Collision In Fog

The 554-foot freighter Summer Meadow struck the stern of the dragger Miss Nancy 30 miles south of Montauk on Sunday afternoon. A Coast Guard spokeswoman said there were no serious injuries, however, and no release of pollutants.

But Robert Hamilton of Greenport, captain of the Miss Nancy, said his crew was shaken up and had received medical attention.

He said his engine and gear were damaged when he tried to evade the freighter, which, he said, came out of the fog at high speed. The dragger was towing its net at the time. "I tried to take evasive action," an angry Captain Hamilton said on Tuesday. "I turned hard to the port, and revved the engine to the max, but the [freighter] hit our stern. We got hit."

Lieut. Vanessa Hughes of the Coast Guard's Long Island Sound Group said two small patrol boats were sent to the scene from the Guard's New London and Montauk Stations soon after 3:45 p.m., when the incident was reported. She said it remained under investigation.

Captain Hamilton, whose vessel was able to limp into Orient Harbor, said he and his crew were planning to take legal action against the Summer Meadow, a Bermuda-flagged vessel. Efforts to reach the captain of the freighter were unsuccessful.