ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The fishing vessel that sank quickly off the Alaska coast was enrolled in a safety program but had not fully completed the requirements, a Coast Guard official said Thursday.

The Alaska Ranger was among about 70 vessels enrolled in the Alternative Compliance Safety Agreement Program, set up by the Coast Guard in 2006 for fishing vessels in the “head and gut” fleet that were doing more than minimal processing of fish, Ken Lawrenson, the Coast Guard’s 17th District fishing vessel safety coordinator, said Thursday.

“It was participating. It had not fully completed the program requirements,” Lawrenson said.

Vessels have until January 2009 to complete the program.

The Alaska Ranger, owned by the Seattle-based Fishing Company of Alaska, used to be an oil services vessel.

In a statement, the company said, “We are proud of our vessels, their crews and our maintenance and safety record. We have worked with the Coast Guard on a voluntary safety program under which the Coast Guard inspected the Alaska Ranger when she was last in dry dock.”

The statement says that three of the five who died when the boat sank on Sunday were senior officers aboard the vessel.

“They were experienced, well-respected officers who would not have put their lives and the lives of their crew at risk by commanding an unsafe vessel,” the statement says.

Stability can be a problem for ships that have been modified, such as the Alaska Ranger, because they can become top heavy with bigger nets, reels and power winches, said Jerry Dzugan, director of the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association in Sitka.

The safety program looks at the ship’s stability. In addition, the ship’s machinery, electrical system, subdivisions within the vessel, openings within the hull and watertight hatches are checked, Lawrenson said.

The Alaska Ranger reportedly began taking on water after it lost control of its rudder.

Crewmember Jeremy Freitag told ABC News that the boat was in such disrepair the crew called it “the Ranger Danger.”

He said not only were repairs not done but the ship had numerous leaks, including in the galley, bathrooms and laundry room. He said the pumps to empty water from the ship did not work.

The boat “rode rough,” said Freitag. “If you went from that boat to another one, you could tell the difference…it bounced around a lot.”