Engineer Warned Katmai Was 'Sinking Rock'

The Coast Guard took dramatic testimony Wednesday about the fishing vessel Katmai that went down in a storm off Alaska's Aleutian Islands with the loss of seven of its 11 crewmen.

An engineer described how bad things were on the boat at the time of the sinking Oct. 22.

He said he saw gaping holes in the boat and water in the engine room, and that he warned that the boat would someday sink.

"We knew ... this particular boat, after I told them that this boat was going to be a sinking rock, pretty much, because they didn't fix it to specifications or what was required of them," Isaac Vigil, an engineer.

A Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation will hear testimony from former crewmembers, rescuers and federal vessel examiners.

Previous hearings have been held in Seattle and Anchorage as the Coast Guard tries to determine what went wrong.

The 93-foot vessel was owned by a Seattle company.