Sole survivor to appear today at Lady Mary inquiry

Inquirer Staff Report

The sole survivor of the sinking of the Lady Mary is expected to appear today before a panel investigating the loss of the scallop boat in March.

Six crewmembers died in the sinking and four of them remain lost at sea.

The survivor, Jose Luis Arias, 57, who has said he was awakened by shouts the boat was going down, has shed little light on what happened in the final moments aboard the vessel 60 miles off Cape May.

Arias jumped into the ocean wearing a old water survival suit and was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter.

A lawyer who represents the boat's owner yesterday told the Coast Guard Marine Board that video of the sunken vessel indicated it was pulled down when its dredging gear got tangled with another boat or something on the sea floor.

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