Cannon Beach – The Astoria-based U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alert assisted the commercial fishing vessel Valkyrie near Tillamook Head lighthouse Saturday afternoon.

The master of the vessel, Ron Christenson, contacted Alert in the early afternoon to report that his vessel was taking on water and asked for help.

Alert dispatched a rescue and assistance team with a portable dewatering pump to assist Valkyrie, said Ens. Elizabeth Roscoe on Alert.

Alert’s team discovered that the fishing vessel’s hull and fittings were leaking in multiple locations, she said. The rescue and assistance team further determined that Valkyrie’s bilge pumps were unsafe to operate.

For the safety of the vessel and its crew, Alert escorted Valkyrie to the Columbia Bar entrance and transferred the escort to a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment, Wash.

Valkyrie was then escorted to Astoria where she will undergo repairs.

Alert returned to sea, continuing its patrol off the Oregon Coast.