The Pacific Queen, a 113-gross-ton, wooden-hulled commercial fishing vessel, ran aground, flooded, and sank in about 200 feet of water off Lung Island near Duncan Canal, Alaska, at about 0100 on August 14, 2013. The three crewmembers abandoned the vessel and were rescued without injury. The US Coast Guard reported a light sheen on the water in the vicinity of the vessel after the sinking, but no additional evidence of pollution was found during searches conducted from the air and on the water over the next 2 days.
We determined that the probable cause of the sinking of the commercial fishing vessel Pacific Queen was the fatigued captain leaving the bridge unattended before he was properly relieved of his watch, resulting in the vessel continuing on its heading without navigational control and then grounding.
