Video: USCG Rescues Four from Sinking Boat After Fishing Boats Collide
The Coast Guard received a call for assistance Thursday night, January 23, after two fishing boats collided approximately 10 miles south of Block Island, Rhode Island in Long Island Sound. Four people were rescued from one of the vessels after efforts to stop the ingress of water failed.
“The quick thinking and preparedness of the crew, including donning survival suits and readying emergency equipment, played a crucial role in their safe rescue despite challenging conditions,” said Lt. Jonathan Roth, a Sector Long Island Sound command duty officer.
The distress call was received at approximately 2030 on Thursday evening reporting that two fishing vessels had collided. A 55-foot trawler, the Mattie and Maren II, reported that it had four people aboard and that there was significant flooding in the engine room. They told the Coast Guard that they were unable to keep up with dewatering efforts.
The other vessel in the collision, an 87-foot scalloper named Vanquish, had six people aboard. It reported no damage and no injuries. USCG reports that the Vanquish was able to return to its homeport in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
A Coast Guard Station Montauk 47-foot motor lifeboat reached the damaged trawler at approximately 9:15 p.m. It was told that the four people aboard had donned survival suits and prepared an EPIRB and life raft in case abandoning ship became necessary.
A crewmember from Station Montauk embarked the fishing vessel Mattie and Maren II with a dewatering pump to attempt and assist in the efforts. Weather conditions however were deteriorating with four-to-six-foot seas and 23 mile per hour winds. The Coast Guard reports the dewatering was not successful so it transferred the people from the Mattie and Maren II to its vessel and transported them to shore without injuries.
Sector Long Island Sound has issued a safety marine information broadcast reporting the vessel was adrift. The cause of the collision is currently under investigation.
Quick Response Saves Fisherman From Sinking Vessel off Gloucester
Last week, the U.S. Coast Guard saved the crew of the fishing vessel Miss Sandy when the vessel began to flood off Gloucester, Massachusetts. Efforts to combat the flooding were unsuccessful, but all were rescued before the vessel went down.
On Friday, the crew of the Miss Sandy sent a mayday at a position seven nautical miles off Gloucester Harbor. In windy, rough conditions, the vessel began taking on water and was flooding rapidly, with four to five feet of water in the engine room. Dangerous exhaust fumes began to fill the space, according to Coast Guard Sector Boston.
Within 30 minutes, the cutter William Chadwick and response boats from Station Gloucester were on scene, along with local partners and good Samaritans. The Coast Guard crews attempted to dewater the vessel and get it under tow towards Gloucester Harbor, but they could not keep up with the flooding. The tow was cut to ensure that the sinking fishing boat wouldn't take down the cutter with it, and Miss Sandy sank towards the bottom in 160 feet of water.
Images courtesy USCG Sector Boston
All crewmembers were rescued, along with one NOAA observer. “The whole response was fantastic,” Good Samaritan skipper Capt. Al Cottone told the Gloucester Times. “It’s just a shame it had to end that way.”
"Had this incident occurred farther offshore or in more severe weather conditions, the situation could have been far more dire," the Coast Guard said in a statement. "This mission highlights the lifesaving dedication of Coast Guard crews and the importance of preparation and safety gear in New England’s harsh winter waters."
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