FORTUNE PRIDE

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Deceased crew members identified

The owner of the 'Fortune Pride' has identified the two crewmembers who lost their lives in the shipwreck. On Feb 6 at around 10 p.m. the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Halifax had received an EPIRB signal from the vessel about 10 nautical miles southeast of her homeport of Sambro, Nova Scotia. The center mobilized two rescue vessels to the scene, along with a Cormorant SAR helicopter and a Hercules search plane. Conditions were difficult, including 12-foot swells, fog and rain. One rescue vessel found three survivors on the night, including one who was unconscious. They were evacuated to a hospital, and one later passed away. The next morning, a helicopter aircrew found an additional crewmember in a life raft. The man was unresponsive when rescued and was later pronounced dead too. On Feb 8, the owner of the 'Fortune Pride' released the names of the deceased: skipper John Allen Baker, a well-known and respected name in Atlantic Canada's fishing industry; and deckhand Phil MacInnis. The two other crew members have been released from the hospital and were in good physical health. At the time of the capsizing, the 'Fortune Pride' was reportedly carrying about 20 tonnes of silver hake and was standing by offshore. The owner's last contact with Baker was about an hour and a half before the sinking, and at the time, the skipper reported no issues; he was waiting for daylight for the transit into port. Canada's Transportation Safety Board started investigating the cause of the casualty. The owner has stressed that the vessel was in good condition prior to the capsizing. Baker was a local legend in Nova Scotia's fisheries. He had five decades of experience on all types of fishing vessels, and his services as a skipper were in demand. He had survived a previous sinking in 2013: While he was serving as skipper aboard the fishing vessel 'Gentle Lady', a heavy load of sea cucumber shifted in heavy swells. The crew fought to correct it, but the shuo took on a list to port side, flooded and capsized. Baker and his crew abandoned ship into a liferaft and were adrift at sea for six hours before a Good Samaritan rescued them. Baker later recovered the wallet he had left in the 'Gentle Lady''s wheelhouse in the rush to abandon ship. Four years later, it came up from the bottom while he was dragging for clams on another vessel.

Three crew members of capsized vessel rescued alive, two recovered dead

On the evening of Feb 6, 2025, the 'Fortune Pride' (IMO: 8861802) capsized and sank in the Atlantic Ocean about 18 kilometers southeast of Sambro, Nova Scotia. The authorities were alerted by the EPIRB signal of the vessel. Unable to contact the ship over radio, the Canadian Coast Guard deployed the SAR vessel Hare Bay (MMSI: 316044024) and the tender 'Sir William Alexander' (IMO: 8320482) along with a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft to assist. When they arrived at the last reported position of the fishing vessel, there was no sign of it, but they located three crew members, wearing survival suits, in the water. They were rescued by the 'Hare Bay' and taken to hospital. A fourth crew member was found on the morning of Feb 10 inside an overturned life raft. He was later hoisted onto the helicopter and transported to hospital, but the crew member along with one other fisherman rescued earlier had perished. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has launched an investigation into the incident. The 'Fortune Pride' had sailed from Sambro and encountered four meter waves and strong winds, when it capsized.