Coast Guard: Excessive ice sank New Bedford fishing boat

(Handout photo/Bob Lessard)

By Globe Staff

A fishing boat with four crew members most likely sank in Nantucket Sound last year because excessive ice added so much weight it caused the ship to capsize, according to a report released today by the Coast Guard.

The Lady of Grace sank 12 miles south of Hyannis during a winter gale on Jan. 26, 2007, when 6- to 9-foot seas blanketed the ship with frozen spray. The demise of the 75-foot, New Bedford-based dragger is documented in a 46-page report that recommends five changes to Coast Guard regulations concerning ice and stability.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the fishermen who died," Captain Raymond Perry, commander of Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England, said in a statement. "While these experienced New Bedford fishermen lost their lives, we hope that their legacy and the lessons learned from the investigation will help keep similar tragedies from happening."

The ice that caked on the lines and superstructure of the Lady of Grace added so much weight it changed the ship’s center of gravity and left it susceptible to the rough seas.

In the last 15 years, 194 commercial fishing vessels have capsized or sank in the Northeast. The Lady of Grace was only the second that was lost because of ice, according to the Coast Guard.

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