Draft:MV Karolee

Karolee being towed to Humboldt Bay.

The MV Karolee was a 39-foot (12-meter) commercial fishing vessel and ghost ship based in Quilcene, Washington. In August 2025, the vessel was found adrift off the coast of California without its captain, Joel William Kawahara, leading to widespread media coverage and public concern.

Background

The Karolee was a well-known vessel among the West Coast fishing community. Joel Kawahara, a 70-year-old lifelong fisherman, was the sole operator of the vessel. He was an advocate for salmon conservation and had been involved in various fisheries management councils.

On 8 August 2025 the vessel departed from Neah Bay, Washington, with only Kawahara aboard.  Kawahara, last communicated via text message early that morning, reporting “a little foggy … there was a group of murres fishing ahead of me and … this whale comes up and boils the water less than 50 yards ahead of me. I slowed down and turned but boy it was kind of close…”

After that, no further direct communications from Kawahara or the Karolee were reported.

Discovery and Search Efforts

Over the following days, the Karolee continued its journey south along the Pacific coast. The vessel's Automatic Identification System (AIS) tracked it traveling at a consistent speed of approximately four knots. Despite multiple attempts by the U.S. Coast Guard and other mariners to establish contact, the vessel remained unresponsive.

On August 12, a fixed-wing aircraft from the U.S. Coast Guard conducted a flyover of the vessel's last known position but found no signs of distress. The following day, the Coast Guard Cutter Sea Lion intercepted the Karolee approximately 60 miles southwest of Eureka, California. Upon boarding, the crew found the vessel rigged for fishing, with all safety equipment in place, but no one aboard.

A comprehensive search operation ensued, covering over 2,100 square miles of ocean and coastline. Despite extensive efforts, no trace of Kawahara was found, and the search was officially suspended on August 13.

Investigation

Following the discovery that the Karolee was unmanned and continuing on a powered course despite its sole operator’s disappearance, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the vessel’s unmanned voyage and the loss of Kawahara.

Investigators noted that upon boarding the vessel, all safety equipment was still aboard and functional, the lights were energized, and the vessel remained rigged for fishing, yet nobody was on board. The AIS track revealed a steady southerly course at approximately four knots for multiple days after the last known communication from Kawahara, suggesting the vessel continued under power or drift while uncrewed.

Theories

Theories which have been put forward to explain the incident include:

Overboard fall of Kawahara

The most widely cited theory is that Joel Kawahara went overboard unexpectedly, perhaps slipping or falling from deck, leaving the boat unmanned while it continued under power or drift. Supporters of this theory point out that the Karolee was being operated solo, which increases risks of unnoticed accidents. Some reporting emphasises that Kawahara had texted about near-collision with a whale just before loss of contact and had been alone, which might indicate a momentary distraction or deck hazard. Critics of this theory note that a fall overboard often leaves some more visible evidence (e.g., missing gear or a life-raft deployed) and that the steady unmanned course suggests the vessel may have remained under power rather than simply drifted.

Mechanical or navigational malfunction

Another possibility is that some mechanical or navigational failure occurred, resulting in Kawahara becoming incapacitated (medical event) or leaving the helm (to attend to equipment) and never returning. For instance, a sudden illness or incapacitation could result in the vessel being left unattended but still moving. The fact that the Karolee maintained a steady 4 knot southerly course for days suggests possible autopilot or some propulsion remaining engaged. This theory also allows for the possibility that Kawahara attempted to send a distress signal but was unable to do so (perhaps due to damage, loss of communication, or incapacitation) — which might explain why no distress signal was apparently recorded. However, no signs of mechanical failure or damage were publicly reported, which limits the support for this hypothesis.

Deliberate abandonment or foul play

While no evidence of boarding, collision, piracy or foul-play has been publicly reported, some have speculated that Kawahara may have intentionally abandoned the vessel (for example in a suicide attempt or other plan) or been subject to external interference. The complete absence of Kawahara, combined with a vessel left in apparently normal condition, has prompted some observers to raise this possibility. For example, one maritime-blog commentary states: “It is uncertain what exactly happened on board the Karolee … It is unlikely any other details … will be known.” The challenge with this theory is the lack of corroborating physical evidence: the vessel appeared seaworthy, fully rigged, and no sign of struggle, theft, damage or emergency deployment was reported. For this reason, official coverage continues to treat this scenario as speculative. Nothing other than the absence of Kawahara has supported this theory.

Combination scenario (cascade event)

Some experts suggest that what occurred may have been a combination of factors: e.g., Kawahara suffers a medical event or fall, fails to deploy safety equipment, and the vessel subsequently continues under power or drift until intercepted. This kind of cascade event — single-handed operation + weather or marine hazard + lack of immediate rescue or detection — is believed to be one of the more likely overall frameworks given the known conditions.

In the case of the Karolee, media reports note foggy conditions mentioned in the last message, and a near-collision with a whale may point to an unexpected event that triggered the sequence.

This scenario also helps reconcile the vessel’s apparently normal condition with the lack of trace of Kawahara: He may have fallen overboard, been incapacitated, or drifted away in a life-raft or personal flotation device that never made its way back to the vessel or shore.

Each of these theories remains provisional because no formal public investigation report has yet attributed a definitive cause, and the investigation remains open. The available evidence — a vessel found unmanned, rigged, underway on a steady course, with its solo operator missing — supports multiple plausible narratives, but none can yet be confirmed.

Aftermath and Legacy

The Karolee was towed into Humboldt Bay, California, on August 14, 2025. The vessel was secured at Woodley Island Marina.

Family, friends and fellow fishermen expressed deep grief and called attention to the dangers of fishing alone offshore — a practice that the United States Coast Guard (USCG) had long urged against.

In press statements, the USCG described the decision to suspend the search as “the toughest decision we make” and reiterated best-practice advice such as wearing life-jackets, carrying personal locator beacons and avoiding single-handed offshore operation.

A friend of Kawahara noted that although there were no formal findings released at the time, discussions were under way concerning potential communication issues: one account suggested that “we owe everything to the team that worked … and hope to see an investigation into communications challenges at local stations.”

In August 2025, there were reports that the vessel might be sailed back to Seattle by a fellow fisherman from Eureka.

A memorial website was established to honor Kawahara's life and contributions to the fishing community. Friends and colleagues described him as a person of integrity, intelligence, and humility, deeply committed to salmon conservation and the well-being of the fishing community.

See Also

• List of ghost ships
• ​​Yong Yu Sing No. 18 - Wikipedia
• ​​MV Alta - Wikipedia