DESTINATION

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Owner trusted captain and ship

The "Destination" went down on Feb. 11 amid tough winter weather that included snow, wind gusts of more than 39 mph and seas of more than 12 feet, according to information presented on Aug 7 as the Coast Guard began two weeks of hearings into the crab-boat sinking that killed six crew. Such conditions generate freezing spray that coat a vessel with ice, adding weight and increasing the risk of capsizing. But in testimony as the leadoff witness in the hearing, David Wilson, owner of the vessel, said Capt. Jeff Hathaway had dealt with freezing spray many times. And he had always pulled through. "He was very capable and knowledgeable, " Wilson said of the skipper he hired to run the boat. "I had total confidence in his decisions." Hathaway knew when to slow down the vessel and focus on removing the ice. Then, the crew would chip it away with baseball bats and other tools. At the hearing, Wilson spoke publicly for the first time about the loss of the vessel and crew. He thanked the Coast Guard for three days of searches to try to find signs of the crew, and noted that he has a son currently fishing in Alaska. Wilson, who lives in Edmonds, spent hours responding to a wide-range of questions about his own experience in the Alaska fisheries and the lost vessel and crew. He grew up in Sand Point, Alaska, where the "Destination" is registered, and started fishing at the age of 8 in salmon harvests and had years of experience in skippering boats in the crab harvest. For the past 23 years, Hathway has run the Destination, with Wilson offering shore-side support. Wilson said the boat was put in dry-dock for maintenance every other year, and he did not note any major safety concerns about the "Destination". During the crew's last February port-of-call at Dutch Harbor, Alaska, Wilson said the captain reported a slight leak in an area around a shaft. That had been remedied by snugging up a few bolts, according to Wilson. Wilson did not speak to Hathaway after the vessel left Dutch Harbor on Feb. 9 en route to start a snow-crab harvest. The vessel went down early on the morning of Feb. 11 several miles off the Pribilof Island of St. George, where it has now been located on the sea bottom. In the days ahead, the risks posed by the chill, winter weather are expected to be explored through testimony from the crew from other vessels, as well as a National Weather Service official.

Hearing into ship loss started

A two-week search for answers began in the morning of Aug 7 with a public hearing into the "Destination" that sank in the Bering Sea in the winter. The Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation asked the “Destination” owner about safety equipment and the maintenance records of the vessel during the hearing, which started nearly two weeks after NOAA ships located the wreckage. Over two weeks, the Coast Guard plans to call nearly 40 witnesses in an attempt to figure out what led to the sinking of the Destination and the loss of six crew members. In July, NOAA researchers located the sunken vessel, allowing Coast Guard officials to get underwater video of the Destination in 240 feet of water. That video will be shown publicly for the first time at the hearing next week. On the hearing's first day, David Wilson, the boat's owner, was the only person to testify. Wilson called the sinking "a reality that haunts me every day." Investigators questioned Wilson about the stability of the 98-foot boat, especially when ice accumulates on deck and on crab pots from spray, which can make fishing boats top-heavy. After the hearing, the Coast Guard will produce a report about the incident, which is due in February 2018, one year after the sinking. Six members were on board the crabbing boat near St. George, Alaska, when it sank. The U.S. Coast Guard at that time said the debris found in the search for the crabbing boat was consistent with a sunken vessel. Over the spring, NOAA ships surveyed the area last known to the Destination with sonar to locate the missing ship in nearly 250 feet of water. With the wreckage and debris field located by NOAA ships, a U.S. Coast Guard dive team aboard Coast Guard Cutter "Healy" will use a remotely operated vehicle to investigate the wreckage later this month. The loved ones of the six men on board identify them as Charles Glenn Jones, Larry O'Grady, Raymond Vincler, Darrik Seibold, Kai Hamik and Jeff Hathaway. Coast Guard leaders said that the discovery of the wreckage was an instrumental piece in their investigation. Investigators are expected to come up with a probable cause of the accident, and produce a final report that typically includes recommendations on how to make the industry safer. The National Transportation Safety Board was conducting its own investigation and was participating in the Coast Guard's hearing.

Wreckage of lost crabber found in 250 feet depth

OAA ships located the missing "Destination", 196 gt(IMO-No.: 8853116), that disappeared in the Bering Sea on Feb 11, on the bottom near St. George, Alaska. Over the spring, NOAA ships surveyed the area last known to the "Destination" with sonar to locate the missing ship in nearly 250 feet of water. With the wreckage and debris field located by NOAA ships, a U.S. Coast Guard dive team aboard the Coast Guard Cutter "Healy" will use a remotely operated vehicle to investigate the wreckage later in July. No traces were, however, found of the missing Charles Glenn Jones, Larry O'Grady, Raymond Vincler, Darrik Seibold, Kai Hamik and Jeff Hathaway. The discovery of the wreckage is an instrumental piece in the Coast Guard investigation. The Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation will hold a public hearing in August. Report with photo: http://www.kiro7.com/news/local/wreckage-discovered-of-vanished-seattle-based-ship-destination/566252670