USCG Reconvenes Formal Investigation
The USCG reconvened its one-person formal investigation to determine the cause of the sinking of F/V Cape Fear and the loss of two of its crewmen. F/V Cape Fear sank Jan. 8, 1999 after radioing a distress call reporting they were taking on water. Three of the five crewmen aboard Cape Fear were rescued by the crew of F/V Misty Dawn. The USCG conducted an extensive search for the two missing crewmen. The body of one crewmember was located on a beach near Gooseberry Neck the next day. The last crewman was not located and the search was suspended on Jan. 9. Cape Fear has since been salvaged and was brought to New Bedford, Mass. on Aug. 15, by the vessel's owner. It was subsequently drydocked at the Fairhaven Shipyard in Fairhaven, Mass.
Accidents and Vessel Casualties
M/V Isabella sank two miles west of Ft. Pierce, Fla. USCG Group Miami dispatched a Coast Guard Station (CGSTA) Fort Pierce utility boat (UTB). The crew was removed by the UTB prior to the vessel sinking. Passenger vessel Monarch of the Seas went aground in Saint Philipsburg, Dutch Saint Maarten. The P/V was returning to port because its pumps could not keep up with the flooding after hitting a reef during its departure from port. The National Response Center received a report of a tug pushing three barges that ran aground along the Lower Mississippi River near Helena, Ark. The lead barge experienced damage resulting in the release of 1,700 barrels of unleaded gasoline. The remaining product was removed and the barge was floated off the rocks.
