According to the lawyer of the boat owner tangled gear may be fatal to any fishing vessel. Stevenson Weeks Sr., who represents Capt. Royal Smith Sr., revealed his theory for a possible cause during a Coast Guard hearing examining what caused the Lady Mary to sink about 60 miles off Cape May on March 24.
While presenting the case at the court Stevenson Weeks Sr., a marine lawyer, based his conclusion on video of the ship, now sitting on the ocean floor under 200 feet of water, taken by a remotely piloted undersea vehicle. It is said that the video shows the boat’s dredge — a heavy steel bar and metal rings connected to a nylon mesh net — still laden with scallops and resting on the ship’s deck.
A Coast Guard spokeswoman refused to comment on Weeks’ theory. The Guard is using the hearings to gather evidence on what caused the accident and will issue a report later. Video from the underwater vehicle is expected to be introduced into evidence later this week. In a testimony two Coast Guard officials said that for two to three hours after the Lady Mary is believed to have sunk, the Coast Guard heard no mayday calls or any other radio reports that something was wrong.
