Four mariners were rescued on May 30 southwest of Kodiak Island, after their boat capsized roughly 13 nautical miles from shore, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard's Air Station Kodiak.
No fatalities were reported in the incident. Although, the Alaska Air National Guard hoisted one crew member to safety, who was hypothermic and not wearing a dry suit.
The sinking vessel’s radio beacon automatically sent a distress signal to the U.S. Coast Guard District 17 Rescue Coordination Center when the boat was submerged in water.
According to a spokesperson for Air Station Kodiak, the U.S. Coast Guard requested assistance from the National Guard due to a mechanical issue with the base’s available MH-60 rescue helicopter, which had a hydraulic issue upon start-up that they needed to troubleshoot before being able to re-launch.
The National Guard sent its own military helicopter, a HH-60G Pave Hawk and a HC-130J Combat King II in response.
USCG’s largest base, located in Kodiak, currently has a rotary-wing fleet of six MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters after recently phasing out the last of its MH-65 Dolphin helos. The local Coast Guard unit will shift to a rotary-wing ship-and-shore based fleet of nine MH-60 Jayhawks in 2025.
A Good Samaritan vessel, the fishing vessel Polar Star, was in the area about 20 miles southwest of Kodiak Island and picked up the four crew members. The Alaska Air National Guard then transported the hypothermic mariner from the Polar Star to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.
The identity or any update on the condition of the mariner has not been released. A spokesperson for the Alaska Air National Guard could not be reached for comment before the airing of this story.