The Coast Guard confirms that a wreck discovered at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico by the Bureau of Ocean Management is the fishing vessel Katmai, Dec. 2012.
MOBILE, Ala. – The Coast Guard has identified a sunken fishing vessel missing since 1972. The Schmidt Ocean Institute research vessel Falkor in concert with Bureau of Ocean Energy Management found an unknown sonar target object December 2012.
The research vessel sent a remote operating vehicle to investigate.
The fishing vessel Katmai was discovered in 8,920 feet of water approximately 200 miles offshore. After receiving data of the discovery from BOEM, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigations National Center of Expertise initiated a cold case investigation.
Oskar Joos, his wife, eight-year-old child and deckhand Clinton Hollevoet departed Mobile for Anchorage, Alaska on the fishing vessel Katmai Feb. 18, 1972. Katmai was constructed by Bender Ship Building for Joos in 1972.
The INCOE discovered as part of its investigation that the vessel never arrived at its destination, and was presumed to have sunk in the Gulf of Mexico.
Coast Guard Sector Mobile investigators located and contacted the surviving family of Hollevoet and Joos and helped bring closure to the loss of their family member.
