Boston Maritime Trial Lawyers Look at Boater Identified in Wreckage on Florida Coast

On February 24, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission research team searching for right whales east of the mouth of the St. Johns River spotted boat wreckage floating in the Atlantic Ocean about 22 miles east of Jacksonville. According to the Florida Times-Union, the crew notified the US Coast Guard, which joined the search and later located the body of a 49-year-old man later identified as Guillermo Gonzalez Losada. Coast Guard spokeswoman Jessica Potter said that Losada was not wearing a life preserver, and he had not been there long, “considering the good condition of his body and pieces of wreckage.” Losada was found with a Venezuelan passport, and the debris included two large pieces of the boat along with 10 life vests, flares, a lifesaving ring and splintered wood. The Coast Guard was unable to identify the vessel, and it was unclear where Losada was from originally or if he still lived in Florida although his last known residence was in Miami.

“I’ve never had a case with this much unknown,” Potter told the Times-Union. “The boat is here and no one knows how it got run over or how it exploded.”

The Times-Union reported that there was no match to any Mayday calls for help or missing boat cases, and the boat had no emergency beacon notification that it had gone down. Coast Guard spokeswoman Lauren Jorgensen said that even if the boat had a foreign registration, electronic notification systems that would send out a beacon in the case of an emergency are registered internationally. “There were no distress calls, no overdue boaters,” Jorgensen said.

An investigation by the US Coast Guard will try to determine the cause of boat wreckage.  The US Coast Guard will examine the debris and wreckage to try to determine what the cause was.   Additionally, the US Coast Guard will try to determine if any other boaters were in the vicinity or saw the vessel at anytime.

Latti & Anderson LLP not only has more than 50 years of experience representing injured seamen and the families of those killed on the water, but we are also one of the very few maritime law firms that has a full-time investigator on staff.   The purpose of the full time investigator is so that we can conduct our own investigation separate from other entities and find out as much information as possible regarding a  maritime accident, injury or death and  to begin collecting statements and facts relevant to your case.

Additional information about ship sinking accidents is available on our website. If you or a loved one sustained serious injuries in an accident on the water, contact our firm today at (800) 392-6072 to schedule a free consultation or complete the form on this page to have our Boston maritime trial lawyers review your case.

Latti & Anderson LLP – Boston maritime attorneys