Two Mariners Rescued From Burning Boat off Santa Cruz
The US Coast Guard and partners responded to a sunken vessel following a boat fire approximately one mile offshore of Santa Cruz on Wednesday morning.
At 7:40 a.m. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders received a report of a 45-ft vessel on fire with two people aboard. Watchstanders issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast Notice to Mariners, deployed a boat crew from Monterey, and coordinated with partner agencies in the area.
Santa Cruz Harbor Patrol (SCHP) and Fire Boat 12 personnel arrived on scene. SCHP rescued both vessel occupants and transported them to Santa Cruz Wharf with no reported injuries.
The Fire Boat 12 crew extinguished the fire. TowBoatUS attempted to salvage the vessel; however, the vessel began taking on water and sank before towing efforts could be made.
The vessel sank to a charted depth of 47 feet. The vessel has an estimated report of 650 gallons of fuel onboard. No active discharge or apparent damage to the fuel-storage tanks has been observed.
“Our top priorities in any incident are safety of the public and responders and protection of the environment,” said Lt. Cmdr. Mark Leahey, Coast Guard Sector San Francisco Incident Management Division Chief. “We approach every operation with care and deliberate action to mitigate adverse impact to the environment.”
Coast Guard Incident Management Division personnel are working with the vessel owner and monitoring salvage operations.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.