Maritime and Workplace Safety

The U.S. Coast Guard says two crew members from the tugboat Chukchi Sea were killed and two others injured in a "confined space incident" Sunday aboard the freight barge Waynehoe, moored about 25 miles northwest of Ketchikan, Alaska. According to a Coast Guard news release, the four entered a confined compartment on the barge and lost contact with their shipmates, who later recovered one of the deceased, assisted the two survivors out, and called for help. The second victim’s body was not recovered until the barge was towed to a pier in Ketchikan for what officials called a safer, more thorough response. The Coast Guard identified the dead as Ben Fowler and Sidney Mohorovich and said the two survivors were in stable condition. Sector Southeast Alaska commander Capt. Stanley Fields called the case a "heartbreaking reminder" that confined spaces on vessels can conceal "extremely dangerous, invisible hazards" such as oxygen depletion, and an investigation is underway that could have implications for maritime safety practices nationwide.