Newport Based Coast Guard Cutter Saves Two Off Nantucket

NEWPORT, RI — Coast Guard crews saved two fishermen Thursday after their vessel's engine room caught fire in Nantucket Sound. The Coast Guard Cutter Oak, which calls Newport its home port, answered the call for help, the Coast Guard said.

The small boat crew of Coast Guard Cutter Oak, a 225-foot buoy tender, comes along side the fishing vessel Jupiter, Thursday, May 11, 2017, north of Hyannis, Massachusetts. The captain of the Jupiter reported a fire in the engine room. (US Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Barresi)

The captain of the 41-foot fishing vessel Jupiter sent out a call for assistance over VHF Ch. 16 at about 8:50 a.m. As the Oak, a 225-foot buoy tender, responded, a commercial aircraft informed the watchstanders at First Coast Guard District command center that they saw smoke coming from a fishing vessel.

Within five minutes, the Oak's small boat crew launched and arrived on-scene with fire extinguishers to help the fishermen put out the fire. Then a 42-foot boat crew from Station Chatham and a Hyannis Fire Boat crew arrived on scene to assist. The Fire Marshal inspected the vessel to make sure there was no chance of reflash, before the Chatham boat crew put the Jupiter in tow to bring back to Hyannis Harbor.

"While Aids-to-Navigation is our bread and butter, the Oak is a multi-mission platform," said Lt. j. g. Stephen Nolan, the operations officer for the Oak. "It's not everyday we have the opportunity to save lives."

No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Photo Caption: The small boat crew of Coast Guard Cutter Oak, a 225-foot buoy tender, returns to the cutter after assisting the fishing vessel Jupiter, Thursday, May 11, 2017, north of Hyannis, Massachusetts. The captain of the Jupiter reported a fire in the engine room. (US Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Barresi)