BOSTON – The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba and a 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew from Station South Portland, Maine, rescued four people Thursday who were aboard a disabled fishing vessel 50 miles east of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
The captain of the 45-foot fishing vessel Danny Boy, homeported out of Portland, Maine, used a VHF-16 radio to contact watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Northern New England Command Center Thursday at about 1:15 a.m. reporting Danny Boy was disabled, possibly due to a lack of fuel.
Search and rescue coordinators at Sector Northern New England command center issued a marine assistance request broadcast soliciting assistance for Danny Boy from good Samaritans or a commercial salvage company. After the request went unanswered, the command center diverted the crew of the Escanaba, a 270-foot cutter homeported in Boston, to assist.
At approximately 6 a.m. the crew of the Escanaba transferred fuel to the Danny Boy in an effort to restart the Danny Boy’s engine. After receiving the fuel, the crew of the Danny Boy was still unable restart their engine.
Following the transfer of fuel the crew of the Escanaba took the Danny Boy in tow at approximately 8:30 a.m. The crew of the Escanaba passed the tow to a 47- foot MLB crew from Station South Portland at approximately 12:30 p.m .
The MLB crew is expected to bring Danny Boy safely to the Portland fishing pier.
“Despite the crew of the Danny Boy’s best attempt at fixing their vessel, they ultimately had to rely on the Coast Guard for a tow,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Kurt Hein, an operations specialist at Sector Northern New England's command center. “Luckily the vessel was prepared with adequate marine radios and was able to communicate with the Coast Guard."
Sector Northern New England's area of responsibility covers Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and northeastern New York and spans over 5, 000 miles of coastline and 11,000 square nautical miles of water.