Coast Guard rescues two fishermen as boat sinks

BOSTON – The Coast Guard rescued two people from their 51-foot wooden fishing boat off the coast of Point Judith, R.I., after it began taking on water and sank today.

The Coast Guard received a call from the two-person crew aboard the Lucy M, based in Point Judith, R.I., via VFH-FM radio channel 16 reporting they were taking on water about one mile off of Black Point in Narragansett Bay, R.I.

A 41-foot boat crew from Coast Guard Station Castle Hill and a 47-foot boat crew and 27-foot boat crew from Coast Guard Station Point Judith responded.

The 47-foot boat crew from Station Point Judith escorted the Lucy M as the vessel’s crew attempted to beach the vessel on a shoal. The station boat crew removed the two men from the vessel when it began taking on too much water and became unsafe for the crew.

The boat sank in about 23 feet of water in the middle of the Point Judith Harbor of Refuge, about 1,700 yards off the coast of Sandy Hill Cove in Point Judith. About eight feet of the Lucy M is visible above the water line.

There is an estimated 60-foot by 15-foot sheen around the vessel. A sheen is a thin layer of fuel or oil that floats on the top of the water and often creates a rainbow affect.

The owner reported an estimated 50 gallons of fuel were aboard the vessel at the time it sank. Pollution investigators from Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England’s East Providence office are on scene assessing the situation.

The Coast Guard is issuing a broadcast to mariners notifying them of the location of the sunken vessel and advising mariners in the area to transit with caution.

There are no reports of injuries.


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