Coast Guard - Alaskan Monarch Rescue in the Bearing Sea

On March 14, 1990, the F/V Alaskan Monarch was enroute to the St. Paul harbor to deliver 100,000 pounds of crab to Pribilof Island Processors (PIP). The Alaskan Monarch continued toward the harbor; it encountered an ice floe about one and one-half miles from the harbor entrance.

The Alaska Mist, a 300-foot processing vessel, was exiting the harbor, and in doing so cleared a path to the harbor entrance. In an attempt to reach the
harbor, the Captain piloted the Alaskan Monarch into the wake of the Alaska Mist. The Alaskan Monarch, however, traveled only another quarter of a mile before becoming caught in the ice.




After the ice trapped the vessel, the ship radioed a call for help to other vessels and learned that a number were also stuck or unable to come to their assistance. Throughout the rest of that day and the next, the crew tried to free the vessel from the ice and fix the damage already done by the jagged ice.

The ship radioed a Mayday signal when weather conditions worsened on March 15. The Alaskan Monarch was then getting very close to shore. A U.S. Coast Guard cutter attempting to help was unable to secure a towline to the vessel. A Coast Guard helicopter lifted four crew members off the vessel, leaving only two crew members aboard for a final attempt to save the ship. Soon after, the vessel went aground on a jetty near the harbor entrance and was holed in its bow.

The Coast Guard eventually pulled
both men from the water.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Coast
• Guard
• Alaskan
• Alaska
• Monarch
• Rescue
• Bearing
• Sea

[andrewmarkish]

if you can try to see the bit where you see the ice wave heading towards the boat ,the at the end the linesman dude in the helicopter actually scoops the captain in the basket thingy now i can finally show ppl what i saw on tv 20 years ago

[RobbieWright]

What kind of helicopter is this?

[Telamon0]

that was my uncle chuck on that boat hes the one that got in the basket first.

[dogman586]

The helicopter pilot battled 50 kt. winds to rescue the men swept off the boat. She won the "Coast Guard Medal," which is the highest peacetime award in the service.

[CincyRoy]

yes, the ship sank, I saw a repeat episode of Deadliest Catch recently , one of the shows boats was sailing out past the rusting hulk that is still on the shore line.

[ItsVideos]

I remember this boat. I was a stevedore in Egegik Alaska in the early 1980s. This boat was salmon tender during the summer season in Bristol Bay. We unloaded the salmon from her brine tank with large suction hoses. The suction hoses vacuumed the salmon into the cannery. It's so strange to see what eventually happened to her. I'm glad the crew survived.

[tguitardude]

very chilling

[cyrusthevrus]

Was the ship sanked ?

[spoon787]

i was actually the one who filmed parts of this video. the acutal video is over an hour long. there are parts from the cliff where we were standing and parts from the helo. i was stationed there from 1989-1990. i still have the original video on vhs tape.

[Emilyh3964]

Wow... I just met someone who told me to look this up, he was in the CG and on this rescue!!!!