Coast Guard in it report mentioned that the sinking of a New Bedford fishing boat in Nantucket sound last year was due to extra ice on board that increased the weight of the boat which caused the ship to capsize. The report explained that it was January 26, 2007 when the Lady of Grace sank 12 miles south of Hyannis during a winter gale. It was found that 6 to 9 foot seas blanketed the ship with frozen spray.
The end of the 75-foot, New Bedford-based dragger is well reported in a 46-page document that forced the Coast Guard to bring five new changes to its regulations concerning ice and stability. Captian Raymond Perry, commander of Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England, said that the Coast Guard’s condolence goes to the families and friends of the fishermen who died in capsize.
He added that the legacy of the dead persons and the reasons may keep such accident at bay. The ice that frozen on the lines and superstructure of the Lady of Grace added so much of weight on the boat that it changed the chip’s center of gravity and left it susceptible to the seas, informed Perry.
