Having confirmed the identity, the mission shifted from searching mode to investigation. The Defender was navigated towards the stern. There were no signs of structural damage on the starboard side and the starboard trawl door was observed to be in the stowed position. Bringing the Defender around to approach the stern head-on, the net was observed to be fully stowed on the reel, and the port trawl door was also found to be in the stowed position.

This confirms that the Hayley Ann was not configured for trawling operations at the time of its sinking.

Upon acknowledgment from the Coast Guard investigation team that we had collected enough information to complete their analysis, we departed the scene leaving the Hayley Ann alone in the darkness.