Thursday, 4:30 PM
Coast Guard suspends search for four missing NB fishermen
(Bill Greene/Globe Staff)
Maria Barroqueiro (right), the daughter of Antonio Barroqueiro, the captain of the Lady of Grace, came today to New Bedford City Hall, where officials told her they had suspended the search for her father and three other missing fishermen.
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff
The Coast Guard suspended the active search today for four New Bedford-based fishermen who had not been heard from since Friday when they were chipping ice off of their 75-foot boat. The crew is presumed dead.
A search team found the Lady of Grace on Sunday lying on its side in 36 feet of water about 12 miles north of Nantucket, but an oil leak prevented divers from entering the cabin to see if the bodies of the crew were inside. The boat's one life raft was found attached to the boat.
"We don't know right now if the crew from the Lady of Grace remained with the vessel or went into the water," Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Pat Cook said today at a press conference in New Bedford.
If the crew entered the 34-degree water, "It is beyond probable, beyond possible that they would still be viable in surviving at this point," Cook said.
The owner of the Lady of Grace told investigators that the boat had water survival suits in the wheelhouse, but it was not known if the crew had time to put on the suits before the vessel sank. On Sunday, divers had been unable to access the wheelhouse to determine if the suits had been used.
VIDEO: Coast Guard suspends search
The Coast Guard conducted 27 separate searches that covered more than 6,300 square miles. Teams hunted for the missing fishermen in Falcon jets, a Jayhawk helicopter, three Coast Guard cutters, and boats from three additional Coast Guard stations. The active search was officially suspended at 10:46 a.m. today after officials met with families of the missing crew.
"Our hearts are aching over this," said New Bedford Mayor Scott W. Lang. "Our city has seen this time and time again."
A Massachusetts State Police dive team is at the scene of the wreck today and plans to try again to enter the Lady of Grace. The dive is difficult because visibility is limited to two-feet, Cook said, and divers were waiting until later this afternoon at slack tide.
The Coast Guard was investigating a report it received this morning from a young boy who said he saw what looked like someone in the water on Saturday afternoon when he was flying in a plane from Hyannis to Nantucket.
The crew of the Lady of Grace left New Bedford harbor Tuesday for an eight-day fishing trip, according to the Coast Guard. The vessel was reported missing Saturday after the crew of another fishing boat, the Lisa Ann II, lost contact with the Lady of Grace.
The Coast Guard identified the missing men as Antonio Barroqueiro, 50, of Fairhaven, the captain of the Lady of Grace; Joao Silva, the captain's brother-in-law; and crew members Mario Farinha and Rogerio Vendura. The ages and hometowns of the other men were not available.
While ice and weather are suspected of sinking the Lady of Grace, the boat's demise remains under investigation.
"The short of it is at this point, we don't know" what happened, Cook said.
The crew spent Friday afternoon and early evening removing ice from the vessel, Cook said, citing cell phone conversations between the crew and the owner of the boat. The last known communication from the Lady of Grace was an e-mail sent at about 10 p.m. on Friday. The crew had indicated that their ice-removal efforts had been successful, Cook said.
Lang, the New Bedford mayor, said that while the city grieved for the four crewmen, officials must ensure that the Lady of Grace was not lost in vain. He took aim at a host of reforms needed to make fishing safer, including federal regulations that encourage boats to stay at sea in inclement weather.
"This is unacceptable that we have our fishermen out there in the worst weather because the way the regs are written," Lang said.
He also promised to push for better deicing equipment for boats and survival suits that were more functional and would allow fishermen to don the equipment and continue working. The current survival suits are so restrictive that crews only put them on moments before a boat is about to sink, Lang said.
"I don't think there is anybody in this city who today isn't waking up and saying a prayer for these people," Lang said.
