Hearing begins on crab boat sinking that killed 3

NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) – The U.S. Coast Guard is holding a public hearing this week to review its handling of a crab boat sinking that killed 3 crabbers off the Oregon coast earlier this year.

KGW-TV reports that the five-day hearing began Monday in Newport.

The federal agency is expected to release parts of its investigation into the sinking of the Mary B II on Jan. 8, including a review of the Coast Guard’s rescue attempts in stormy seas.

Forty-eight-year-old James Lacey, of South Toms River, New Jersey; 50-year-old Joshua Porter, of Toledo, Oregon and the boat’s skipper, 50-year-old Stephen Biernacki, of Barnegat Township, New Jersey, all died in the accident.

The crabbers were unable to cross Yaquina Bay to get back to shore safely when a storm hit.

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