Abandoned fishing ship likely sank in Bering Sea, officials say

A fishing vessel abandoned by its crew Tuesday in the Bering Sea as it took on water has likely sunk and officials called off the search Saturday.

The 229-foot Alaska Juris was believed to have been about 41 miles northeast of Segula Island in the Aleutians. On Tuesday, merchant ships rescued 46 crew members who abandoned the trawler in three life-rafts. They reported flooding in the ship's engine room.

After three days of searching by water and by air, crews could not find the vessel, according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The department said in a statement Saturday a "rainbow sheen of unrecoverable diesel fuel" was located in the area Friday and was assumed to be from the ship.

"The sheen has been seen to dissipate and reform," the department's statement said.

Washington-based Fishing Co. of Alaska owns the Alaska Juris and reported the ship could have had a maximum of 100,000 gallons of diesel on board plus "miscellaneous lube oils," according to the statement.

The fishing boat Alaska Endeavor, salvage tug Resolve Pioneer and a Coast Guard C-130 crew all searched for the ship northwest of Adak this week but did not find it. The search was suspended at 4 p.m. Saturday, the statement said.

"All evidence indicates the vessel has sunk," it said.

The statement said there were no reports of impacted fish or wildlife, and there was "extremely low potential for (petroleum) product to reach shoreline."