PORTLAND – The Coast Guard said Thursday it ordered four Maine fishing boats to return to port during the past two days because they lacked required safety equipment.

The cutter Moray on Thursday terminated the voyages of the 37-foot Jacob & Rachel out of Friendship and the 37-foot Irresistible and the 38-foot Irene Carol, both based in Bremen.

The Debra Joy, a 28-foot lobster boat out of Bremen, was ordered back to port Wednesday.

Coast Guard crew members who boarded the boats found various deficiencies, including lack of survival equipment, inadequate firefighting gear and improper navigation lights.

A total of 31 vessels have been sent back to port this year in the Northeast for safety violations, the Coast Guard said.

It said the terminations were intended to reduce fatalities among commercial fishermen. More than 125 such deaths have been recorded in the Northeast since 1993.

“A vessel’s voyage is only terminated in the event of an especially hazardous condition on board such as insufficient lifesaving equipment or a restricted ability to respond to a casualty,” said Robert Higgins, of the commercial fishing vessel safety office.

He said fishermen must correct the violation before they can return to the fishing grounds.