Coast Guard Assists Sinking Boat Near Oregon Inlet

A flare spotted on Saturday morning led to the assistance of a vessel taking on water southeast of Oregon Inlet by the U.S. Coast Guard.

At approximately 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard Station Oregon Inlet was notified over VHF-FM radio by the vessel Poacher that they were approximately two nautical miles southeast of Oregon Inlet, and had just witnessed a flare being shot off by a 23’ center console boat that appeared to be taking on water.

The station immediately launched the 47291 to go assist the console. Upon arriving on scene, the 47 quickly transferred a dewatering pump and a crew member to begin dewatering the vessel.

Due to the amount of water onboard, the 47 then departed scene to rendezvous with the station’s 24536 near the Bonner Bridge to collect a second dewatering pump. Back on scene, the 47 transferred the second dewatering pump over to the vessel. Once running, the Coast Guard crews on the scene were able to get the flooding under control. The 47 then escorted the center console and all four people onboard safely back to the Oregon Inlet Boat Ramp, arriving just before 9:30 a.m.

There were no injuries reported to any passengers onboard the flooded vessel.