3 Fishermen Rescued Off Maine Coast

Coast Guard crews rescued three fishermen who reportedly had no life raft or PFDs after their boat sank off the Maine coast Wednesday morning.

According to Coast Guard officials, a crew from U.S. Coast Guard Station Boothbay Harbor rescued three people from the water 23 miles south of Boothbay Harbor, Maine Wednesday, March 11 at 9 a.m.

One of the people rescued reported minor hypothermia while the other two had no reported injuries.

Coast Guard crews received a Mayday call via VHF channel 16 from the crew of a sinking 40-foot ridge liner vessel Vesta Renee shortly after 7 a.m Wednesday. The crew reported that the vessel was taking on water and that they intended to abandon ship.

At 7:13 a.m., Sector Northern New England launched a 47-foot motor lifeboat crew from Station Boothbay Harbor and an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew and MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Air Station Cape Cod.

The Coast Guard Northeast District requested that the fishermen activate their Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon to assist in finding their location.

Coast Guard officials said the fishermen did not have a life raft or any personal flotation devices.

“Our crews are constantly training for situations like this so they can respond as quickly as possible when lives are at risk,” said Coast Guard Lt. Jeanpierre Freeman. “Because of that preparation and the crew’s fast response, all three fishermen were recovered from the water within minutes of arriving on scene.”