Acme II
Fishing Vessel · United States · Lost 1988 · Cape Ann & the Gulf of Maine
A Gloucester steel trawler flooded and sank off Thacher Island in minutes, but both crewmen escaped to a nearby fishing boat.
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The Vessel and Her Loss
Acme II was a steel-hulled stern trawler built in 1966 at Biloxi, Mississippi, and fished for fifteen years under the name Flying Dutchman before joining the Cusumano family's Gloucester fleet. On September 6, 1988, while groundfishing off Thacher Island, her engine room began flooding and she sank in less than seven minutes. Both crew members, including Captain Phil Cusumano, were pulled from the water by the nearby vessel Italia. NOAA later located the wreck by side-scan sonar and surveyed it by remotely operated vehicle as part of Stellwagen Bank's maritime heritage program.
Vessel
- 1966
- Not established
- Biloxi, Mississippi
- Steel
- 69 ft
- 20 ft
- 89
- Diesel, single screw, stern trawler
- Cusumano family (Capt. Phil Cusumano)
Loss
- September 6, 1988
- Mechanical failure
- About 20 miles off Gloucester, Massachusetts, near Thacher Island
- Massachusetts Bay, within Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
- Gloucester, Massachusetts
- Not established
- 2
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 400 ft
- Upright on a muddy bottom, steel hull intact.
- Not established
- Not established
- Within Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Position
- 42.53° N 70.25° W
- Approximate position
- Thacher Island, off Gloucester, Massachusetts
Position as published by NOAA Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)
NOAA Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, Acme II
Build data, former name, loss cause, date, survivors, depth, and coordinates.
