Marine Accident Report - Sinking of the U.S. Fishing Vessel SANTO ROSARIO about 35 Nautical Miles East of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, July 23, 1984

摘要

About 0430 on July 23, 1984, the 70.5-foot-long U.S. fishing vessel SANTO ROSARIO, while fishing for calico scallops about 35 nautical miles east of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, capsized and sank. Three crewmembers were rescued by a fishing vessel nearby, but the fourth crewmember, sleeping below deck, went down with the vessel and was drowned. The vessels estimated value was $250,000. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the capsizing and sinking of the fishing vessel SANTO ROSARIO was the agreement between the fishermen and the Canaveral Seafood Company to pile enough scallops on deck to accommodate 1 1/2 hours of pierside unloading time, which reduced the stability of the vessel to the point that a small shift in the vessel's deckload capsized the vessel. Contributing to the death of the sleeping fisherman below deck was the lack of any means to warn him before the vessel overturned.