The commander of Coast Guard Sector Boston promised that an investigation into the delayed search and rescue response would be swift. On January 9, Capt. Gail Kulisch said it was possible the internal investigation or "case study" could be completed within "three weeks". Five days later, Rear Adm. Dale Gabel, the district commander, wrote "I will be able to review the details of the response soon". Kulisch departs Sector Boston today for a new assignment in Virginia. And neither she nor Gabel have reported again.
VMS, which is required on all fishing boats with groundfish permits, is primarily a law enforcement tool. Boats are tracked by the periodic radio signals that are relayed by satellite into a computer base maintained at the National Marine Fisheries Service. Yet the Coast Guard was unable, without delay and difficulties, to use VMS to locate the Patriot when the assignment wasn’t policing but search and rescue.