Cape Dorset crew rescued, vessel sank off Burin Peninsula

The fishing crew aboard the Cape Dorset is safe after the vessel sankoff the Burin Peninsula Saturday morning.

A distress call was sent out from the ship around 9 a.m. after the boat started taking on water.

The Ivy Rose, another fishing vessel, was the first to respond to the distress call.

Maj. Martell Thompson, with the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre out of Halifax, said all 19 crew members were able to get off safely before the ship sank.

Earlier on Saturday, Thompson said the Ivy Rose would rendezvous with the George R. Pearkes Coast Guard vessel to transfer the crew.

However, he later said it was more likely the Cape Dorset crew would stay aboard the Ivy Rose, which is being escorted toward Trepassey on the southeast tip of the Avalon Peninsula.

Thompson said weather conditions will decide whether the ship will dock in Trepassey, or be forced on to St. John's.

The ship is not expected to arrive until after midnight.

JRCC tasked a Cormorant helicopter out of Gander and a Hercules aircraft from Greenwood, Nova Scotia to assist in the rescue. A Provincial Airlines plane also responded.

The Cape Dorset is owned by Icewater Harvesting out of Arnold's Cove.

The company received $2 million investment from the Newfoundland and Labrador government in April 2013 to help finance the purchase of the ship.