Fishing boat that sank in orca habitat ran into trouble 24 hours earlier

The fishing boat that sank off San Juan Island in August had run into trouble – apparently running aground – the previous day.

The U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies have declined to say why the boat sank, or even what it was doing before it went down, citing the ongoing investigation of the maritime disaster.

The sinking sent a two-mile sheen of diesel fuel into prime habitat for the region’s endangered orcas. Nearly three weeks later, the boat still sits 240 feet underwater, an ongoing risk for leaking more diesel into Haro Strait.

But eyewitness accounts, photographs, and public records fill in some of the information gaps.

The boat, called the Aleutian Isle, was exiting the Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes on Friday, Aug. 12, the day before it sank, when it appeared to run aground.