Confined space incident aboard barge Waynehoe kills two and injures two near Ketchikan

As of March 19, 2026, the Coast Guard is investigating a confined space incident aboard the freight barge Waynehoe that left two crew members dead and two others injured while the vessel was moored about 25 miles northwest of Ketchikan in southeast Alaska. The agency said the event occurred over the weekend and was reported to its command center by a mayday call.

Watchstanders received the mayday at 9:14 a.m. local time Sunday after the tug Chukchi Sea lost contact with crew working on the barge. The tug’s crew recovered one victim and assisted two survivors to safety before Coast Guard units arrived. The barge was towed into Ketchikan, where responders were able to clear the confined space and recover the second deceased crewmember. The deceased were identified as Sidney Mohorovich and Ben Fowler. A Coast Guard spokesperson, Alexander Ransom, said the two survivors were reported to be in good condition. Authorities have not released causes of death; the bodies were sent to Anchorage for autopsies.

Family members of Mohorovich said they were told officials found elevated methane levels in the compartment. Federal rules describe a confined space on a vessel as a small, limited-access compartment that can create hazardous exposures, including low oxygen. Mohorovich, 28, had recently started with Hamilton Marine Construction and lived in Deming, Washington, with his fiancée. Capt. Stanley Fields, commander of the Coast Guard sector for Southeast Alaska, extended condolences and warned of invisible hazards in vessel confined spaces.