The FV Silver King was a Canadian herring seiner based out of Wedgeport, Nova Scotia.
| History | |
|---|---|
 Canada | |
| Name | Silver King |
| Port of registry | Wedgeport, Nova Scotia |
| Fate | Collision with Ocean Rockswift on August 22, 1967 |
| General characteristics | |
| Length | 55 ft (17 m)[1] |
| Sail plan | Seiner |
Collision and sinking
editOn August 22, 1967, the 233-ton tugboat Ocean Rockswift was heading back to its home port of Saint John, New Brunswick. Silver King was out at sea on a herring fishing trip.[2] Around midnight, the tugboat struck Silver King about nine miles off the coast of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.[3] Silver King immediately flipped on its side and took on water.[2] Crew members from the seiner Dunville boarded the submerged vessel and cut a hole in the bow to rescue the lone survivor.[4][3] Less than 24 hours later, two scuba divers, Andy Wallace and Jack Hatfield, entered the submerged vessel through the hole and recovered six bodies.[5][2]
Casualties
editSix crew members died in the incident, all were from Wedgeport.[5] The lone survivor was 27 year-old Robert Bruce "Bobby" McDowell of Hackensack, New Jersey who was vacationing in Wedgeport with his family.[3][5] His uncle, Captain Roderick Boudreau died in the accident.[3][6][7]
| Name | Age | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Captain Roderick Boudreau | [5] | |
| Edgar Boudreau | [5] | |
| Vernon Boudreau | [5] | |
| Stanis Bourque | [5] | |
| Camille LeBlanc | [5] | |
| Raymond LeBlanc | [5] |
Inquiry
editAn inquiry was held before Justice L. Ritchie of the New Brunswick Supreme Court.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Death boat". Ottawa Citizen. August 24, 1967. p. 11.
- ^ a b c Sinking of the Herring Seiner, 'Silver King' Archived 2016-10-05 at the Wayback Machine Lost to the Sea Memorial
- ^ a b c d "6 Fisherman Die in Collision Off Nova Scotia Port". Toledo Blade. Toledo, Ohio. August 23, 1967. p. 3.
- ^ "Six Die as Boats Collide". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa Citizen. August 23, 1967. p. 1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Un accident de mer fair six victimes". Le Courrier de la Nouvelle-Écosse (in French). August 24, 1967. p. 1.
- ^ "6 Fishermen Die In Boat Collision". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. August 24, 1967. p. 1.
- ^ d'Entremont, Laurent (March 16, 2013). "The unforgiving sea". Kings County Advertiser. Kentville, Nova Scotia. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- ^ "Tug Captain Recalls Fatal Collision". Montreal Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. November 1, 1967. p. 21.