{"id":198837,"date":"2026-02-01T07:32:05","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T07:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/coast-guard-suspends-search-for-people-missing-from-fishing-vessel-that-sank-off-massachusetts-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T07:32:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T07:32:05","slug":"coast-guard-suspends-search-for-people-missing-from-fishing-vessel-that-sank-off-massachusetts-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/coast-guard-suspends-search-for-people-missing-from-fishing-vessel-that-sank-off-massachusetts-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Coast Guard suspends search for people missing from fishing vessel that sank off Massachusetts – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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GLOUCESTER, Mass. \u2014 The search for survivors on a commercial fishing vessel that sank off the coast of Massachusetts with seven aboard has been suspended, the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday.
The Coast Guard launched a search and rescue mission early Friday after receiving an alert from the 72-foot Lily Jean about 25 miles off Cape Ann. Searchers found a debris field near where the alert was sent along with a body in the water and an empty life raft, the Coast Guard said.
Crews covered about 1,000 square miles (2,589 square kilometers) using multiple aircraft, cutters and small boats over a 24-hour period. However, after consultation between search and rescue mission coordinators and on-scene commanders, the Coast Guard announced Saturday that it had determined that all reasonable search efforts for the missing crewmembers had been exhausted.
Officials said there wasn\u2019t a mayday call from Lily Jean as it navigated the frigid Atlantic Ocean on its way home to Gloucester, Massachusetts, America\u2019s oldest fishing port. The Coast Guard was notified by the boat\u2019s beacon that alerts when it hits the water.
It is the latest maritime tragedy to befall Gloucester and its close-knit community of people in the fishing business. The city that inspired \u201cThe Perfect Storm\u201d is tied to its fishing heritage in a way that has brought 400 years of history and, sometimes, tragedy. That book and movie were inspired by the FV Andrea Gail, which went missing at sea in 1991.
Vito Giacalone, head of the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund, described the fishing community as a brotherhood that was grieving and in shock.
\u201cEverybody\u2019s just heartbroken,\u201d Giacalone told The Associated Press in a phone interview Saturday. \u201cTo have that many lives lost all at once, we haven\u2019t seen that in a long time.\u201d
The Lily Jean, its captain, Gus Sanfilippo, and his crew were featured in a 2012 episode of the History Channel show \u201cNor\u2019Easter Men.\u201d Sanfilippo is described as a fifth-generation commercial fisherman, fishing out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, in the Georges Bank. The crew is shown working in dangerous weather conditions for hours on end, spending as many as 10 days at sea on one trip fishing for haddock, lobster and flounder.
\u201cWe loved each other,\u201d Giacalone said about his relationship with Sanfilippo. \u201cHe treated me like a big brother and I treated him like my younger brother. To know the tragedy of this and to know the kind of character that Gus had, he\u2019d be mortified to know that these lives were all lost.\u201d
Republican State Sen. Bruce Tarr, grew emotional as he talked about Sanfilippo, who was a good friend.
\u201cHe\u2019s a person that has a big smile, and he gives you a warm embrace when he sees you,\u201d Tarr said Friday. \u201cHe is very, very skilled at what he does.\u201d
Tarr said the \u201cfact that vessel now rests at the bottom of the ocean is very hard to understand,\u201d given the owner\u2019s experience.
The Coast Guard\u2019s Sector Boston Commander Jamie Frederick acknowledged frigid temperatures, stormy conditions and the vast ocean makes finding survivors at night difficult, a task made more challenging with a nor\u2019easter<\/a> approaching the East Coast this weekend.
\u201cThat is the equivalent of searching for a coconut in the ocean,\u201d Frederick said Friday.
At the time of the emergency alert, the National Weather Service said wind speeds out at sea were around 27 mph (24 knots) with waves around four feet high. It was 12 degrees (-11 Celsius) with water temperatures about 39 degrees (4 degrees Celsius.)
Deep-sea fishing in New England can always be hazardous, but it can be especially dangerous in the winter because of high waves, frigid temperatures and unpredictable weather. Commercial fishing is often cited as one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.
Everett Sawyer, 55, a childhood friend of Sanfilippo, said he has known 25 people who were lost at sea. Cold winter conditions can complicate operations even for experienced sailors, Sawyer said.
\u201cThings happen very quickly when you\u2019re out on the ocean,\u201d he said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it was aware that there was a fishery observer on board the vessel. Fishery observers<\/a> are workers who collect data on board fishing boats for the government to use to inform regulations.
The Associated Press
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeGLOUCESTER, Mass. \u2014 The search for survivors on a commercial fishing vessel that sank off the coast of Massachusetts with seven aboard has been suspended, the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday.The Coast Guard launched a search and rescue mission early Friday after receiving an alert from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":198838,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-198837","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}