NEW YORK – The Coast Guard escorted a fishing vessel that was taking on water southeast of Montauk, N.Y., safely to New Bedford, Mass.
Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound, Conn., watchstanders were notified at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, by the fishing vessel Ocean Pride, homeported in Eliot, Maine, that the fishing vessel Shamrock, from Boston, Mass., was taking on water with four people aboard.
Coast Guard rescue jet and helicopter crews from Air Station Cape Cod, Mass., were immediately deployed to assist the crew of the Shamrock. Coast Guard Cutters Tiger Shark and Ridley, both 87-foot patrol boats, were also diverted to assist in the rescue efforts.
The rescue jet crew dropped two dewatering pumps just before noon, Saturday, and the helicopter crew and Coast Guard Cutter Tiger Shark remained on scene with the Shamrock to escort it safely toward Montauk. A third dewatering pump was passed to the Shamrock crew during the escort.
During the approximately 65-mile transit to Montauk weather improved and the crew of the Shamrock was able to dewater their vessel enough to remain underway. As the Shamrock drew closer to Long Island, rescue boat crews from Coast Guard Station Montauk relieved the escort. The escort was then relieved by crews of the Coast Guard Cutter Bainbridge Island for the seven-hour transit to New Bedford, Mass. The Shamrock arrived in New Bedford just after 1 p.m., all four crewmembers safe and uninjured.
A law enforcement team from the Bainbridge Island performed a post search and rescue boarding on the Shamrock and found no discrepancies.
The master of the Shamrock reported that a plank in a forward compartment of the vessel’s hull was damaged, causing flooding, and the onboard de-watering pump reportedly could not keep up with the flooding. The crew of the Shamrock was offshore fishing when incident happened.
“This was a complex well-coordinated search and rescue response between all Coast Guard units,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Anthony Kozac, a watchstander at Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound. “The crew worked very hard to save their vessel.”
The Coast Guard would like to thank the crews of the fishing vessels Bookie, homeported in New York, and the Ocean Pride, homeported in Eliot, Maine, for assisting in the search and rescue response and working closely with the Coast Guard to ensure the crew of the Shamrock arrived home safe.
