Massachusetts authorities have formally requested assistance from the United States Navy in retrieving critical equipment from the wreckage of a commercial fishing vessel that claimed seven lives off the coast in January.
Governor Maura Healey and State Senator Bruce Tarr have jointly petitioned the Secretary of the Navy to deploy specialized recovery assets to the site where the Lily Jean went down. The request centers on recovering a video recorder and hard drive that investigators believe may hold vital clues to understanding what caused the vessel to sink.
The equipment in question could provide the breakthrough investigators need. According to the governor’s office, the retrieved technology may contain critical information explaining why the vessel sank while returning to port with its full crew. Additionally, officials have asked the Navy to evaluate whether recovering the remains of the lost crew members is feasible, a request made in consultation with the victims’ families.
The fishing community of Gloucester continues to mourn the loss. When the Lily Jean went down in January, all seven people aboard perished in what has become one of the region’s most devastating maritime tragedies in recent memory. Search crews located a debris field days after the incident and recovered one body along with an empty life raft, but six crew members remain unaccounted for.
The body of Captain Accursio “Gus” Sanfilippo was recovered from the site. However, Freeman Short, Paul Beal Sr., Paul Beal Jr., John Rousanidis, Sean Therrien, and Jada Samitt have yet to be found.
Senator Tarr addressed the inherent dangers faced by those who work the waters off Massachusetts. “Every day, men and women leave ports like Gloucester to harvest the bounty of the ocean for the people of our state and our nation, carrying with them the very real risk of not returning home,” he stated following the tragedy. “The sinking of the F/V Lily Jean makes the consequences of that risk painfully real.”
The investigation into the sinking involves both the National Transportation Safety Board and the United States Coast Guard. State officials have specifically requested that the Navy deploy a robotic submarine capable of operating at the depth where the wreckage lies. The company that installed the video recording equipment aboard the vessel has indicated that retrievable footage likely remains intact and could prove instrumental in determining what went wrong.
The Navy has acknowledged receipt of the formal request. A spokesperson confirmed that the Office of the Secretary of the Navy is preparing a response that will be transmitted directly to the governor’s office. The Navy has previously demonstrated the capability of its underwater recovery technology in similar missions, utilizing advanced robotic submarines designed for deep-water operations.
The outcome of this request could determine whether families receive answers about what happened during the final moments aboard the Lily Jean and whether the remains of their loved ones can be recovered and laid to rest.
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