Unalaska, AK – The Coast Guard's new report on the 2008 sinking of the Alaska Ranger says that the ship went down because of flooding in the rudder room likely caused by the vessel's poor material condition. According to the Coast Guard, an analysis showed that problem likely stemmed from the Kort nozzle struts. The report says that the struts at the stern of the vessel created excessive local stresses where they were attached to a corroded area of the hull.

During a press conference in Seattle on Wednesday, Capt. John P. Nadeau, Chairman of the Marine Board of Investigation, said that it is difficult to say if the accident could have been prevented, however, "the Board concluded that the Fishing Company of Alaska failed to properly maintain the structural condition of the Alaska Ranger. Evidence of extensive and repeated fracturing of the nozzle struts and structural failures in the aft ballast tanks and potable water tanks were not addressed by the Fishing Company of Alaska."

The Alaska Ranger was enrolled in the Coast Guard's Alternate Compliance Safety Agreement Program, or ANCSA, when it went down. However, the ship was not in compliance with the program at that time and the program was not being fully implemented.

It was also noted during the conference that three of the ship's engineers were not qualified to operate the vessel. The chief engineer and his assistant were not rated to run a 7,000 horsepower ship and the other assistant engineer had no qualifications at all.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued their report on the sinking in September of 2009. Their investigation also concluded that probable cause of the sinking of the Alaska Ranger was uncontrolled, progressive flooding due to a lack of internal watertight integrity. However, the NTSB report attributed the flooding to the likely physical loss of a rudder.

The 189-foot fish processing vessel was 130 miles west of Unalaska when it sank in the early hours of March 23, 2008. Forty-two of the 47 people on board were rescued by the Coast Guard and by the Alaska Ranger's sister ship, the Alaska Warrior. Five people died in the incident and one of the bodies was never found.

As a result of the tragedy the Marine Board of Investigations made 37 recommendations to improve safety aboard fishing vessels. They address the lack of comprehensive safety regulations for fishing vessels, problems with implementing current regulations, and shortcomings in the ACSA program that existed at the time of the incident.
New safety provisions were also included in the 2010 Coast Guard Authorization Act. They aim to increase fishing vessel safety by requiring mandatory safety examinations for vessels operating beyond three miles at sea. They also put forth construction standards for new vessels that are 50 feet or longer.