About 2215 on October 30, 2017, the shrimp trawler Ben & Casey sank in the Gulf of Mexico about 6 miles off South Padre Island, Texas. The vessel was outbound to fishing grounds when it lost propulsion and seawater flooded into its freezer hold. The crew broadcast a distress call, and responding Coast Guard personnel assisted the crew in dewatering the vessel. They were unable to control the flooding, so the crew boarded a Coast Guard vessel. A Good Samaritan vessel then attempted to tow the Ben & Casey, but water ingress increased. The towline was cut, and the trawler sank soon after. No one was injured during the accident; no pollution was reported. The Ben & Casey, valued at $191,000, was lost.

​​The probable cause of the flooding and sinking of the fishing vessel Ben & Casey was a sheared propeller shaft that allowed water ingress into the hull through the shaft seal.

​​Recognizing Metal Fatigue in Propeller Shafting

This accident is similar to the sinking of the fishing vessel Lady Gertrude on August 15, 2016. In the Lady Gertrude accident, investigators determined that the propeller shaft had sheared near the shaft seal. The resulting opening allowed water ingress that exceeded the vessel’s bilge pumping capacity. Vessel owners and operators should be aware of the limitations of visual inspections in determining the condition of shafting and should consider the use of periodic non-destructive testing as a tool to identify ​metal fatigue.