There is real value in the U.S. Coast Guard’s practice of investigating, reporting and making recommendations after fatal accidents at sea. While the reports may be incomplete – in many cases the vessel in question is unavailable for examination – they sum up the factors that may have contributed to an accident. The information is valuable to survivors and the families of those who died; to federal and state regulators; to insurance companies; to other fishermen and vessel owners and to the general public. Statistics from fishing trips gone tragically wrong are one way everyone learns to avoid future accidents.
Still, the Coast Guard can be faulted for being less than forthcoming where the general public is concerned. Its reports, like those of many government agencies, are subject to the Freedom of Information Act, under which newspapers and others may request them. In the case of the four reports we cite this month, it took the Coast Guard three years to produce summaries. The Coast Guard’s recent budget difficulties – like those of many federal and state agencies – are well known these days, but it’s a poor government that can’t obey its own laws and respond to its citizens in a timely fashion. Three years is a long time to wait.