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Video: USCG Rescues Four from Sinking Boat After Fishing Boats Collide

USCG rescue
Coast Guard rescued four people when it was not able to dewater the vessel (USCG)

Published Jan 24, 2025 2:55 PM by The Maritime Executive


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.