Sinking of Passenger Vessel – Jig Strike

Hull Integrity Failure: Lessons from the Jig Strike Sinking

What Happened: On August 31, 2024, the charter fishing vessel Jig Strike was underway between fishing locations near Cortes Bank, approximately 100 nautical miles west of San Diego, California, when it began rapidly taking on water. Despite the crew’s efforts, the flooding could not be stemmed. The five crewmembers and 12 passengers successfully abandoned ship into a liferaft and were subsequently rescued by a nearby good Samaritan vessel. The Jig Strike later sank, resulting in a total loss estimated at $475,000. Fortunately, there were no injuries and no pollution reported.

Immediate Operational Checks: This incident underscores the critical importance of hull integrity, particularly for composite vessels. Officers and mariners should immediately review their vessel’s maintenance schedules and conduct thorough visual and tactile inspections of hull structures. Pay close attention to areas prone to stress, looking for any signs of delamination, blistering, cracking, or unusual flexing in fiberglass and plywood composite sections. Ensure that regular, documented inspections are performed, especially for vessels operating in demanding conditions. Any anomalies, no matter how minor, warrant immediate investigation by qualified personnel.

Lessons Learned:

• Structural failure due to delamination of fiberglass hull sheathing can lead to catastrophic hull separation and rapid flooding.
• Proactive and rigorous hull inspection and maintenance programs are paramount for identifying and mitigating potential structural weaknesses in composite vessels.

Learn how to do percussion testing. Tapping the GRP hull and superstructure gently with a rubber mallet or surveyor’s hammer will reveal areas where the core material under the layers of GRP has deteriorated. Patches where the sound of hammer strikes change over time should be monitored. 

Performing percussion testing as part of annual inspections is good practice. Learning the noise your vessel makes when it is in good condition, will give you something to compare to, after delamination occurs.

Tags: Flooding, Sinking, Hull Integrity, Composite Vessels, Passenger Vessel

Official Report

Read the full safety report here: Flooding and Sinking of Passenger Vessel Jig Strike