New Bedford Fishing Vessel Yankee Rose Capsizes Off Provincetown, One Dead

The commercial fishing vessel Yankee Rose capsized about three nautical miles northeast of Race Point in Provincetown on Thursday, March 5, killing one crewmember and leaving a second missing whose fate remains unknown nearly a week later.

Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England received notification just before noon that Thursday. Crews and local agencies reached the scene within minutes and, by about 12:30 p.m., responders from the Coast Guard and Massachusetts Environmental Police pulled a man from the water. He was brought to the pier and transferred to Provincetown Fire Rescue, where the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office confirmed that resuscitation was not possible. The vessel itself slipped beneath the surface by around 3:45 p.m. The Coast Guard suspended its search for the second crewmember at 1:27 p.m. Friday, after 21 hours of continuous searching.

Local reporting identified the recovered man as Angel Luis Nieves, 37, of New Bedford. His fiancée, identified by WCVB as Deedee Jeffrey, told the station that Nieves had been fishing for ten years, that it was his passion, and that the couple had three children together. "You are so loved. So special. God chose you for a reason. You have a heart of gold. You will always be my number one and an inspiration to be more like you," Jeffrey posted on social media.

The missing crewmember was identified by the New Bedford Light as Gene Holcomb, 61, known among fellow fishermen as "Screamin' Gene." Holcomb may have been in the wheelhouse when the Yankee Rose went over. His body had not been recovered as of Tuesday. The Coast Guard had not officially released either man's name at the time of early reporting.

The tragedy came just days after what could have been an even worse outcome for the same crew. On February 26, Holcomb found Nieves unconscious aboard the Yankee Rose from apparent carbon monoxide exposure and called 911, according to Nieves' fiancée. A generator the crew had brought on board while the vessel was docked was the source of the fumes; a snowstorm had knocked out power to much of the area. The carbon monoxide was so concentrated that six first responders were taken to the hospital for evaluation. Holcomb received oxygen and was reported to be okay. That incident remains under investigation by the Coast Guard and Massachusetts Environmental Police, the same agencies now probing the capsizing.

The Yankee Rose is based out of New Bedford but had primarily been operating from Provincetown for several years, according to a New Bedford Port Authority press release. "The boat owner and crew are from the New Bedford area," the release stated.

Mayor Jon Mitchell framed the loss squarely within New Bedford's identity as a working fishing port. "We in New Bedford, America's preeminent commercial fishing port, stand ready to support them in the wake of this tragedy," he said. Provincetown Town Manager Alex Morse, writing on Facebook that he was "deeply saddened," offered a longer statement acknowledging the particular weight of the loss for both communities: "The fishing community is a close-knit one, where the dangers of the sea are well understood and deeply respected. On behalf of the Town of Provincetown, we extend our deepest condolences to the families of those lost, to the New Bedford fishing community, and to the broader fishing community in Provincetown and beyond."

Governor Maura Healey connected the Yankee Rose disaster to a brutal stretch for Massachusetts' commercial fishing industry. "This is another devastating reminder of the dangers that come with life at sea and another tragedy for Massachusetts' fishing industry and the families who make their living on the water, especially so soon after the loss of the Lily Jean in Gloucester," she wrote. The Lily Jean sank off Cape Ann on January 30, killing six fishermen and a fisheries observer; that investigation is being conducted jointly by the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board. A separate capsizing on New Year's Day in Cow Bay off Edgartown, which killed both passengers aboard, a husband and wife, rounds out a devastating two months for the region's watermen.

Friends gathered at MacMillan Pier in the days after the capsizing, struggling to make sense of what happened. "Know it's a pretty tight-knit community around here," one friend told WCVB. "It's terrible. I'm sort of in shock about it."

The Coast Guard and Massachusetts Environmental Police continue to investigate the cause of the Yankee Rose's capsizing. No cause has been officially determined.