Search for survivors halted after Massachusetts fishing boat lost at sea

One dead and six missing as body and life boat from Lily Jean found after its disappearance from Gloucester port

The search for survivors of a commercial fishing vessel that sank off the coast of Massachusetts with seven aboard has been suspended, the US Coast Guard said Saturday.

The coast guard had launched a search-and-rescue mission early Friday after receiving an alert from the 72ft Lily Jean about 25 miles (40km) off Cape Ann. Searchers found a debris field near where the alert had been sent along with a body in the water and an empty life raft, the coast guard said.

Crews covered about 1,000 sq miles (2,600 sq km) using multiple aircraft, cutters and small boats over a 24-hour period. However, after consultation among search-and-rescue mission coordinators and on-scene commanders, the coast guard announced Saturday that it had determined that all reasonable search efforts for the missing crewmembers had been exhausted.

Officials said there wasn’t a mayday call from Lily Jean as it navigated the frigid Atlantic Ocean on its way home to Gloucester, Massachusetts, the US’s oldest fishing port. The coast guard was notified by the boat’s beacon that alerts when it hits the water.

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The fate of the Lily Jean, owned by a beloved member of Gloucester’s historic fishing community, is the latest maritime tragedy to befall the US’s oldest seaport. The city that inspired The Perfect Storm is tied to its fishing heritage in a way that has brought 400 years of history and, sometimes, tragedy. That book and movie were inspired by the FV Andrea Gail, which went missing at sea in 1991.

The Lily Jean; its captain, Gus Sanfilippo; and his crew were featured in a 2012 episode of the History Channel show Nor’Easter Men. Sanfilippo was described as a fifth-generation commercial fisher, fishing out of Gloucester in the Georges Bank. The crew is shown working in dangerous weather conditions for hours on end, spending as many as 10 days at sea on one trip fishing for haddock, lobster and flounder.

The Republican state senator Bruce Tarr grew emotional as he talked about Sanfilippo, who was a good friend.

“He’s a person that has a big smile, and he gives you a warm embrace when he sees you,” Tarr said. “He is very, very skilled at what he does.”

Tarr said that the “fact that vessel now rests at the bottom of the ocean is very hard to understand”, given the captain’s experience.

“This is a community that has felt this type of loss in the past,” Tarr said. “I’m going to make a prediction. Tonight, tomorrow and the days that follow, no matter what happens, you’re going to see the strength, strength that has made this the most historic fishing port in the United States.”

At the time of the emergency alert, the National Weather Service said wind speeds out at sea were around 27mph (24 knots) with waves around 4ft high. It was 12F (-11C) with water temperatures of about 39F (4C).

Deep-sea fishing in New England can always be hazardous, but it can be especially dangerous in the winter because of high waves, frigid temperatures and unpredictable weather. Commercial fishing is often cited as one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

Everett Sawyer, 55, a childhood friend of Sanfilippo, said that he was still processing the news of his disappearance. “He was hardworking. He loved fishing,” he said.

After more than five decades living and working near the Atlantic Ocean, Sawyer said, he has known 25 people who were lost at sea. Cold-winter conditions can complicate operations even for experienced sailors, Sawyer said.

“Things happen very quickly when you’re out on the ocean,” he said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Friday it was aware that there was a fishery observer onboard the vessel. Fishery observers are workers who collect data onboard fishing boats for the government to use to inform regulations.

Massachusetts’s governor, Maura Healey, said she was “heartbroken” to hear about the boat’s sinking.

“Fishermen and fishing vessels are core to the history, economy and culture of Gloucester and Cape Ann, and this tragedy is felt all across the state,” she said in a statement.