Chukchi-Sea

The Coast Guard identified the two crew members who died in an accident aboard the barge 'Waynehoe' as the 21-year-old Ben Fowler of Sitka, and the 28-year-old Sidney Mohorovich of Washington state on MArch 21. The Coast Guard was conducting a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident, in order to understand what happened and prevent this from occurring again. Rescue crews from the Coast Guard and fire department in Ketchikan responded after the crew of the tug reported on March 15 at 9:14 a.m. that they had lost contact with four individuals who were in a confined space on the 'Waynehoe'. Two of the four crew members were recovered and responsive the same day. The third crew member was recovered and later declared deceased. The fourth was recovered and declared deceased on March 17, after the barge had been towed to the Ketchikan area. The Coast Guard worked with partner agencies in Ketchikan to access the confined space on the barge in a safe manner, and find the crew member who was unaccounted for. The South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department of Ketchikan helped the Coast Guard respond to the emergency. A paramedic and two EMTs from STVFD went with the Coast Guard aboard the USCG vessel. The barge was moored in McKenzie Inlet within Skowl Arm on the east side of Prince of Wales Island. After the accident a Boyer Towing vessel took the barge to Ward Cove, north of Ketchikan. The 'Chukchi Sea', owned by the Hamilton Marine Construction, was returned to the Ketchikan port by its owner on March 16.

Two crew members died and two others had to be hospitalised following a confined space incident aboard the freight barge 'Waynehoe', operated by the Bellingham-based Hamilton Marine Construction, near Ketchikan, Alaska, on March 15, 2026. The U.S. Coast Guard was investigating the incident, which occurred approximately 25 miles northwest of Ketchikan. Four men were involved in the incident. Two of thrm, identified as Ben Fowler and Sidney Mohorovich, were pronounced dead. The remaining two were rescued and were reported to be in stable condition. Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector Southeast Alaska in Juneau received a mayday call at 9:14 a.m., reporting that the crew of the 'Chukchi Sea' had lost contact with four crew members inside a confined space aboard the barge while it was moored near Skowl Arm. A 45-foot boat from the Coast Guard Station Ketchikan was launched along with personnel from the South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department. Before the responders arrived, the tug’s crew recovered one deceased crew member and assisted two others out of the confined space. The barge was later towed to a pier in Ward Cove, north of Ketchikan, to support recovery operations by a Boyer towing vessel. In a coordinated multi-agency effort, the second deceased crew member was recovered from the space on March 17. The Coast Guard worked with partner agencies to access the confined space on the barge in a safe manner, and find the crew member. The South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department of Ketchikan helped the Coast Guard respond to the emergency. A paramedic and two EMTs from STVFD went with the Coast Guard aboard a USCG vessel. The department provides limited medical care for Coast Guard search and rescue cases. The cause of the incident remained under investigation. The two deceased have been identified as Ben Fowler and Sidney Mohorovich. Report with photo: https://www.juneauindependent.com/post/2-tugboat-crew-members-killed-in-mishap-on-barge-near-ketchikan