Three crewmembers were rescued after their scallop boat ran aground and capsized in Boston Harbor on Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
A distress call came in around 7:45 a.m. after the vessel, Eileen Rita, became stranded and began taking on water near Green Island, a rocky, state-owned island located roughly 10 miles from Boston's Long Wharf.
The crew members were rescued by a Boston Police Dept. boat and two Coast Guard boats, brought ashore, and handed over to emergency medical services, according to the Coast Guard. No injuries were reported.
Photos released by the Coast Guard show the 86.1-foot Eileen Rita partially submerged, listing heavily to port, with an oily sheen visible on the surrounding water.
The Coast Guard said pollution response teams are currently on site, as the vessel is believed to be carrying up to 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 50 gallons of lubricating oil, posing an environmental risk.
The Coast Guard said it is working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and other state agencies to address the grounding and mitigate environmental impacts.
“The Coast Guard is working closely with the responsible party to mitigate fuel discharge. Simultaneously, methods to safely remove the vessel from the island are being evaluated,” said Lt. Cmdr. Alfred Betts, the public affairs officer for Coast Guard Sector Boston. “The contracted oil recovery organization is deploying absorbent boom to mitigate the spread of spilled fuel. Contracted divers are assessing the vessel to plan a path forward.”
Authorities are investigating the cause of the grounding.
Eileen Rita is one of five scaollopers operated by New England Marine out of New Bedford, Mass., according to the company's website. The boat was built in 1990.
