Four US fishermen had to be rescued Thursday (Jan. 23) after a scallop vessel collided with a trawler south of Block Island, Rhode Island, the US Coast Guard reported.
Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound reported a distress call around 8:30 pm regarding two vessels colliding 10 miles south of Block Island. The 87-foot scalloper Vanquish, with six crew aboard, reported no damage. But the other vessel, the 55-foot trawler Mattie and Maren II, reported flooding in its engine room.
All four of its crew members donned survival suits in anticipation of abandoning ship.
The Coast Guard dispatched a helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod. Personnel also arrived about 45 minutes later on a motor lifeboat and boarded the sinking vessel with a P-6 dewatering pump. However, deteriorating weather conditions caused them to abandon the effort.
All four crew members were transferred to the Coast Guard's 47-foot motor lifeboat and taken to the Coast Guard's station in Montauk, New York with no reported injuries.
"The quick thinking and preparedness of the crew, including donning survival suits and readying emergency equipment, played a crucial role in their safe rescue despite challenging conditions," Coast Guard Lt. Jonathan Roth, a Sector Long Island Sound command duty officer said in a statement.
Sector Long Island Sound has issued a safety marine information broadcast for the Mattie and Maren II as it was still adrift in the Atlantic Ocean as of the last update on Jan. 24.
The cause of the collision is currently under investigation and the undamaged Vanquish returned to its homeport in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the Coast Guard added.
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