SAN DIEGO — U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego responds to a report of a fire onboard the 40-foot fishing vessel Louise Caroline, approximately 80-miles off the coast of San Diego, Tuesday.
Due to communication complications, watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector San Diego Joint Harbor Operations Center received notification from a crewmember aboard the Louise Caroline via text on a Garmin device. The messages were received at approximately 2:35 p.m., reporting that: there was a fire aboard the Louise Caroline, that the fire was extinguished, and the two persons aboard were reported to be safe; however, the vessel required a tow.
The Coast Guard assumed search and rescue mission coordinator (SMC), launched an air asset to establish communications and coordinate a towing plan.
The Coast Guard aircrew arrived on scene at approximately 6:30 p.m., and established communication with the Louise Caroline crew. The crew chose to receive assistance from Tow Boat U.S., and Sector San Diego facilitated the coordination.
At approximately 1:23 a.m. Wednesday morning, the Coast Guard aircrew departed the scene and Tow Boat U.S. began initiating the tow back to San Diego.