Fishing boat rescued from Gloucester shoreline

Local News

“I want to commend the coordinated response by our Gloucester Police, Fire Department, and Harbormaster, as well as the US Coast Guard,” Gloucester Mayor Paul Lundberg said.

Gloucester Fire, Gloucester Police and the Gloucester Harbormaster worked together to rescue two crew members from the 40-foot fishing boat Legacy off of Atlantic Road on Saturday night. Gloucester Fire Department

Two members of a fishing crew were rescued on Saturday after their boat ran aground on a rocky Gloucester shore, fire officials said.

First responders were called at 7:47 p.m. for a 40-foot fishing boat that had become stuck between rocks “amid significant seas,” the local fire department said in a press release.

The Gloucester Harbormaster and members of the Gloucester fire and police departments arrived to 252 Atlantic Road and found a 40-foot boat stranded on rocks about 20 yards from the shoreline. Two crew members were aboard the boat, the fire department said.

First responders called in the U.S. Coast Guard, which brought in a 47-foot rescue boat from the USCG Gloucester station. However, the boat was unable to tug the fishing boat free, fire officials said.

During the attempted rescue, 2 to 4-foot waves were hitting the boat, causing “increasingly severe damage to the hull,” the fire department said.

First responders had the crew members put on “survival suits” before fire crews threw rescue lines. The crew members then used the lines to exit the boat and come onto dry land, fire officials said.

The two people on the boat were uninjured, the fire department said.

“I want to commend the coordinated response by our Gloucester Police, Fire Department, and Harbormaster, as well as the US Coast Guard,” Gloucester Mayor Paul Lundberg said.