72-Foot Commercial Fishing Vessel Sinks Off Massachusetts, 1 Dead & 6 Missing

The United States Coast Guard is searching for six people missing after a commercial fishing vessel sank in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Massachusetts on Friday morning. One body has been recovered.

The 72-foot fishing boat Lily Jean went down about 25 miles off Cape Ann while returning to Gloucester. The Coast Guard said it did not receive a distress call from the vessel.

Instead, watchstanders were alerted at around 6:50 a.m. when the boat’s emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) was activated after entering the water.

Coast Guard crews attempted to contact the vessel but received no response. An urgent marine information broadcast was then issued, and search and rescue teams were sent to the area.

When crews arrived, they found a debris field, an empty life raft and one person deceased in the water. Six others who were believed to be onboard remain missing.

Search efforts include an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod, a small boat crew from Station Gloucester and the Coast Guard cutter Thunder Bay.

The Coast Guard said search operations would continue despite difficult conditions.

The officer coordinating the operation said freezing sea spray was forming on vessels, creating dangerous conditions for both rescuers and any survivors.

The Coast Guard confirmed that the search would continue through the night as long as conditions allowed.

The Lily Jean was captained by Gus Sanfilippo, a fifth-generation commercial fisherman from Gloucester. He and his crew were featured in a 2012 episode of the History Channel series Nor’Easter Men, which showed the risks faced by fishermen working in severe weather.

The programme followed the crew fishing in the Georges Bank for haddock, lobster and flounder, often spending up to ten days at sea per trip.

Massachusetts State Senator Bruce Tarr confirmed that seven people were onboard the vessel, including a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) observer.

He said the loss was hard to understand given the captain’s experience and added that the Gloucester fishing community had faced similar tragedies in the past and would show strength in the days ahead.

Vito Giacalone, head of the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund, said the sinking had deeply affected the local fishing community.

He described Sanfilippo as a hardworking fisherman from a long-established fishing family and said many in Gloucester felt a strong sense of loss.

Gloucester, located about 30 miles north of Boston on Cape Ann, is known as America’s oldest fishing port and has a long maritime history.

The city was also the inspiration for The Perfect Storm, which was based on the disappearance of the fishing vessel Andrea Gail in 1991.

The Coast Guard said it will continue search and rescue operations as conditions permit.

References: AP News, Fox News

Source: Maritime Shipping News