On the morning of August 1, the 110 foot long tug vessel Sea Ranger sank in the Gulf of Alaska some 130 miles south of Cordova, Alaska. The Sea Ranger contacted the United States Coast Guard that the vessel was taking on water and requested assistance.  The Coast Guard responded by sending an HC-130 Super Hercules aircraft from Kodiak with a dewatering pump. The helicopter arrived and able to deliver0 the pump to the crew and returned to back to shore.

Two hours later the Sea Ranger contacted the Coast Guard stating the vessel was in trouble. The tug vessel had suffered a fire in the engine room and the main engine was now inoperative. With no power for the dewatering pumps, the crew of four were unable to stop the water ingress. The Coast Guard deployed a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter along with an HC-130 Super Hercules airplane to assist. The helicopter arrived a few hours later on scene and hoisted all 4 crew members off the Sea Ranger.  The crew were flown to Cordova and found to be in good condition. The tug vessel was last reported to be in sinking condition and was assumed lost.