Coast Guard cutter captain temporarily relieved of duty after 2 divers die in Arctic Ocean

By: Associated Press | Wednesday, August 30, 2006 4:15 PM PDT ∞

SEATTLE -- The captain of a Coast Guard cutter was temporarily relieved of duty following the deaths of two crew members during a dive in the Arctic Ocean, officials said Wednesday.

Capt. Douglas G. Russell will be replaced by Capt. Daniel K. Oliver, a previous commanding officer of the Seattle-based cutter the Healy, as the investigation into the deaths continues, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

Russell had been in charge of the ship since June; before that, Oliver commanded the Healy for a two-year tour of duty.

The Coast Guard has released few details about the Aug. 17 incident 500 miles north of Barrow, Alaska.

Lt. Jessica Hill, 31, of St. Augustine, Fla., and Petty Officer 2nd Class Steven Duque, 22, of Miami died after they entered the water to examine the ship's rudder -- a common procedure as the ship operates in Arctic ice.

Initially, the Coast Guard reported that the two died after they entered the water to examine the ship's rudder -- a common procedure as the ship operates in Arctic ice -- but Petty Officer 1st Class Russ Tippets, a Coast Guard spokesman in Alameda, Calif., said Wednesday they were taking a cold-water training dive.

Tippets also said that investigators are looking into whether the ship had been idled and pumps and propellers had been disengaged at the time of the accident, as standard procedure would have dictated.

The 420-foot Healy is primarily used for scientific research in the Arctic under sponsorship of the National Science Foundation. According to the ship's Web site, in the days before the accident crew members had been drilling holes through the ice and hanging seismometers down into the sea.

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