F/V Ocean Ranger Runs Aground at Small Boat Harbor

Wednesday, September 17 2014


The F/V Ocean Ranger undergoes repairs at the Resolve-Magone Marine Services dock Wednesday afternoon. (Annie Ropeik/KUCB)

A fishing boat from Homer ran aground outside an Unalaska harbor Tuesday night after going the wrong way around a channel marker. 

The F/V Ocean Ranger was heading into the Bobby Storrs Boat Harbor around 6 p.m. when it struck a reef. Unalaska Ports Director Peggy McLaughlin says the boat's crew probably misread their navigational charts.

"They obviously didn’t follow the intention of the markers or they would have missed the reef," McLaughlin says.

The vessel tore its hull and took on some water during the grounding. But no one was injured, and McLaughlin says the Coast Guard didn't find any environmental damage.

The Ocean Ranger was able to get itself to the Resolve-Magone Marine Services salvage yard, where the boat's crew is working on repairing their damaged hull. They're part of the fishing fleet from one of the Russian Old Believer communities near Homer.

It's the second fishing vessel in a row that's gone aground this month. The F/V Storm Petrel ran aground near the Delta Western fuel dock on Sept. 6. That incident didn't cause any environmental damage, either, according to the Coast Guard. The vessel is undergoing repairs at Resolve-Magone Marine.



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