[PhongVien007]

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/polit...f2594.html
The vessel, formerly named the Lihau, was recently altered, owner Loc Nguyen said.

Dysart was on the same boat years earlier and thinks the changes could have made the vessel unstable. He noted it was listing days earlier as it left Honolulu Harbor.

"The boat had been so extensively modified, I did not recognize it," Dysart said.

Nguyen said he added an icemaker, water machine and some steel support elements, but blamed the sinking on two huge rogue waves.

"A big wave in the back come in and clobber the boat, and one more time and on the side," said Nguyen, who was not on the ship.

Dysart disagrees about the rogue waves. "We got about an 18-knot wind, about 6- to 10-foot (2- to 3-meter) seas. ... It wasn't real bad."

The Coast Guard confirmed the conditions observed by Dysart, who believes the boat was simply positioned incorrectly — not facing into the oncoming waves — when it sank.

NOAA's observer program manager in Honolulu also said he had no reason to doubt Dysart's account.

"He's telling it like it is," John Kelly said. NOAA contracts observers to monitor and log information about the commercial fishing industry.

Commercial fishing vessels undergo routine safety inspections, but they mainly involve "primary life-saving equipment," said Charlie Medlicott, with the Coast Guard in Honolulu. "It doesn't really get into machinery and hull and structural integrity."

The Coast Guard inspected the boat in February and found no violations.

There are no federal licensing requirements to operate smaller commercial fishing vessels in federal waters, other than being a U.S. citizen. Some states require a license for state waters, but not Hawaii.

——

A single tuna can fetch more than $1,000. And while the Hawaii fleet is among the nation's smallest, it routinely ranks in the top 10 in terms of value.

In Vietnam, Huynh worked on fishing boats for 10 years, usually earning about $140 to $180 per month.

On American-flagged ships in Hawaii, he can make three times that — $500 a month— much of which he sends to his parents in Vietnam.

Despite the terrifying ordeal, Huynh has no plans to return home.

"When I was inside the boat, I was scared," he said. "I'm not scared of getting back out to the sea."

———

Associated Press writers Sophia Yan in Honolulu and Hau Dinh in Hanoi, Vietnam contributed to this report.