FV Silver King

History
CanadaCanada
NameSilver King
Port of registryWedgeport, Nova Scotia
FateCollision with Ocean Rockswift on August 22, 1967
General characteristics
Length55 ft (17 m)[1]
Sail planSeiner

The FV Silver King was a Canadian herring seiner based out of Wedgeport, Nova Scotia.

Collision and sinking

On 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

Six 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

An inquiry was held before Justice L. Ritchie of the New Brunswick Supreme Court.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Death boat". Ottawa Citizen. August 24, 1967. p. 11.
  2. ^ a b c Sinking of the Herring Seiner, 'Silver King' Archived 2016-10-05 at the Wayback Machine Lost to the Sea Memorial
  3. ^ a b c d "6 Fisherman Die in Collision Off Nova Scotia Port". Toledo Blade. Toledo, Ohio. August 23, 1967. p. 3.
  4. ^ "Six Die as Boats Collide". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa Citizen. August 23, 1967. p. 1.
  5. ^ 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. ^ "6 Fishermen Die In Boat Collision". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. August 24, 1967. p. 1.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Tug Captain Recalls Fatal Collision". Montreal Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. November 1, 1967. p. 21.