"Scandies Rose" went down Tuesday

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 17th District Alaska
Contact: 17th District Public Affairs
Office: (907) 428-4181
After Hours: (907) 209-6509
17th District online newsroom
Coast Guard searching for survivors after boat sinks near Sutwik Island, 5 still missing
JUNEAU, Alaska — Coast Guard crews are searching for five people in the water Wednesday after their boat sank near Sutwik Island, Alaska.
Scandies Rose, a 130-foot crab fishing vessel homeported in Dutch Harbor, sank at approximately 10 p.m. Tuesday with seven crew members aboard. Two survivors were rescued, five crew members are still missing. The vessel's last known position was 170 miles southwest of Air Station Kodiak.
MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and HC-130 Hercules airplane crews launched from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak. The Jayhawk helicopter crew arrived on scene and hoisted two survivors from a life raft. Coast Guard Cutter Mellon (WHEC 717) was diverted from the Bering Sea and is expected to arrive on scene Wednesday evening.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Communications Detachment Kodiak received a mayday call from Scandies Rose over HF 4125 KHz at approximately 10:00 p.m. Tuesday and immediately relayed the distress call to the command center for search and rescue coordination.
"We are conducting an extensive search in a 300-square mile area to locate the five missing persons from the Scandies Rose," said Lt. Wade Arnold, command duty officer at 17th District command center.
Weather on scene is in excess of 40 mph winds, 15 to 20 foot seas and one mile visibility.
-USCG-

One of the missing crew members was the son of the man that was a foreman when I started working in King Cove. Art Ganacias was just a young kid when I started in King Cove 1986. I watched him grow up and become a fisherman. He loved being a crabber, and had been on the Scandies Rose for 2-3 seasons after being on the Bering Hunter that was sold. He is preceded in death by his brother, Tony Ganacias Jr, who was murdered in Sand Point Alaska quite a long time ago. Scandies Rose had a reputation of being a pretty good boat and had been around for a long time. RIP Art.

Capt. Gary was a man I truly admired..

My heart, thoughts and prayers goes out to the family and friends, and the fishing community over the loss of those who were on the Scandies Rose.

This, has no doubt, sent shock waves through out the fishing community.

My condolences to one and all.

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 17th District Alaska
Contact: 17th District Public Affairs
Office: (907) 428-4181
After Hours: (907) 209-6509
17th District online newsroom



UPDATE 2: Coast Guard suspends search for 5 missing fishermen in waters near Sutwik Island

JUNEAU, Alaska - The Coast Guard suspended its search Wednesday at 6:08 p.m. for five missing fishermen in the waters near Sutwik Island, Alaska.

The five missing are:

Gary Cobban, Jr. (Master)
David Lee Cobban
Arthur Ganacias
Brock Rainey
Seth Rousseau-Gano
The two survivors are:

• Dean Gribble, Jr.
• John Lawler


The search spanned over 20 hours, 1,400 square miles and included the following assets:

• 4 MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews
• 2 HC-130 Hercules airplane crews
• Coast Guard Cutter Mellon (WHEC 717)

"The decision to suspend an active search and rescue case is never easy, and it's only made after careful consideration of a myriad of factors,” said Rear Adm. Matthew Bell, 17th District Commander. "Our deepest condolences to the friends and families impacted by this tragedy."

Watchstanders at the 17th District Command Center in Juneau were notified of a mayday call via High Frequency radio on Tuesday evening from the fishing vessel Scandies Rose, which capsized and sank approximately five miles southeast of Sutwik Island.

MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and HC-130 Hercules airplane crews launched from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak. The Jayhawk helicopter crew arrived on-scene and rescued two survivors from a life raft. The survivors were taken to the hospital in Kodiak, where they are reported to be in stable condition.

After exhausting all leads and careful consideration of survival probability, the Coast Guard suspends an active search pending new information or developments.
-USCG-

Oh no. My thoughts are with all of you who knew them. Prayers.

Prayers for the families that are left behind and the survivors of this tragedy.

Thanks for posting the link to the story. I had not seen it. So many unanswered questions....

Maybe they took on water or something wasn't tied down enough and shifted to make them list, as the survivors said the boat was listing badly. There were heavy 20 foot seas the night.