A Coast Guard 52-foot Motor Lifeboat crew towed a disabled 68-ton commercial fishing vessel Tuesday morning across the Coos Bay Bar, west of North Bend.
Coast Guard Sector North Bend received a report at 3:38pm Monday that the 61-foot fishing vessel Pacific Faith, with four people aboard and 10,000 pounds of fish, experienced a loss of power about 9-miles west of Port Orford and were drifting south.
A Coast Guard Station Coos Bay 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew launched at 4:47pm and arrived on scene at 7:13pm.
The Motor Lifeboat crew towed the Pacific Faith for 12 hours while relieving fatigue during that time by rotating positions.
A Coast Guard crew aboard the 52-foot Special Purpose Craft-Heavy Weather, Intrepid, launched from Station Coos Bay to relieve the 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew after they crossed the bar.
The crew of the Intrepid took the Pacific Faith into a side tow and moored it safely at the Charleston Marina, 8:05 a.m., Tuesday.
“The crew had already been out for 15 hours and that vessel was pushing a 100-tons,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Amber Archer, a Station Coos Bay surfman. “So the decision was made to relieve with the Intrepid. The 52 (the Intrepid), has been a proven asset since it started service in 1956. It has the power and the torque we need to handle these large commercial fishing vessels, especially performing tight maneuvers in the marina. That platform is absolutely essential to the security of the Pacific Northwest’s fishing industry.”
The four aboard the Pacific Faith reported no injuries.
