USCG Safety Alert: Mind Your Lifesaving Equipment Stowage

Two recent marine casualties on commercial fishing vessels(CFVs) highlighted hazardous stowage conditions that rendered onboard lifesaving equipment ineffective.

During the first incident, a 41-foot CFV capsized and sank within two minutes after taking on water. The personal flotation devices (PFDs) were not stored in an easily accessible location, preventing the crew from retrieving them before exiting the vessel. Additionally, the liferaft and hydrostatic release unit were attached to an aftermarket fiberglass canopy, which broke away and floated free during the capsizing, preventing automatic deployment. Fortunately, a crew member managed to swim to the floating canopy and manually deploy the liferaft.

For the second incident, a 60-foot CFV caught fire, forcing the crew to rapidly evacuate. Although the crew retrieved PFDs before abandoning the vessel, they were not readily accessible. Rather than being stowed at normal workstations (e.g, the bridge, aft deck), the PFDs had been stowed in the galley within bench seating. Additionally, the throwable liferaft was stowed under an internal pilothouse ladder, obstructing easy access and deployment. This stowage location was directly above the engine room, where the fire originated. The intensity of the engine room fire prevented the crew from retrieving the liferaft before abandoning the vessel.