Update: Coast Guard suspends search for four fishermen off Provincetown coast

PROVINCETOWN, Mass. (WLNE) – The Coast Guard said it was suspending the search for four fishermen whose point sink in waters off the coast of Provincetown early Monday morning.

“The decision to suspend a search is never an easy one,” said Capt. Wesley Hester, the Search and Rescue mission coordinator for the Coast Guard’s First District. “Our crews conducted searches continuously for over 38 hours covering an area of approximately 2066 square miles.”

The boat sank approximately 20 miles northeast of Provincetown according to the Coast Guard.

Watchstanders at First District Coast Guard Command Center, in Boston, received notification at 1 a.m., Monday, from the 82-foot fishing vessel Emmy Rose’s emergency position indicating radio beacon.

The Emmy Rose, based out of Portland, Maine, had been on its way to Gloucester.

The identities of those who had been on board have not yet been made public.

Why the vessel sank is still under investigation.

The ship’s owner reported there were four people aboard, and there were no answers on the vessel’s satellite phone.

The Coast Guard immediately launched a Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, Massachusetts MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew, and the Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous to search for the Emmy Rose.

Upon arrival at the vessel’s last known position, Coast Guard crews discovered debris and an empty life raft.

Involved in the search were:

• Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, and HC-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing aircraft
• Coast Guard Station Provincetown 47-foot Motor Life Boat
• Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous, a 210-foot Medium Endurance Cutter, homeported in Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Coast Guard Cutter Key Largo, a 110-foot Patrol Boat, homeported in Gloucester, Massachusetts

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