FV Poseidon; Panama City, Florida

Panama City, Florida | 1999-Apr-12

Initial Notification: The 62-foot F/V Poseidon was reported overdue and a search was launched. On April 12, 1999, during the second search by the Air Training Center Mobile, the vessel was located in a position 21 nms southwest of Cape San Blas, Florida. After repeated attempts to hail the vessel failed, a Good Samaritan (Sam) vessel volunteered to assist. The Good Sam vessel arrived on-scene and reported that the Poseidon's nets were in the water, the running lights were energized, the generator was running, but there were no crew members visible on deck. The Good Sam vessel was thanked for her help and released because the unknown situation could be dangerous. A USCG Station Panama City UTB was launched and directed to investigate the situation. The UTB arrived on-scene, dispatched a boarding team to the vessel, and discovered three crewmembers lying in the hold apparently deceased. The boarding team did not go into the hold for safety reasons. USCG District Eight asked District Seven to transport two gas-free engineers from the Bay County Sheriff's Department to the vessel in their HH-60 from the Air Station (A/S) Clearwater. The gas-free engineers were lowered to the vessel but were unable to access the hold due to their bulky equipment. The fishing nets were cut loose and the vessel was towed to Panama City, Florida by the station UTB. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), MSD Panama City, Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS), and the local coroner were notified of the incident and met the vessel at the dock. Once at the dock, the space was certified gas-free and the coroner pronounced the crewmembers deceased. An autopsy was performed. Once the coroner was finished, the federal agencies began their investigation. The actual cause of death was not initially known. A preservative sodium meta-bisulfite was found in the hold. USCG district 8. Keyword: preservative, fatalities.