The Seattle-based Destination crab boat, on what would be its fatal voyage, set off into harsh, freezing spray in the Bering Sea overloaded, not up to stability standards and carrying a tired crew, according to a Coast Guard report released Sunday that blamed the boat’s owner and its captain for failing to ensure safety.
The Marine Board of Investigation detailed a series of missteps that led to the deaths of all six crew members on Feb. 11, 2017, while also uncovering weaknesses in a safety-oversight system set up to prevent such fishing-industry disasters.
The Destination was “in a vulnerable condition” that left the crew “with limited ability to survive,” said Capt. Lee Boone, director of investigations for the Coast Guard, during a Sunday news conference on the Seattle waterfront, as the parents of Kai Hamik, one of the men killed, looked on.
Read more at The Seattle Times
