Divers Confirm Identity of Long-Lost Trawler on Georges Bank

 

The private diving and artifact-recovery company Atlantic Wreck Salvage has discovered the wreck of the long-lost trawler Seiner, a large fishing vessel that went down off Nantucket in 1929. 

Seiner was a steam trawler delivered in 1921 and homeported out of New London, Connecticut. The 140-foot vessel departed on her final voyage on January 9, 1929, but disappeared after her normal noon report on January 18. The ship was never found, and a large-scale search and rescue effort turned up no sign of her crew of 21 men. It was believed that she went down in a storm on Georges Bank, which was (at the time) a bountiful fishing ground known for its cod and haddock stocks. 

In 2022, Atlantic Wreck Salvage's vessel Tenacious visited Georges Bank to conduct a sidescan sonar search for historic wreck sites. They found Seiner, though they did not yet know it for certain, and they had to return to shore before they had time to dive on the site. 

Tenacious and her crew returned to Georges Bank in July 2025 to resume their work. They carried out a dive inspection of the Seiner wreck on July 27-28, and from visible characteristics, it was possible to verify the wreck's identity.

“The team was able to identify Seiner from features such as the double drum trawl winch, remains of the raised forecastle deck, shape of the stern, and the presence of a steam engine and boiler,” said AWS' Captain Eric Takakjian in a release. 

Sadly, the company's founder and the skipper of Tenacious, Capt. Joe Mazraani, died on July 29 while identifying another wreck on Georges Bank. Mazraani's partner, criminal defense attorney and diver Jennifer Sellitti, continues to operate Tenacious as AWS' managing member.