AH-WR-1109

St. Christopher

Fishing Vessel · United States · Lost 1946 · Cape Ann & the Gulf of Maine

A Gloucester dragger inbound with a full catch was cut in two by an oil tanker in fog, killing two men trapped in the forecastle.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

St. Christopher was a 95-foot auxiliary fishing dragger out of Gloucester, inbound with about 150,000 pounds of fresh fish on May 14, 1946, when the Norwegian tanker Alar struck her in thick fog roughly 58 miles southeast of Eastern Point. The tanker's bow cut through the dragger some 25 feet from her bow, and she sank quickly. Two crewmen sleeping in the forecastle, Jerome Laiacano and Jimmy Currea, were killed in the collision; the other eight men, including Captain Philip Fileto, survived with injuries.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: 95 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Auxiliary sail/engine dragger
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: May 14, 1946
Cause: Collision
Location: About 58 miles south-southeast of Eastern Point, Gloucester, Massachusetts
Water: Massachusetts Bay / Gulf of Maine approach
Voyage: Gloucester, Massachusetts
Cargo: About 150,000 pounds of fresh fish
Aboard: 10
Lives lost: 2
Master: Capt. Philip Fileto