F/V Red October; Oahu, Hawaii

Oahu, Hawaii | 1995-Mar-07

Initial Notification: On March 7, 1995, MSO Honolulu was notified that a 72-fishing vessel, Red October, was sinking in open water 74 miles northwest of Oahu in the Kauai Channel. The incident began on March 5 when the vessel started taking on water. By the afternoon of March 7 all the vessel's personnel had been safely removed and the vessel was still afloat. On-scene weather indicated that Kona conditions prevailed (winds contrary to the usual westerly tradewinds MSO Honolulu's main concern was the impact of oil to the islands of Kauai and Niihau. On March 7, Red October was far enough from any sensitive areas that a catastrophic release of her fuel would be relatively harmless. A worst-case scenario would be if the vessel were to remain afloat long enough to get near an environmentally sensitive area and then have a catastrophic release. USCG district 14. Keyword: none.