Maritime News

Coast Guard Suspends Search for Missing Texas Fisherman

Posted on Jan 20, 2011

The Coast Guard has announced that it is suspending its search for forty-two-year-old fisherman, Thein Nguyen.

The Anahauc fisherman was reported missing at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, January 18 when he did not come home after a fishing trip in Galveston Bay. His sunken fishing boat and fishing gear were found the following day.

Nguyen was fishing offshore near smith Point. The Coast Guard, the Chambers County Sheriff's Office and Texas Parks and Wildlife searched more than 400 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico in Trinity Bay, East Bay and Galveston Bay. Nuguyen’s 21-foot fishing boat was found submerged one mile north of Smith Point. When divers raised the vessel, Nguyen was not onboard.

This is a reminder of the dangers that offshore workers face every day. For every major accident like BP’s Deepwater Horizon explosion, there are thousands of smaller accidents that leave seamen injured or dead. The Jones Act and the Death on the High Seas Act are designed to offer protection to the victims of offshore accidents and to their families.