The two ships were Good Samaritan vessels and did not report any wounded persons, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Lauren Steenson.
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When the 220-foot Alaska Juris started taking on water Tuesday, all crew members donned survival suits and got into three rafts.
Coast Guard officials say that problems started in the engine room of the Juris, and that two cargo ships, the Spar Canis and the Vienna Express, were first to respond to the vessel’s distress signal.
Coast Guard aircrews, assisted by private vessels, responded to the crewmembers on Tuesday near Kiska Island, part of the Aleutian Islands chain.
Loomis said the Ocean Peace and Seafisher arrived around 6 p.m., picking up some of the crew from two life rafts still tethered to the side of the Juris and other crew who had already boarded a cargo ship. That company had another vessel go down in 2008. On Tuesday all securities’ checkups were done before taking on water.
All 46 crew members were rescued and taken to the Aleutian Island of Adak in Alaska. There are no reported injuries.
The Coast Guard said the crew will be flown to Anchorage.
The Coast Guard deployed a Cutter Midgett and an Air Station Kodiak Hercules airplane to the site of the sinking ship and two Air Station Kodiak Jayhawk helicopters to Adak, the Coast Guard said.
“The crew of the Alaska Juris did the right thing by calling for help, putting on their immersion suits and safely abandoning the ship”, said Lt. Greg Isbell, according to a statement on the Coast Guard’s website.
The Alaska Juris has been involved in several accidents over the years, starting with the fact that the ship is owned by the Fishing Company of Alaska of Renton, which also owned the Alaska Ranger.
46 crew members were rescued after they hopped into life rafts off of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
Seas in the area were calm with limited visibility, the Coast Guard said.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is monitoring the vessel.
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In March 2012, a fisherman aboard the boat died after a cable snapped and struck him in the head. Days later, another fisherman was treated for a head injury after a cable snapped aboard the vessel and struck him.
