By Karen Robes Meeks
No lives were lost following a fire that consumed a commercial fishing vessel off Oahu, the US Coast Guard said Wednesday.
The vessel Miss Emma caught fire Tuesday approximately eight miles from South Island. It burned through the night before sinking at 7:22 a.m. in 2,700 feet of water seven miles south of Barbers Point, according to the Coast Guard.
“We’re pleased there was no loss of life in this case, and there are no current reports of pollution,” said Lt. j.g. Seth Gross, a command duty officer for Coast Guard Sector Honolulu.
The agency is investigating the cause of the fire. The Coast Guard first heard about the blaze via mayday call from the crew of the Miss Emma at 4:29 p.m. Tuesday.
A Coast Guard Station Honolulu 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew headed to the scene, rescuing the six crew members and a NOAA observer on a life raft. They arrived uninjured to Pier 38 in Honolulu.
