Unalaska, AK – A rogue wave on the Bering Sea knocked out the windows of a fishing vessel and soaked all of the navigational equipment. The 112-foot F/V Alyeska , out of Washington, was transiting 131 miles north of Akutan at about 2:45 pm Wednesday when it was stuck by the wave. Coast Guard Petty Officer Sara Francis explains the incident.

"The wave blew out several of their pilot house windows and damaged the ship's electronics," she said. "All of their navigational equipment failed because it was inundated with water. They managed to keep one VHF radio operational. But they were essentially piloting blind. So another vessel, the Pacific Challenger, a stern trawler based out of Seattle, escorted them into Dutch Harbor."

Conditions at the time were 27 foot seas and 55 to 70 mile per hour winds. They arrived safely in Unalaska at 10:30 Thursday morning and the Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment is helping evaluate the status of the equipment.

The Alyeska incident was one of four different maritime problems encountered in the stormy Bering Sea on Wednesday. At about 3:25 pm, the factory trawler the Ocean Peace reported a fire in the incinerator room. It was successfully extinguished and none of the 51 people aboard the 210-foot ship were injured. The Seattle-based vessel was on it way back to Unalaska at the time of the incident and arrived safely at 10 pm.

The Coast Guard also responded to an incident involving a small houseboat that detached itself from the dock in Unalaska's small boat harbor. The boat drifted across the bay and the two residents were able to jump safely onto land. They went to sleep only to find that the boat had drifted to the Alyeska processing plant and sank. The Coast Guard worked with Magone Marine to pull up and remove the houseboat.

The fourth incident involved the grounding of the 58-foot fishing vessel the Icy Mist on Akutan Island. All four crew members were successfully rescued from the wreckage and transported back to Unalaska by the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard is currently working on a salvage plan for the vessel.