Finding an Alaska Shipwreck or Lost Alaskan Fisherman

If you are looking for a boat or ship and know the name, click on the Alaska Shipwrecks A-Z link above and search the alphabetical listings.  If you know a fisherman’s name and about when they were lost click on the Alaska Recent Maritime Losses 1972-2009 link above and read through the years when the loss occurred.  If you are interested in shipwrecks from a particular area click on the Shipwrecks by Area 1740-1940 link above and search in the area of your particular interest.  If you are interested in a particular period in history or an individual year click on the Alaska Shipwrecks 1729-2010 and download the chronological pdf file of the BOEM Alaska Shipwreck List by clicking on the link shown.

This website is far from complete but contains thousands of pages of useful information about Alaska Shipwrecks.  ALASKA SHIPWRECKS is now available as a pdf file book that can be purchased and downloaded.  Just click on the book store link on the right side of this page and you will be directed to the Alaska Shipwrecks Bookstore page.    Thank You for Visiting and Smooth Sailing….  Captain Warren Good

Those lost overboard, off of the dock, and out of skiffs are listed in the 1972-2010 Maritime Losses Section
Those lost overboard, off of the dock, and out of skiffs are listed in the 1972-2010 Maritime Losses Section

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10 Replies to “Finding an Alaska Shipwreck or Lost Alaskan Fisherman”

  1. Hello Captain Good, I have just come across your extensive website. I was looking for information about the F/V Gjoa, a purse seiner out of Petersburg, AK. “This” Gjoa was built before 1924 and owned by a series of different folks in Petersburg. The last owner was Andy Worwath. The Gjoa sank about 1970 in the vicinity of Chatham Straits with a load of blackcod. I’m trying to determine the survival/outcome of this incident. Thanks.

    1. The 34.5 foot wooden oil screw fishing vessel GJOA, owned by Andrew Horwath, was built in 1935 at Petersburg; official number 235605. I tracked the vessel’s history from when she was built through many owners ending with Mr Horwath but cannot find her final outcome. I will continue to search with the information you have given me.

  2. Aloha Captain Good,

    I’m searching for information regarding a fishing vessel involved in a collision with a large freighter, possibly in/near Unimak Pass. I’ve heard the name of the vessel given as “AK 1” or “Alaska One” but am very uncertain.

    I was also told the vessel was owned/operated by FCA (Fishing Company of Alaska).

    I have searched this website, but have not found any information, although I’m confident it’s probably here somewhere….

    Thanks.

    1. There was a collision in Unimak Pass September 6, 1942 in the fog involving the merchant freighter Derblay and the patrol and training craft YP-74 (ex Endeavor) carrying a crew of Sea-Bees. Four Sea-Bees were lost. It would be much easier to search if I knew the rough time period and if there was loss of life. I have no records of a company called FCA or Fishing Company of Alaska or AK 1… Alaska One. I will dig around.

    2. Further research reveals there was a collision between the 198 foot longline freezer ship ALASKA 1 (Official Number 539567)and a tramper February 12, 1998 in Unimak Pass. All 33 on board were safe. This accident is not in my records because the account I used does not mention that any vessel was lost and I only post records where I can evidence the “total loss” of a vessel. I will follow up and see if I can find anything more.

    3. The ALASKA I was registered for Alaska Fisheries until 2006. In 1998 it was owned by ALASKA I Inc. 200 W Thomas #440, Seattle WA 98119. The owner name was changed in about 2005 to The Fishing Company of Alaska but the address remained the same. I am getting this information from the State of Alaska CFEC Public Lookup. The name of the vessel for digital searching is ALASKA I with the capital letter I (i) instead of the number 1. Good luck with your search.

  3. I am interested in obtaining a little more info the F/V Sea Witch (grounded Oct. 9, 1976); specifically whether there are any photos of the vessel, who the owner was and possibly crew member names. Can you help me?

    1. I worked on the Sea Witch earlier that year (1976). At that time, I was told it was owned by two Kodiak businessmen, Jim Fisk and Dr. Euphemio. I was on it from late 1975 until the spring of 1976. I have been told that after grounding in the Pribilof Islands, it was salvaged by someone and towed back to a shipyard somewhere on the mainland. There it was renamed Incentive. At some point after that, it was put back into service but caught fire and was left in Kodiak in a burned out condition. It was anchored in Dog Bay Harbor in 1992. I have photos of it burned out and anchored in Kodiak with the name Incentive on it and another before it was lost. I was last in Kodiak in 1992 and I do not know what happened to the boat after that.

  4. My dad was stationed in Kodiak from 1976 to about 1983/84. In 80/81 I was a senior at KHS and as part of an art class project I decided to paint a fishing boat. As the concept grew, with photos I had of the Jeffery Allen, it morphed into a ship headed for rocks. I found the original concept sketches a couple of weeks ago and the original name for the painting was supposed to be “Sea Queen”, but as it was taking shape I changed it to “Sea Witch”. Once it was done, I remember one of my classmates asking me how I came up with the idea. I told him about having seen the Jeffery Allen, having seen another vessel coming out of the fog one day and thinking combined they might be a cool idea for a painting and that I had just decided as the painting was being finished to change the name. He told me that was weird and asked if I knew that his dad had owned a fishing boat named “Sea Witch” that had run aground on rocks some years before. If I did, I didn’t remember; I would have been 13 in 1976 and probably didn’t pay any attention to news like that or the news in general. With the info you provided I now believe that classmate to be Jimmy Euphemio, Dr. Euphemio’s son. Thanks for satisfying some of the curiosity I have of the vessel brought on by finding the concept sketch 38 years after it was created. BTW – I gave the sketch to my daughter who also happens to have the painting hanging in her living room.

    1. I remember both vessels and when they were lost (1976 Sea Witch and 1978 Jeffery Allen) and have pictures of both. I lived in Kodiak the whole time you were there so our paths may have crossed. I don’t know if you knew the Jeffery Allen was lost in 1978 but they did salvage it some time later. I have the story of the loss somewhere in a file. I have been collecting information about shipwrecks since about the time the Sea Witch was lost. One of the surviving crew of the Jeffery Allen sent me a photo, but it was low quality and a bit fuzzy.

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