National Transportation Safety Board

Washington, D.C. 20594

MAB/98-02

MARINE ACCIDENT BRIEF REPORT

Accident Number: DCA-98-MM-029

Vessel: U.S. Fishing Vessel Evanick, O.N. 956903, 50 feet long, 36 gross tons,

built in 1990 at Seattle, Washington, of fiber-reinforced plastic,

uninspected

Owner: Evanick Corporation

Operator: Carl Van Valkenberg

Accident Type: Capsizing

Location: 130 nautical miles southwest of Kodiak, Alaska, in the Shelikof Strait, 56-

54N Latitude, 156-06W Longitude

Date: April 25, 1998

Time: Between 0730 and 1128 local (Alaska daylight time)

Property Damage: $250,000

Injuries: Four fatalities

Complement: Four

Description of the Accident

Between 0700 and 11281 on April 25, 1998, the fishing vessel Evanick, with four

crewmembers, capsized in the Shelikof Strait while en route to fishing grounds near Togiak,

Alaska. About 1335, U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue aircraft, responding to a distress signal

from the vessel, located the Evanick floating in a capsized condition. There were no signs of the

crew. In subsequent search operations spanning 2 days, no crewmember of the Evanick was

found.

The Evanick, a purse seiner2

 fishing vessel, had undergone maintenance and repairs during

a drydock period in early March 1998 in Seattle, Washington. Later that month, the vessel had

received a Coast Guard dockside safety examination in Kodiak, Alaska. At the time of this

examination, inspectors from Marine Safety Detachment (MSD) Kodiak and a private marine

surveying firm reported that the vessel was in good condition and was extremely well maintained.

The Evanick master, an experienced fisherman, had developed a reputation in the local marine

community as a competent master.

 1

 All times in this report are Alaska daylight time, based on a 24-hour clock.

2

 Purse seiners are typically 55 to 58 feet long and have a large net, usually piled on the stern; a large

seine skiff, either towed or pulled up on the stern; and a power block, which is a hydraulically powered pulley,

usually located on the end of the boom, but sometimes lowered to the deck for traveling.
2

On April 24, 1998, in preparation for the 650-mile voyage to the herring fishing grounds

near Togiak, the Evanick’s 17-foot-long, 5,000-pound skiff, which was used for handling the

fishing nets, was stowed on the vessel’s after deck. This stowage configuration raised the vessel’s

center of gravity, reducing its stability.

The Evanick departed Kodiak about 1400 in the company of another fishing vessel, the

Captain Kidd, which was also bound for Togiak. The Captain Kidd had a slightly different course

and speed, and it separated from the Evanick during the night. The operator of the Captain Kidd

maintained occasional radio contact with the Evanick until about 0700 on April 25. During the

0700 radio communication, the Evanick did not report any problems.

The Evanick and the Captain Kidd were on a southwesterly course, and the wind and sea

were on their stern quarters. The master of the Captain Kidd stated that during the morning of

April 25, he became concerned about the poor weather conditions and believed that the following

seas being experienced were especially hazardous. At 0910 on April 25, the National Weather

Service issued a gale warning for the area. According to the National Weather Service, seas at the

time of the accident were 12 to 16 feet, winds were south at 30 knots, and the water temperature

was 39° F.

At 1128 on April 25, the international COSPAS-SARSAT system3 relayed an emergency

position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) distress signal from the Evanick to the Coast Guard

Rescue Coordination Center, Juneau, Alaska. At 1215 the Coast Guard dispatched two aircraft

and the buoy tender Firebush to the indicated location. In response to the Coast Guard’s urgent

marine broadcast, the Captain Kidd and several other fishing vessels proceeded to the scene to

assist in search and rescue efforts.

Coast Guard aircraft from Kodiak, a distance of about 130 miles from the scene, arrived at

the site of the distress signal within 2 hours and observed the Evanick and its skiff floating in a

capsized condition, but saw no sign of the Evanick’s crew. With the assistance of responding

fishing vessels, the Coast Guard conducted a search of the surrounding area into the night with

negative results.

At first light on April 26, the Coast Guard aircraft resumed the search for survivors.

Commercial divers transported by Coast Guard helicopters to the scene checked the interior of

the overturned vessel. They did not find any Evanick crewmembers; they did find the

crewmembers’ four immersion suits4 still packaged in bags in a locker on the bridge. While they

determined that the vessel’s hull and superstructure were undamaged, they observed that the

vessel’s aft starboard handrail was damaged where the skiff had been secured. The divers tested

the vessel’s propeller and determined that it could be turned over easily by hand

 

3

 COSPAS-SARSAT is an international satellite-based search and rescue system established by the United

States, Russia, Canada, and France to locate emergency radio beacons transmitting on frequencies 121.5, 243, and

406 MHz.

4

 Immersion suits are insulated, buoyant flotation devices that cover the wearer’s entire body. They are

designed to prevent shock upon entering cold water and to lessen the effect of hypothermia.
3

Finding no sign of survivors, the Coast Guard terminated the search and rescue operations

at sunset. Because the floating Evanick constituted a hazard to navigation, it was purposely sunk

by the Coast Guard.

Probable Cause

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the capsizing

of the Evanick was the fishing vessel’s less-than-adequate stability for the sea conditions. Contributing

to the loss of life was the probable suddenness of the capsizing, which did not afford the crew time to

don their immersion suits before they entered the water.

Adopted: December 15, 1998