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CNN Live At Daybreak

Coast Guard Releases Underwater Video of Arctic Rose

Aired July 24, 2001 - 08:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: The Coast Guard has released underwater video showing the wreck of the Arctic Rose. It is the fishing vessel that sank last spring in the Bering Sea, with the loss of all 15 men on board. National correspondent Frank Buckley has the story now and the video.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Coast Guard investigators journeyed to the heart of the Bering Sea to search for the Arctic Rose, sonar locating the 92-foot fishing vessel lost at sea last April. Fifteen men all aboard died in the worst U.S. fishing boat disaster of the past half century.

UNIDENTIFIED COAST GUARDSMAN: We're gathered together today to remember the crewmembers of the fishing vessel, Arctic Rose.

BUCKLEY: Members of the Coast Guard Marine Board of Inquiry paused their work and held a memorial service at sea before sending an ROV, a remote operating vehicle, down more than 425 feet to see the vessel. Emerging from the darkness, the Arctic Rose, sitting upright at the bottom of the Bering. It's name clearly visible.

Investigators hoped close-up views of the underwater wreckage would reveal why the craft went down. There was no mayday; no warning it was in trouble. But after 12 minutes of video was recorded from the ROV's cameras, a major problem for investigators, the ROV is entangled in the Arctic Rose. The cord is cut. The ROV is lost at sea. For some of the family members of the 15 men who died, however, the video was enough to confirm the worst.

KATHY MEINCKE, VICTIM'S MOTHER: I guess it makes it more real now. Something in the back of my mind keeps telling me he hasn't gone because I haven't really seen it and now I have.

BUCKLEY: David Rundall's son was the skipper of the vessel.

DAVID RUNDALL, VICTIM'S FATHER: And I can just see his last thoughts of losing his boat, losing all those people. That must have been horrible.

BUCKLEY: The sinking of the commercial fishing vessel was only the latest in an extremely dangerous occupation. Death rates for commercial fishermen, some years, 16 times higher than those suffered by firemen or police officers. Some family members hope the investigation into the Arctic Rose will generate stricter regulations in an industry that has, at times, resisted them.

JENNIFER TINGEY, VICTIM'S SISTER: What good is it going to do? I mean to put all this effort into it and is it just going to be shelved like it has in the past?

BUCKLEY: Coast Guard officials say they hope the underwater video will help to at least eliminate some possible scenarios.

CAPT. RONALD MORRIS, U.S. COAST GUARD MARINE BOARD: We didn't get to see an awful lot of the vessel so from that standpoint we're all disappointed. But we got some information that we'll take a look at.

BUCKLEY (on-camera): Coast Guard investigators concede they may never have a definitive cause, but they're hopeful a second ROV journey planned for sometime next month will bring them closer to answering the question: what happened to the Arctic Rose?

Frank Buckley, CNN, Seattle.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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