarvis’s crew safely took the Zenith in tow when the vessel was only five miles from the shores of Saint George Island, preventing the fishing vessel from running aground. The Jarvis then towed the Zenith toward the port of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, where the disabled vessel was turned over to a commercial tug.
Boarding team members were pleased to note the overall safe conditions found throughout the fishing fleet.
“We often found that vessels had survival equipment that exceeded Coast Guard requirements,” said Lt.j.g. Greg Sickels, the Jarvis’s lead boarding officer. The Jarvis’s crew did help prevent a possible maritime safety incident by terminating the voyage of one fishing vessel determined to be operating in a manifestly unsafe condition.
While underway crewmembers trained in areas of damage control, law enforcement, and basic seamanship. After spending more then 13 months in port because of a catastrophic engine casualty, the patrol was an outstanding success with an abundance of crew members qualifying in all watch stations. The voyage, however, was not without its challenges; a last minute diversion to the mainland for an unscheduled five day dry-dock landed the Jarvis and crew in San Francisco to repair a casualty to the propeller system before heading home.Â
“I’m extremely proud of the can-do attitude and professionalism of the crew and their accomplishments. They overcame a lot of challenges during the last year, and this patrol is a testament to their hard work in putting Jarvis back on line serving the American people and protecting our nation’s security,” said Capt. Mike Inman, Commanding Officer of the Jarvis.
When asked what they are most looking forward to upon their return to Honolulu, the crew’s answer, after sunshine of course, was the chance to be back with family, go surfing, and enjoy living in paradise.
