NORTH BEND, Ore. – 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.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Bend received a report at 3:38 p.m. 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 4:47 p.m. and arrived on scene at 7:13 p.m.
The MLB crew towed the Pacific Faith for 12 hours; mitigating 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 MLB crew, for the final hour-long leg of the mission.
The crew of the Intrepid towed the fishing vessel across the Coos Bay Bar and safely moored it at the Charleston Marina, 8:05 a.m., Tuesday.
“The Intrepid was chosen to do a relief tow at buoy five in the Coos Bay Bar due to its higher-towing capacity,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Devon Lettie, a Station Coos Bay surfman. “The fishing community is still trying to do their jobs and support their families, and we still have to do ours.”
The four aboard the Pacific Faith reported no injuries.
