6 Boats That Sunk On Deadliest Catch From Season 1 To 19
- Deadliest Catch has documented countless crew and boat tragedies over 19 seasons
- Dangers of the Bering Sea proved too much at times, resulting in at least six ships sinking in the show’s 18-year history
- Luckily, not all of them ended in devastation
Deadliest Catch may be reality TV, but there are definitely no scripted scenes when it comes to the show’s horrific injuries and dangers. From getting struck by a 1000lb steel crab pot, to getting a hand shredded by a grinder, the Discovery Channel series showcases the bloody dangers that come with crab fishing. The crew members also fight against the ruthless conditions of the Bering Sea and the ocean has claimed several fishing vessels so far.
6 Deadliest Catch boats sink
F/V Scandies Rose
Deadliest Catch’s Scandies Rose featured in season 16. The fishing vessel met a tragic end on December 31, 2019 during its trip from Kodiak to the Bering Sea. Scandies Rose sank near Sutwik Island and only two of the seven crew members, Jon Lawler and Dean Gribble, survived the shipwreck.
After search efforts spanning 20 hours and 1400 square miles, utilizing four helicopter crews, two airplane crews, and US Coast Guard cutter Mellon, the remaining five members were never found.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the cause of the sinking was due to inaccurate stability instructions. Instructions failed to include downflooding points on the vessel and provided inaccurate descriptions of parts of the deck space. The investigative team also found that the freezing spray weather conditions likely caused ice to form on the boat and add weight, thus compromising the boat’s stability.
F/V Destination
The entire six-member crew of F/V Destination died on February 11, 2017 when the ship went missing in season 13.
Primary factors that led to the capsizing of the boat are believed to be unsafe stability conditions resulting from the carriage of heavier crab pots that exceeded the weight used in the instructions, additional weight and stability stress from bait loaded high on the vessel, and excessive ice accumulations from freezing spray. Downflooding – the entry of seawater through any opening due to submergence – was also credited for the disaster. The boat was reportedly weighed down by an estimated 340,000lbs of ice.
The members who tragically died were Captain Jeff Hathaway, Darrik Seibold, Kai Hamik, Larry O’Grady, Raymond Vincler, and Charles G Jones.
F/V Katmai
F/V Katmai sank on October 21, 2008, 120 miles away from the west side of Adak Island. The 93-foot vessel capsized with a crew of 11 aboard. Four men survived in a life raft after being rescued by a Coast Guard over 15 hours after the incident. Five others died and two crew members were never found.
Survivors were Captain Henry Blake and his crew: Guy Schroeder, Adam Foster, and Harold Appling.
The boat headed towards Unalaska with 120,000lbs of frozen cod when a severe storm hit. It lost its ability to steer and water began flooding the ship just before midnight.
They found that the probable cause of the sinking was that watertight doors were left open and that the vessel was carrying twice the recommended amount of cod.
The NTSB states the probable cause was that “watertight doors from the main deck were left open when the vessel was overloaded and navigating in severe weather,” leading to progressive flooding and sinking. The accident report also states the captain’s decision to continue fishing operations despite approaching harsh weather was a factor.
F/V Big Valley
F/V Big Valley appeared briefly in season 1 before meeting its terrible fate on January 15, 2005. The boat sank 70 miles off the coast of St. Paul Island after losing stability in the Bering Sea.
Six crewmembers were onboard and only one made it to a life raft and was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter. The bodies of two other members were recovered and the search was suspended on January 18, 2005. The captain and two other crewmembers were never found and are presumed dead.
The ship was reportedly overloaded three times its weight capacity.
F/V Ocean Challenger
The 58-foot commercial fishing Ocean Challenger capsized in October 2006, 90 miles south of Sand Point, Alaska. Four were on board the boat but only Kevin Ferrel was able to escape. Moments before the boat capsized, the fishermen launched a life raft, but none of them were able to reach it due to two-story-high waves.
F/V Alaska Ranger
The lives of five crewmembers out of 47 were claimed in the March 2008 sinking of Alaska Ranger. The fishing vessel was en route to Petrel Bank to fish for mackerel. At about 2:26am on March 23, the rudder room’s high bilge water alarm sounded and moments later, the general alarm went off due to rapid flooding.
By 4:30am, the Alaska Ranger was standing vertically with its bow sticking out of the water and sank.
The 22 people who boarded the liferafts were rescued; of the 25 who did not get into one of the liferafts, 20 were saved, four died, and one is missing and presumed dead.
A report by the US Coast Guard states the cause of the casualty was “a breach in the watertight envelope of the hull and progressive flooding in the engine room and other spaces at the stern of the vessel.” The exact initiating event that created the flooding is unconfirmed but it is likely due to the vessel’s “poor material condition.”
