NEWPORT, Ore. — A routine crabbing trip turned tragic Sunday afternoon when the F/V Das Bug, a Newport-based fishing vessel, capsized and sank near the entrance of the Yaquina Bay jetty.
The U.S. Coast Guard said the vessel went down around 4 p.m., prompting a search involving a helicopter and two motor lifeboats. Three of the four crew members — including captain Perry Bordeaux — were pulled from the frigid water and rushed to Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital for treatment of hypothermia. The fourth crew member remains missing.
Search efforts were suspended at nightfall but are expected to resume Monday morning at 7 a.m., according to family members.
The Das Bug, a 40-foot crab boat, was returning to port with a load of crab and 20 crab pots, just days before the official close of the Dungeness crab season on Friday.
Bordeaux, a familiar figure in Newport’s fishing community, is known for his advocacy on behalf of small-boat operators and his participation in Oregon’s derelict crab pot retrieval program.
According to a friend who spoke with Bordeaux Sunday evening, the vessel encountered trouble while heading north toward the South Jetty. “It flipped over pretty quickly,” the friend said, noting that the crew had just enough time to put on life jackets before the boat rolled.
A deckhand reportedly called another captain by cell phone, who then relayed the emergency to the Coast Guard. The three survivors were in the water for roughly 45 minutes before being rescued.
As the Coast Guard prepares to resume its search, Newport’s tight-knit fishing community is bracing for a difficult wait — and holding out hope for the safe return of the missing crew member.
