Coast Guard reports it was slow to respond to sinking fishing boat
But says men not reachable in time
A US Coast Guard commander conceded yesterday that the service was slow in responding to a fishing boat sinking off the coast of Gloucester in January, but said that the vessel went down quickly and the two men who died probably could not have been saved.
The fishing vessel Patriot sank quickly and with little warning around 1:30 a.m., according to a statement from Vice Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr., commander of the Coast Guard's Atlantic Area. The official Coast Guard report says that Gloucester fishermen Matteo Russo, 36, and his 58-year-old father-in-law, John Orlando, drowned and that there was probably nothing that could have been done to save them.
Coast Guard officials said, however, that local response should be quicker and that the Guard will take steps to improve its actions.
The Coast Guard was notified about a possible problem aboard the 54-foot Patriot at 1:35 a.m. on Jan. 3, 2008, but failed to launch search vessels until nearly 4 a.m., Papp said. A rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod did not arrive until after 5 a.m., he said.
"Our review of this case showed that we were slow to launch search-and-rescue assets because of poor collection and analysis of information and decision making regarding the Patriot's status," Papp said. "The remedial actions I'm requiring are designed to ensure that our people have the right tools, experience, and training to be able to act quickly and decisively when emergent and unpredictable cases happen."
In his finding of fact in the case, Papp said that the Coast Guard district that covers the area around New York to the Canadian border should have been more directly involved, instead of leaving the situation in the hands of guardsmen in Boston and Gloucester.
The Coast Guard met yesterday with local civic organizations and the families of Russo and Orlando to explain the report.
"They were very frank in their report, admitting to some things that happened that delayed the search and rescue," said Angela Sanfilippo, president of the Gloucester Fisherman's Wives Association.
She said her faith in the Coast Guard has not been shaken.
"When they go out to search for our loved ones, many times they put their lives at risk," she said. "And they've lost their own lives, and they rescue many of our loved ones. Sometimes they just can't."
Local guardsmen said the Patriot case was unusual because the vessel did not send out any sort of mayday or formal distress call. Instead, a fire alarm system usually used in homes sounded, indicating a problem onboard the Patriot, Erik Halvorson, the Coast Guard First District public affairs officer, said last night.
Papp ordered a review of local search and rescue policies.
John M. Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com. 
