Coast Guard identifies victims, begins investigating fishing boat’s deadly sinking

BOSTON– U.S. Coast Guard officials said Monday they have identified the seven victims who perished when a commercial fishing boat sank in frigid waters off Gloucester, Massachusetts, without any calls for help.

The Coast Guard suspended its search for the people aboard the Lily Jean on Saturday. Authorities had launched a search and rescue mission early Friday after receiving an alert of the 72-foot (22-meter) vessel about 25 miles (40 kilometers) off the historic Cape Ann Peninsula. They have since opened an investigation.

Accursio “Gus” Sanfilippo was the boat’s captain and the crew included Paul Beal Sr., Paul Beal Jr., John Rousanidis, Freeman Short and Sean Therrien, the Coast Guard said in identifying the victims of the sinking for the first time Monday. Jada Samitt, a fisheries observer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Coast Guard and NOAA said, was also on board. Nobody survived.

“A formal district-level investigation consists of a Coast Guard investigating officer receiving evidence and testimony using formal rules and procedures regarding a recent maritime accident,” the Coast Guard said in a statement. “This type of investigation is initiated for incidents of significant regional importance or for those which may reveal wider issues with a class of ship or areas of technical concern. »

It is the latest maritime tragedy to hit Gloucester and its close-knit community of people working in the fishing industry. The town that inspired the book and movie “The Perfect Storm” is tied to 400 years of fishing history and, sometimes, tragedy. “The Perfect Storm” is inspired by the FV Andrea Gail, who disappeared at sea in 1991.

Sanfilippo was well known in the community. The Lily Jean, Sanfilippo and his crew were featured in a 2012 episode of the History Channel show “Nor’Easter Men.” The captain is described as a fifth generation commercial fisherman, fishing in Gloucester on Georges Bank. The crew are shown working in dangerous weather conditions for hours on end, spending up to 10 days at sea on a single trip fishing for haddock, lobster and flounder.

“We loved each other,” Vito Giacalone, director of the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund, said of his relationship with Sanfilippo. “He treated me like a big brother and I treated him like my younger brother. Knowing the tragedy of that and knowing the kind of character that Gus had, he would be mortified to know that those lives were all lost.”

Paul Lundberg, the mayor of Gloucester, said the names of those on board the Lily Jean would be added to a city memorial honoring the thousands of fishermen lost at sea.

NOAA said in a statement that Samitt was a fisheries observer responsible for collecting data on the vessel’s catch. Fisheries observers are workers aboard fishing boats who collect data that the government uses to develop regulations.

NOAA Fisheries said observer deployments would be suspended until after midnight Wednesday due to the sinking and weather conditions in the Northeast.

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Jada’s family, the families of the six fishermen, the NOAA observer community and everyone involved. We are deeply grateful for the efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard and other fishing vessels that assisted in the search,” NOAA said in its statement.

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

Everett Sawyer, 55, a childhood friend of Sanfilippo, said he has known of 25 people missing at sea. Cold winter conditions can complicate operations even for experienced sailors, Sawyer said.

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

Searchers found a debris field near where the alert originated, as well as a body in the water and an empty life raft, the Coast Guard said.

The crews covered approximately 1,000 square miles (2,589 square kilometers) using planes, cutters and small boats over a 24-hour period. However, after consultation between search and rescue mission coordinators and on-scene commanders, the Coast Guard announced Saturday that it had determined that all reasonable search efforts to locate the missing crew members had been exhausted.

Officials said there were no distress calls from the Lily Jean as it sailed through the frigid Atlantic Ocean on its way home to Gloucester. The Coast Guard was notified by a beacon on the boat that alerts when it hits the water.

Coast Guard Sector Boston Commander Jamie Frederick said freezing temperatures and stormy conditions made it difficult to search for survivors at night, a task made even more difficult by the approach of a nor’easter to the East Coast over the weekend. Searchers faced 7- to 10-foot seas and freezing ocean spray, Frederick said. ___

Whittle was reported in Scarborough, Maine.