Seattle-based trawler reports man overboard in Alaska

The Coast Guard in Alaska continued searching the waters west of Dutch Harbor Tuesday for a man who fell overboard Monday from the Seattle-based commercial fishing vessel Alaska Warrior.

A Coast Guard spokeswoman said its Anchorage station received a call at 1:15 p.m. from the Alaska Warrior crew reporting a 58-year-old Japanese man fell overboard at 12:45 p.m. with no survival gear or life jacket.

"He fell off the back of the boat," Petty Officer Charlie Hengen said Tuesday. "He is considered a missing person and we remain actively searching for him."

The man's identity has not been disclosed.

A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and an HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Kodiak were launched about 3 p.m. and were expected on the scene Tuesday morning.

The Alaska Warrior's crew and its sister ship, the Alaska Juris, also are actively searching for the crew member, Hengen said.

Reported weather conditions in the area were 23 mph winds with seas to eight feet and overcast skies, the spokeswoman said. The sea temperature during this time of year can range from the low to high 40s.

The Alaska Warrior is a 192-foot trawler. The Alaska Juris, a 218-foot trawler, also is home-ported in Seattle. Both vessels routinely operate out of Dutch Harbor.

On Sunday, a Coast Guard search was suspended for another man, overboard from another Seattle-based trawler, the Rebecca Irene. A cutter and two Coast Guard helicopters had been searching the waters southeast of Umnak Island after the vessel's crew reported a crew member had gone overboard in the area Saturday morning.

The Coast Guard called off its search early Sunday because of poor weather and the length of time the 38-year-old man, identified as Nhial Opiew, a Kenyan-born U.S. citizen, had spent in the 43-degree Bering Sea, said a Coast Guard spokeswoman. The crew discovered he was missing Saturday morning, but no one saw him go overboard, the spokeswoman said.

The 140-foot Rebecca Irene, fishing for ocean perch, searched the waters for 14 hours Saturday, along with other fishing vessels.

Seattle Times staff reporter Lewis Kamb contributed to this report.

Charles E. Brown: 206-464-2206 or cbrown@seattletimes.com