Cargo Ship Collides With Fishing Boat – Tragedy Narrowly Escaped

A 620-foot cargo ship has collided with a 51-foot aluminum hulled fishing vessel off the coast of Massachusetts. The three crewmen on gillnet boat MICHAEL BRANDON were rescued by the Coast Guard and the vessel towed back to Scituate. The fishing vessel suffered extensive damage and later sank at the pier. The MICHAEL BRANDON was reportedly fishing near the shipping lanes when the collision occurred. The cargo ship involved in the collision, West Bay, was sailing for New Orleans with a load of salt. It has been ordered to return to Boston for purposes of a Coast Guard casualty investigation into the cause of the sinking.