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NTSB: The F/V Destination Sank After Accumulating Ice In Heavy Freezing Spray

National Transportation Safety Board

A crab boat that sank in the Bering Sea last winter likely capsized after it became coated in hundreds of thousands of pounds of ice.

That's the conclusion of a report released last week by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

As KUCB's Laura Kraegel reports, the findings shed new light on the loss of the fishing vessel Destination and its six crew members.  

On Feb. 11, 2017, the F/V Destination was pushing through rough, frigid waters a few miles from St. George Island. Then, in about four minutes, the boat went from carrying 200 crab pots and preparing for opilio season to vanishing without a mayday call.

"Whatever happened happened very, very quickly, and there's no one left to tell their story," said NTSB spokesperson Chris O'Neil. 

NTSB investigators said they reviewed the vessel's mechanical history, pored over weather reports, and interviewed almost 50 people to piece together the probable cause of the accident.

"The captain's decision to proceed into heavy freezing spray conditions — without ensuring the Destination had a margin of stability to withstand that accumulation of ice — led to the loss of the vessel," said O'Neil.

In better conditions, the boat could have carried 200 crab pots without a problem. But with gale force winds kicking up freezing spray, the F/V Destination became weighed down by as many as 340,000 pounds of ice.

"If you look at that probable cause, yes, this is a preventable accident," said O'Neil.

Credit Daher Jorge
Crew members of the F/V Polar Sea beat ice off their vessel on Feb. 11, 2017 — the same day the F/V Destination went missing. Both crab boats were traveling near St. George Island.

With no survivors to interview, NTSB investigators said they couldn't determine why the crew didn't beat more ice to mitigate that weight — especially a well-respected crew with more than 70 years of collective fishing experience.

"It's very hard to know the mindset, the decision-making process, and what factors were or were not considered," said O'Neil. "But certainly, through the evidence that was collected, we recognized the pressures that are associated with the industry."

Investigators found several signs that the crew was feeling the pressure of time. The vessel had gotten a late start on crab after fishing for cod. Its delivery deadline was looming. And a few weeks earlier, one crew member had texted his father, "Oh my god, I haven't slept in days."

The strains of commercial fishing are familiar to Daher Jorge. He's captain of the F/V Polar Sea, which was fishing for crab in the same area as the F/V Destination the day it went down.

"The whole crew was exhausted," said Jorge. "I was beating ice with my crew."

The F/V Polar Sea pulled into port safely after fishermen spent hours heaving sledgehammers to break ice. But in an interview weeks later, Jorge said the F/V Destination's sinking was a wake-up call for the entire fleet of about 70 vessels.

"It's devastating," he said. "They say most accidents happen 10 minutes from home. [The F/V Destination] was so close to St. Paul. It was at St. George. They could've anchored up there and gotten some ice off the boat."

"We have no need to rush so much," added Jorge. "We're going to catch the crab, so why are we going to push that hard?"

In a fishery that's made huge safety strides in the last two decades, U.S. Coast Guard officials say crabbers have taken the sinking to heart.

Almost 50 boats participated in a voluntary safety check last year to review their stability criteria, and there were no fatalities during this winter crab season.

The loss of the F/V Destination marks the fleet's deadliest accident since 2005.

Laura Kraegel reported for KUCB from 2016 until 2020. She was KUCB's news director starting in 2019. We are proud to have her back in the spring of 2023 filling in as an interim reporter for KUCB.
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