Adrift fishing vessel towed ashore by USCG in heavy seas

January 4, 2019 7:00 pm
COURTESY COAST GUARD STATION CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT Several crews from the US Coast Guard teamed to tow a fishing vessel through high winds and rough seas after it went adrift Thursday evening.
COURTESY COAST GUARD STATION CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT Several crews from the US Coast Guard teamed to tow a fishing vessel through high winds and rough seas after it went adrift Thursday evening.

A 78-foot fishing vessel adrift after losing power about 15 miles off the Columbia River entrance Thursday evening was towed to safety by the U.S. Coast Guard after a nearly 20-hour operation in heavy seas, according to a Coast Guard release.

The Lisa Marie suffered a loss of steering around 8 p.m. A crew launched a 47-foot motor life boat from Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment and battled 12- to 16-foot seas and 40-knot winds to reach the vessel and take it into tow.

At 6:47 a.m. Friday, a crew left the station and met up with the tow around 9 a.m. to provide extra eyes on the tow as they crossed the bar. At 11:30 a.m. another 47-foot motor life boat launched and relieved the crew on the initial responding boat and continued the tow up river. The Lisa Marie was safely moored to the fuel pier in Astoria at 2:30 p.m. A commercial tug then took over and took her up river for repairs, according to the statement.