BOSTON – The Coast Guard is searching for a 52-foot Newburyport, Mass. fishing vessel today, off shore of Cape Elizabeth, ME with two people on board.
Coast Guard District One Command Center received an electronic signal, without a position, from fishing vessel Lady Luck 2 a.m. today indicating the vessel may be in distress. The Coast Guard contacted the vessel owner and researched available databases for vessel position information.
Coast Guard Sector Northern New England issued an urgent marine information broadcast (UMIB) alerting boaters in the area of the missing vessel at 2:55 a.m.
Coordinates of the signal were correlated at 3:18 a.m. The Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) was transmitting about 12 miles southeast of Cape Elizabeth, ME.
An HU-25 Falcon Jet from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod launched about 3:45 a.m., arriving in the search area about 4:30 a.m. Within 15 minutes the Falcon crew located the flashing light from the EPIRB, dropped a deployable life raft and vectored the nearby fishing vessel Blue Water II to search the area. Neither the Lady Luck nor it’s crew was located during the Falcon’s search.
An HH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Atlantic City, N.J., temporarily assigned to Air Station Cape Cod, was directed to launched 5 a.m. today, they were airborne 5:28 a.m and arrived in the search area about 6:28 a.m.
A P3 fixed-wing aircraft from Naval Air Station Brunswick, ME is on-scene helping in the search.
Coast Guard Cutters Seneca and Flyingfish, both home ported in Boston, and Coast Guard Cutter Marcus Hanna of South Portland, ME, are en-route.
The Canadian Coast Guard is assisting in the search with a Comorant helicopter from Halifax, Canada.
An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. has been deployed to Air Station Cape Cod to assist.
Debris and an oil sheen were located by the HH-65 helicopter in the vicinity of the vessel’s last known location. The source of the debris and oil sheen is unknown at this time.
Several fishing vessels in the area have transited through the search area to aid in the search.
The current weather conditions of the vessel’s last know location are 10 knot winds and four-foot seas with a water temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Source: USCG D1 Public Affairs
Tags: Coast Guard, USCG, Canadian Coast Guard, HH-60, Jayhawk, HU-25 Falcon, helilcopter, jet, EPIRB, Lucky Lady
