BOSTON — Coast Guard rescue crews assisted seven people aboard a sinking fishing vessel approximately 40 miles south east of Nantucket, Mass., at approximately 6:22 a.m. Saturday.
Watchstanders from the Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England Command Center received a distress call from the 84-foot fishing vessel Luzitano at approximately 4:18 a.m. The vessel reported that they were taking on water with seven people aboard.
The fishing vessel Luzitano had all the required safety gear as well as three dewatering pumps, but the pumps were not keeping up with the flooding.
A Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter crew and an HU-25 Falcon Jet crew were launched to assist.
The MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter crew and an HU-25 Falcon Jet crew delivered two additional pumps to the Luzitano’s crew.
The Luzitano’s crew reported that with the two additional pumps they were able to keep up with the flooding and determined that the cause of the flooding was a four-inch hole in the engine room.
The crew of the Luzitano are making their way to Woods Hole, Mass., where a Coast Guard Station Woods Hole crew is scheduled to escort them to safe harbor.
“This case is a good example on why it is important to contact the Coast Guard immediately,” said Scott Backholm, the command duty officer at Sector Southeastern New England. “The faster we have visibility on a situation the faster our rescue crews can respond.”
