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Coast Guard is checking crab boats
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 | No comments posted.
Thirteenth Coast Guard District personnel will conduct vessel safety spot checks and voluntary dockside exams in various ports this week prior to the opening of the Oregon and Washington Dungeness crab season.
Coast Guard examiners will spot-check primary lifesaving equipment and pot loading practices on vessels while in port. These spot checks of freeboard and watertight integrity, survival suits, Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons and life rafts are meant to ensure that critical safety items are ready for use should an at-sea emergency occur.
Similar at-the-dock checks in previous years found that between one-quarter and one-third of EPIRBs and life rafts are installed improperly. Most of these deficiencies are easily corrected on the spot. Extremely serious discrepancies, such as overloading, lack of watertight integrity, missing primary lifesaving equipment or non-functioning EPIRBs may result in a vessel being restricted from operating until the deficiencies are corrected. In addition to the checks, Coast Guard fishing vessel safety personnel will be available to conduct basic safety training as well as voluntary dockside safety examinations for interested vessels.
Commercial Dungeness crabbing vessels operate in some of the winter's worst weather, hazardous waters and have the highest fatality rate of any West Coast fishery. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Dungeness Crab fishery in the Pacific Northwest is more dangerous than Alaskan crab fisheries.
Many vessel owners and crews took Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission-sponsored safety courses this summer. Coast Guard personnel and other safety advisers provided fishermen with extensive safety training in the classroom and on the water, with man overboard drills, fire drills and survival suit training.
For information about dockside exams, call Dan Hardin, Thirteenth Coast Guard District Fishing Vessel Safety Coordinator, at (206) 220-7226, (206) 239-0186 or e-mail Daniel.E.Hardin@uscg.mil.
Coast Guard examiners will spot-check primary lifesaving equipment and pot loading practices on vessels while in port. These spot checks of freeboard and watertight integrity, survival suits, Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons and life rafts are meant to ensure that critical safety items are ready for use should an at-sea emergency occur.
Similar at-the-dock checks in previous years found that between one-quarter and one-third of EPIRBs and life rafts are installed improperly. Most of these deficiencies are easily corrected on the spot. Extremely serious discrepancies, such as overloading, lack of watertight integrity, missing primary lifesaving equipment or non-functioning EPIRBs may result in a vessel being restricted from operating until the deficiencies are corrected. In addition to the checks, Coast Guard fishing vessel safety personnel will be available to conduct basic safety training as well as voluntary dockside safety examinations for interested vessels.
Commercial Dungeness crabbing vessels operate in some of the winter's worst weather, hazardous waters and have the highest fatality rate of any West Coast fishery. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Dungeness Crab fishery in the Pacific Northwest is more dangerous than Alaskan crab fisheries.
Many vessel owners and crews took Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission-sponsored safety courses this summer. Coast Guard personnel and other safety advisers provided fishermen with extensive safety training in the classroom and on the water, with man overboard drills, fire drills and survival suit training.
For information about dockside exams, call Dan Hardin, Thirteenth Coast Guard District Fishing Vessel Safety Coordinator, at (206) 220-7226, (206) 239-0186 or e-mail Daniel.E.Hardin@uscg.mil.
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