Rogue waves hit Hawaii fishing vessel that sank, owner says

HONOLULU — The owner of a fishing vessel that sank off Hawaii over the weekend says two massive rogue waves hit the boat, swamping it and forcing the crew to abandon ship.

Loc Nguyen, owner of the Honolulu-based longline fishing vessel Princess Hawaii, told The Associated Press Tuesday that two waves hit the vessel, one from the back and one from the side.

Nguyen says the fishing crew had already set about 15 miles of line when the waves crashed, knocking five workers into the water. He said the captain, a federal observer and another crew member had been inside and were able to deploy the vessel’s life raft.

The eight people aboard were rescued by the vessel’s sister ship about 12 hours later. No injuries were reported.