SEATTLE – The US Coast Guard has completed a formal investigation into the 2019 capsizing of a crab boat off the Oregon coast that resulted in the death of all three men aboard, one of whom was a native of Joyce, Washington.

On the night of Tuesday, January 8 the 42-foot Mary B II capsized off Newport, Oregon as it tried to cross a notoriously treacherous sandbar while facing down 15-foot breakers.

Authorities recovered the bodies of Captain Stephen Biernacki, James Lacey and Joshua Porter within the next 12 hours. Porter, who was 50, had been living in Toledo, Oregon but a family member told KONP at the time that he attended elementary and high school in the Crescent School District in Joyce.

After a five-year investigation, the U.S. Coast Guard announced the capsizing was primarily Biernacki’s fault. Biernacki was not only inexperienced with the bay’s treacherous conditions, but he was also high on methamphetamine.

Additionally, the effective absence of any oversight of captains and crew on most fishing boats also contributed to the deaths, the Coast Guard found.

The Coast Guard recommended stricter regulations, including that a national advisory committee on fishing vessel safety consider rules to mandate licensing and drug and alcohol testing for captains of all fishing boats. The tests and licensing are now required only for captains of large commercial fishing boats.

But the advisory committee, which reports to the secretary of Homeland Security, ultimately rejected all the recommendations for additional oversight, citing the potential cost for the industry.

In the U.S., anyone can be a captain on all but the largest fishing vessels. There is no license or certification required for smaller fishing boats that the Coast Guard could revoke when they see a problem.

(Photo: Mary B II wreckage)