1 man killed, 2 missing as trawler sinks Vessel sailed from rockland, foundered off Georges Bank

ROCKLAND – A Thomaston man was killed and two crewmen were missing following the sinking of the herring trawler Starbound off Georges Bank early Sunday. The boat’s captain was rescued from the sea.

The Coast Guard said James Sanfillippo died and that ships and aircraft were still searching for Mark Doughty of Yarmouth and Tom Fronterio of Gloucester, Mass. Capt. Joseph Marcantonio, also of Gloucester, was rescued from a life raft by a nearby fishing vessel.

The 83-foot Starbound left Rockland on Friday for Georges Bank in search of herring.

“Right now we are concentrating on finding the two who are missing,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer Megan Casey.

Casey, who is assigned to the Coast Guard’s public affairs office in Boston, declined to discuss or confirm reports that the Starbound had collided with another vessel.

“The captain reported some kind of collision, but at this time we’re not sure,” Casey said. “Right now we’re really focused on the search.”

When in port, the green and white Starbound and its companion ship, the Starlight, are familiar sights along the city’s waterfront. The vessels can usually be found tied up at the O’Hara dock on Tillson Avenue, the Rockland Fish Pier or the North End Marina. Attempts to reach owner Frank O’Hara on Sunday were unsuccessful.

Lt. Cmdr. Joseph Fischetti, also of the Coast Guard’s public affairs office, said that when he spoke with O’Hara early Sunday, the owner told him he had been in contact with the boat’s captain. Fischetti said he was told by O’Hara that the captain reported to him that the Starbound had been involved in some sort of collision.

“That’s what the master [captain] is saying,” Fischetti said. “Marine investigators have already been assigned to the incident and I’m sure there will be a lengthy and thorough investigation as to the cause.”

Fischetti said the Starbound went down 130 miles east of Cape Ann, Mass., at approximately 1 a.m. Sunday. The Coast Guard was alerted to the sinking when the 83-foot trawler’s Emergency Position Indicator Radio Beacon was activated. He said all vessels are equipped with emergency beacons that are automatically activated when the beacon is submerged in 11/2 to 4 meters of water.

A satellite pinpointed the vessel’s position off Sewell’s Ridge and a Phantom jet was dispatched from Cape Cod. Thick fog prevented the jet from taking off immediately but it arrived over the area at 3:30 a.m. and observed a field of debris and flashing lights. The Starbound was nowhere in sight.

The lone survivor was observed in a life raft and he was rescued by the fishing vessel Ewen McGraff, out of Newington, N.H. A second vessel in the area recovered the body of Sanfillippo and it was placed aboard the Ewen McGraff. Coast Guard investigators were dispatched to New Hampshire to meet the McGraff when it arrives in port sometime before sunrise Monday.

Six American boats and one Canadian vessel fishing in the general area have joined the Coast Guard in the search. Coast Guard and Canadian aircraft were also flying search grids over the area. The Coast Guard cutter Vigorous was dispatched to the scene, and the Canadian cutter Sygnus also steamed to take part in the search.

Fischetti said weather and sea conditions were working in the searchers’ favor. The water temperature on the Georges Bank was 66 degrees and the seas were calm, with 1-foot swells. Visibility was at one mile, he said. The conditions were virtually the same as when the Starbound went down.

“These are really ideal conditions for a search,” said Fischetti.