Katmai
The new fishing vessel Katmai departed Mobile, Alabama on Febuary 18, 1972. The Katmai was brand new from the Bender Ship Building yard and was heading for a long trip to its new home port at Anchorage, Alaska. On board was Captain Joos and a deckhand along with the Captain’s wife and eight-year old child. After it left port, the vessel was never sighted again. When it failed to arrive at the Panama Canal, it was presumed the vessel had sunk somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico.
Forty years later, the research vessel Falkor discovered an unknown sonar contact. The vessel sent down its ROV to investigate and found the sunken Katmai in 8,920 feet of water some 200 miles off the shore of Alabama. A short investigation failed to provide any clues to why the vessel sank with all hands.
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