The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for survivors after the commercial fishing vessel Lily Jean sank off the coast of Massachusetts, leaving six people missing and one confirmed dead. The 72-foot boat, with seven crew onboard, sent an emergency beacon alert early Friday (January 30) about 25 miles off Cape Ann, but did not make a mayday call as it navigated home in frigid Atlantic waters.
Search teams covered roughly 1,000 square miles using aircraft, cutters, and small boats over 24 hours, but found only a debris field, an empty life raft, and one body in the water, according to the Coast Guard as reported by the Associated Press. Officials determined that all reasonable search efforts had been exhausted, and called off the rescue on Saturday (January 31) after consulting with on-scene commanders.
The loss has deeply affected Gloucester, America’s oldest fishing port, which is still tied to its maritime heritage and history of tragedy—including the 1991 sinking of the FV Andrea Gail, which inspired The Perfect Storm. Vito Giacalone, head of the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund, described the atmosphere as one of grief and shock. “Everybody’s just heartbroken,” he told the Associated Press. “To have that many lives lost all at once, we haven’t seen that in a long time.”
Gus Sanfilippo, the vessel’s captain, was a fifth-generation fisherman and well-known in the community. He and his crew were featured in a 2012 episode of the History Channel show Nor’Easter Men. State Senator Bruce Tarr described Sanfilippo as a skilled, warm person, saying, “He is very, very skilled at what he does.” Both Giacalone and Tarr expressed disbelief that such a tragedy could happen to such an experienced crew.
Coast Guard Sector Boston Commander Jamie Frederick noted that dangerous weather, freezing temperatures, and rough seas made the overnight search extremely difficult, especially with a nor’easter approaching the East Coast. “That is the equivalent of searching for a coconut in the ocean,” Frederick said.
At the time of the alert, winds were around 27 mph and waves about four feet high, with air temperatures at 12 degrees and water at 39 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Deep-sea fishing in New England is considered one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, particularly in winter months.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed that a fishery observer, tasked with collecting government data, was also aboard the Lily Jean. The loss of the vessel is a stark reminder of the risks faced by the region’s fishing community. Further investigations into the sinking are expected, but no new search operations are planned at this time.
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