Coast Guard Searches for Missing Fisherman in Bering Sea

The U.S. Coast Guard has launched a search effort for a man who was last seen aboard a fishing boat north of St. Matthew Island in the Bering Sea. 

The fisherman was initially reported missing to the Coast Guard by the master of the Clipper Epic at about 1240 hours. The boat's position was about 60 miles north of St. Matthew Island, a rocky, uninhabited outcropping located about 500 nm north of Dutch Harbor. 

A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak C-130 Hercules aircrew out of  Kotzebue is searching for the man, with assistance from the Clipper Epic and from two other vessels from the same owner's fleet, the Frontier Spirit and Frontier Mariner. The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Munro has been dispatched to assist in the search, and the 17th District command center in Juneau has broadcast an alert to mariners. 

The Coast Guard reported relatively favorable search conditions for the Bering Sea, including 15 mph winds, five-foot seas and 10-mile visibility. 

“The Coast Guard, the crew of Clipper Epic and others are doing everything we can to find this man,” said Maren Murphy, Coast Guard 17th District command duty officer. “We plan to search through the night.”

The Clipper Epic is a 1,000 GT freezer longliner owned by a Seattle-based firm.