Tragedy off America’s oldest seaport claims 7 lives as fishing boat sinks in frigid waters

A group of women gather at the fisherman's memorial near the homeport of a fishing boat that went missing with seven onboard, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Gloucester, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

BOSTON — The seven victims of a marine disaster that devastated a storied Massachusetts fishing town included a fifth-generation fisherman, a young federal fisheries observer and a father-and-son crew duo. All died when their fishing boat, the Lily Jean, sank in waters off America’s oldest seaport.

The sinking underscored the risks long inherent in Gloucester’s fishing industry, which spans more than 400 years and was famously chronicled in “The Perfect Storm.” The names of the crew will be added to a city memorial honoring thousands of fishermen lost at sea over generations.

The 72-foot (22-metre) vessel was returning to port early Friday to repair fishing gear when it sank in frigid Atlantic waters. The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday that it was launching a formal investigation into the sinking after suspending a search for survivors Saturday. It has not said what might have caused the sinking, though it said ice buildup from freezing ocean spray can cause a boat to capsize.

“You fish in federal waters, you fish in a Gloucester boat, and you lose your life, you’re forever a Gloucester fisherman,” Gloucester fisherman Al Cottone said.

Pushback against speculation

Coast Guard officials identified the victims Monday as captain Accursio “Gus” Sanfilippo and crewmembers Paul Beal Sr., Paul Beal Jr., John Rousanidis, Freeman Short and Sean Therrien. Also aboard was Jada Samitt, a fisheries observer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

On Monday, the community was quick to push back against speculation about a possible cause, recalling Sanfilippo as someone who cared about his crew and didn’t take risks.

Vito Giacalone, head of the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund, said such sinkings are unfortunately not out of the ordinary.

“We’ve had multiple sinkings. All hands lost. No radio communication at the very last minute. Nobody alive to say, oh, no, it wasn’t that,” he said. “So, it’s just unfair to everyone involved with the folks that were lost feeling like someone did something wrong.”

“All those guys on that boat were seasoned fishermen,” former Lily Jean crew member Gryphon Orfanos said while doing boat repairs Monday at the same dock where the Lily Jean used to tie up. “They knew how dangerous it was.”

A larger-than-life fisherman

Orfanos and friend Nate Dennen attached a stainless steel memorial cross with the name “Lily Jean” to a wooden beam at the dock.

Dennen, a longtime friend of the boat’s captain Gus, said he was a mentor who looked out for his crew.

“It taught me everything I know,” he said of his more than a year working on the Lily Jean -- his first offshore fishing job. “Out on the ocean, it teaches you everything. But as far as I want the word to spread, Gus was the best guy ever.”

Cottone said any vessel leaving port needs a Coast Guard inspection decal, which requires up-to-date safety equipment -- and the fishery observer conducts a safety check before each outing.

“If the observer deems the boat not to be safe or have any piece of safety equipment that’s not up to date ... that observer will shut the trip down,” he said.

Sanfilippo was well known in Gloucester. The Lily Jean, Sanfilippo, and his crew were featured in a 2012 episode of the History Channel show “Nor’Easter Men.” The captain is described as a fifth-generation commercial fisherman, out of Gloucester, in the Georges Bank. The crew is shown working in dangerous weather conditions for hours on end, spending as many as 10 days offshore catching haddock, lobster and flounder.

“We loved each other,” Giacalone said. “He treated me like a big brother and I treated him like my younger brother. To know the tragedy of this and to know the kind of character that Gus had, he’d be mortified to know that these lives were all lost.”

Giacalone said the Sanfillipo and Beal names were synonymous with local fishing going back decades. He said Sanfillipo “followed in the footsteps of his dad” while the Beal family has built boats and a brother is also a fisherman.

“Those two families are absolutely etched in centuries of these multiple generations of fishermen,” Giacalone said.

Crew made of veterans and newcomers

Just as Sanfillipo had years of experience, Samitt was undertaking her first job at sea as an observer. The 22-year-old was tasked with collecting data from the catch, used for making government regulations and other purposes.

Samitt’s family said in a statement that she was originally from Virginia and had a deep love of Gloucester’s fishing community and “conveyed to us how critical it was to protect the seas and fisheries.”

NOAA, meanwhile, offered its condolences.

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Jada’s family, the families of the six fishermen, the NOAA observer community, and everyone affected,” its statement said.

Therrien, 44, was working his first season on a commercial fishing vessel, joining the Lily Jean after his close friend Rousanidis said the boat needed another crew member, his partner Becky Carp said. He had been on about a half-dozen trips already, she said, and appeared to be settling into the job despite complaints about the cold.

Therrien, she said, was “always up for an adventure” but took thed job mostly so he could provide for his family. The lifelong Massachusetts resident was the family’s breadwinner and sought to supplement his construction work, which was scarce in the winter.

“He wanted to make sure his family was safe and taken care which is why he was busting his butt,” Carp said.

Carp last talked to Therrien on Tuesday before he headed out. She had wanted him to take the week off to spend time with him but he felt he needed to make money. She only learned about the sinking when alerts began popping up Friday.

“You always want to hold out hope that they are found. Come Saturday morning, I kind of knew at that point that they wouldn’t find any survivors,” Carp said. “I feel like it’s a nightmare that I am going to wake up from. It’s just a bad dream and everything will be OK. But unfortunately, it’s not.”

Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine.

Michael Casey And Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press