January 18, 2024 — The owner of a fishing trawler that ran aground off Cape Elizabeth early Saturday morning says one of the crew members fell asleep after turning on the ship’s autopilot.
“[The crew member piloting the ship] fell asleep at the wheel and then just went straight into the beach,” said David Osier, owner of the Tara Lynn II and Osier’s Seafood in South Bristol. “Operator error is the cause of this accident.”
The Tara Lynn II is one of four ships in Osier’s commercial fishing fleet. On Saturday, the ship was en route to Portland Harbor after a day of trawling for groundfish. He said what happened next was recounted to him by the ship’s captain.
“They didn’t have the bridge alarm on, which is installed onboard to wake you up at certain time intervals,” Osier said. The ship’s autopilot then navigated the Tara Lynn II to the shallow waters.
Osier said the Tara Lynn was only doing four knots when it went up on the beach, but the tide was going out and the vessel got stuck in the sand.