The U.S. Coast Guard has called on its most rigorous investigators after a crabbing vessel and its six crew members went missing in the Bering Sea earlier this month.
A three-day search revealed no sign of the F/V Destination, apart from a floating tangle of debris.
That’s why the Coast Guard has convened the Marine Board of Investigation.
“The Marine Board of Investigation is essentially the highest level of investigation that the Coast Guard gets into without there being a criminal element to it," said Petty Officer Shawn Eggert.
Eggert said the board will be assembled by officials at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C.
After collecting and reviewing evidence, he said the board will rule on what caused the accident and whether misconduct or negligence played a role.
The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the vessel’s disappearance, which ranks as Alaska’s deadliest commercial fishing accident in nearly a decade.
