KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
This still from a Coast Guard video shows the crew of the Midnite Sun stepping off an MH-60 Jayhawk and onto dry ground early this morning following their rescue from Malina Bay off Afognak Island. Coast Guard Petty Officer Charly Hengen image
Five crewmen had to be rescued by after their fishing vessel ran aground on Afognak Island this morning. The Coast Guard dispatched a helicopter after a second vessel relayed the ship’s distress call. KMXT’s Jacob Resneck reports.
— midnite sun pkg 2:31 "The 86-foot … I’m Jacob Resneck."
The 86-foot Midnite Sun reportedly ran aground 36 miles northwest of Kodiak but was unable to reach the Coast Guard’s communications station by radio. Fortunately the Sea Warrior was nearby and relayed Midnite Sun’s distress call.
— sea warrior 1
Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer David Mosley says the Sea Warrior’s assistance proved decisive.
— sea warrior 2
The mishap occurred in Malina Bay off Afognak Island. Gale Warnings are in effect for nearby Shelikof Strat today with westerly winds forecast to blow in excess of 40 knots.
Mosley says Air Station Kodiak was able to send help and the helicopter was on scene at 1:38 a.m. this morning
— mosley 2
The five men rescued were taken to Kodiak Air Station and no injuries were reported. Four of the men have been identified as Kodiak residents. They are: Francisco Jackson, Clint Parks, Michael Hintz and William Kingery. A fifth man, Levi Russell was listed as address unknown.
The boat was reportedly working a cod opener and carrying about 6,000 gallons of diesel fuel. It’s not known whether its steel hull has breached and spilled any fuel.
— mosley 5
It’s not the first time the Midnite Sun has run into trouble. In 2004 it collided with the 85-foot wooden-hulled Rolfy in Whale Passage, north of Kodiak Island. There were no reported injuries in that incident and both ships were able to make it back to port.
In Kodiak, I’m Jacob Resneck
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