Coast Guard review says response to deadly sinking of fishing boat off Mass. coast was slow

Coast Guard: Response to Mass. sinking was slow

GLOUCESTER, Mass. — The U.S. Coast Guard says an administrative review has determined it was slow to respond to a deadly fishing boat accident off Massachusetts.

Boat captain Matteo Russo and his father-in-law, John Orlando, died in January when the trawler Patriot sank 15 miles southeast of Gloucester (GLAH’-stur), on Boston’s North Shore.

Vice Adm. Robert Papp Jr. said Thursday the Coast Guard was slow to launch search and rescue efforts because of “poor collection and analysis of information.”

The Coast Guard was notified a fire alarm had been reported on the Patriot. But because of difficulty determining the location of the trawler and the nature of the problem, it didn’t launch search vessels until more than two hours later.

The investigation found the boat sank quickly and both men likely died before the Coast Guard learned of the fire alarm.