Arctic Rose investigators seek answers on seabed

Published 9:00 pm Friday, May 25, 2001

Associated Press

ANCHORAGE — The Coast Guard officer heading the investigation into the deadly sinking of the commercial fishing boat Arctic Rose says he has considered options for getting a glimpse of the doomed boat now resting on the bottom of the Bering Sea.

"I would certainly love to see the vessel," said Capt. Ron Morris, who is stationed in New Orleans. "We’re kicking around ideas."

The Arctic Rose sank mysteriously April 2 about 205 miles northwest of St. Paul Island. All 15 crewmen were lost, with only one body recovered, that of former Everett resident and skipper of the Arctic Rose, Dave Rundall of Seattle.

Raising or examining the boat would be difficult. For one thing, the Coast Guard doesn’t know exactly where it sits, Morris said.

"When a vessel sinks, it does strange things," Morris said. "It doesn’t go straight down."

Rather, a sinking boat tends to sail and flutter its way down, meaning the boat could have landed some distance from its last position on the surface.

Still, the Arctic Rose, which is owned by Arctic Sole Seafood Inc. of Lynnwood, probably could be located with sonar, and Morris said he has explored the possibly of looking at it with some sort of remote-operated vehicle equipped with a camera.

With no survivors or witnesses to the sinking, or even any record of a distress call, the special Marine Board of Investigation looking into the sinking has a difficult job.

The panel’s efforts have focused on talking to past crewmen, researching the boat’s history, including alterations and maintenance, and mulling other ideas such as raising the boat or examining it underwater.

In terms of lives lost, the Arctic Rose remains the worst fishing vessel tragedy in the U.S. Bering Sea since the early 1980s.

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