The Coast Guard and the Boston Harbor Pilots Association responded to the 55-foot tug boat Emily Anne taking on water with three people aboard Tuesday about 5 miles east of Deer Island in Boston Harbor.
The captain aboard the boat contacted watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Boston to report Emily Anne suffered a breech in its hull and was taking on water in the North Channel entrance of Boston Harbor.
A 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew from Coast Guard Station Point Allerton and an MH-60 helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod launched to help.
The nearby crew aboard the good Samaritan pilot boat Chelsea, from the Boston Harbor Pilot Association, heard the report over the radio, arrived on scene, and recovered the three people. Emily Anne sank moments later.
The Coast Guard Station Point Allerton response boat crew escorted Chelsea to the Boston Harbor Pilots Association pier where emergency medical personnel evaluated the three rescued people.
“Given the nature of the emergency, if not for the quick and heroic response of the Chelsea crew, their lives may have been lost,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Darin Crozier, a watchstander at Coast Guard Sector Boston.
Despite exposure to the cold, all three people were reported to be in good health.
“We were out there and able to help,” said Captain Shawn Kelly, from the Boston Harbor Pilot Association. “If we had been in trouble, I know they would have done the same.”
Pollution investigators from Coast Guard Sector Boston are monitoring the location where Emily Anne sank.