(BOSTON) — The Coast Guard’s captain of the port said a lack of vessel monitoring system data slowed the rescue response to the fishing boat Patriot, the Gloucester Daily Times reported. Two men died on the Gloucester-based trawler, possibly when their vessel was struck by a tugboat’s towline. The Coast Guard said it never received a bonafide distress signal from the Patriot, and responders had trouble accessing data for the last known ping from its VMS, resulting in a wait of over 2.5 hours before a search-and-rescue team was finally sent out.
