United States Coast Guard News

Capt. Eric A. Helgen relieved Capt. Benjamin D. Berg as commander, Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA) aboard Naval Support Activity Bahrain, Thursday, June 16.As the commander of the most extensive Coast Guard base outside of the United States, Berg served as the senior U.S. Coast Guard representative in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility, providing support to maritime security operations in the north, central, and south Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

In my May 2020 MREN USS Enterprise column I made a reference to the benefits of titanium as a hull structural material.It related to the life of the USCG cutter Bear and I concluded the column with a suggestion that titanium would be a particularly useful and cost-effective structural material for sail training vessels, aircraft carriers, research vessels, cruise vessels, tugs and Staten Island ferries. I made this suggestion assuming that the hull design (shape) would have to be mature…

First Class Cadet Owen Gibson, a Civil Engineering major from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, has received a Fulbright Award to pursue a two-year Master of Science degree in Water Resource Engineering and Management at the University of Stuttgart, Germany.Gibson’s Fulbright research project will focus on climate change and soil erosion models. The goal of his research is to develop a model for assessing coastal soil erosion rates. The model will address the uncertainty of climate change using probability analysis and will be tested throughout coastal regions in Northern Germany.

Multiple Coast Guard law enforcement crews detected and interdicted three Mexican lancha boat crews engaged in illegal fishing in federal waters off the coast of southern Texas Monday.Coast Guard crews consisting of air support, a small boat crew, and a cutter stopped three lanchas approximately 50 miles north of the Maritime Boundary Line where a total of thirteen lanchamen were engaged in illegal fishing. Twelve miles of longline gear, illegal fishing equipment, as well as 2…

The Coast Guard is responding to a 6.5 magnitude earthquake and seismic activity off the south and southwest coasts of Puerto Rico.All the ports in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands remain open until further notice. Currently, there is no ongoing maritime search and rescue as a result of the registered seismic activity.Coast Guard Sector San Juan and Air Station Borinquen have activated their Incident Management Teams, which remain in close communication with local and federal…

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two mariners from their disabled sailing vessel, Rhapsody, approximately 288 miles east southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, Thursday afternoon.Watchstanders at the Eighth Coast Guard District command center received an emergency position indicating radio beacon alert at 2:13 a.m. Watchstanders directed the launch of a Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew and diverted the LPG tanker Sahara Gas to investigate the location.Once on scene…

The Coast Guard Sector Sault Sainte Marie is seeking input for a Waterways Analysis and Management System (WAMS) study of the Les Cheneaux Islands.The WAMS study will review the short range Aids to Navigation system that covers the waters surrounding the Les Cheneaux Islands, including: Cedarville East Channel, Les Cheneaux Islands Middle Entrance, Les Cheneaux Islands West Entrance, Mackinac Bay Passage, Muscallonge Bay, and Cedarville West Channel.The purpose of the WAMS is to ensure that surrounding waters of the Les Cheneaux Islands are the safest…

The Coast Guard and good Samaritans aboard two commercial vessels located and rescued the crew of the 42-foot white dismasted sailing vessel Coco Haz III 656 miles west southwest of the Hawaiian Islands, Sunday.The three crew are reportedly in good condition, with one possible concussion after further assessment by a flight surgeon, and en route to Honolulu aboard the motor vessel Kalamazoo. They are expected to arrive later in the week.Crews aboard a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules and a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon airplanes conducted searches over several days.

A Unified Command was established on Wednesday afternoon to oversee the safe removal of fishing vessel Sea Angels, which ran aground in the vicinity of Browns Inlet, North Carolina.On Dec. 9, 2019, fishing vessel Sea Angels ran aground near a restricted navigation area in Browns Inlet, where the potential of unexploded military ordnance exists due to active live fire training in the area dating back to World War II.There is an estimated 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel onboard the fishing vessel…

The crew aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL 752) is scheduled to return Friday to their home port of Alameda following a 162-day deployment to the Western Pacific Ocean.In the Western Pacific, the crew patrolled and conducted operations as directed, including enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea by monitoring and gathering intelligence on vessels conducting ship-to-ship transfers in the East China…

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (NYSE: HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division started fabrication of the U.S. Coast Guard’s newest Legend-class national security cutter (NSC) Calhoun (WMSL 759) . The start of fabrication signifies that the first 100 tons of steel have been cut."Each new ship in this class has been an exciting opportunity to build on our legacy," said Jay Boyd, Ingalls' NSC program manager. "This is the 10th cutter in the class and a steady production line has allowed…

Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) and Vigor (Team RB-M) has announced the delivery of the first three on a six vessel RB-M contract to the US Coast Guard. The boats are part of a Foreign Military Sale to The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Coast Guard. Hulls four through six are expected to ship in 2020. A total of 182 RB-Ms have been built by Team RB-M.FMM was the prime contractor and program manager. Vigor fabricated the vessels at its Seattle, Washington facility using high temp resistant aluminum.

The Office of Merchant Mariner Credentialing published changes to five Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circulars (NVICs) concerning qualification for certain Merchant Mariner Credential Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended (STCW) endorsements.NVICs 04-14, 08-14, and 09-14 were revised to provide guidance on renewal of STCW endorsements for Proficiency in Survival Craft, Proficiency in Survival Craft-Limited, Basic Training, and…

Two shipping companies incorporated in Liberia pled guilty today in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, to failing to notify the U.S. Coast Guard of a hazardous condition on one if its vessels and to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) by presenting false documents to the Coast Guard that covered up vessel oil pollution.Jeffrey Bossert Clark, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware announced the plea agreement.

The twists and turns of any marine casualty investigation can be unpredictable, but what is predictable is the potentially crushing cost to defend your license, livelihood and professional reputation.It was early afternoon on a late summer day in a busy commercial and fishing port in coastal New England. The captain of an offshore supply vessel was returning to his company’s dock and was lining up to transit past the harbor’s fixed storm mitigation gate when he decided to ‘bail out’ on his approach because the tide was ebbing and the outbound current of approximately two knots was offsetting his vessel to the east. No stranger to these waters…

Following a five-month stay in the port of Pago Pago, American Samoa, the 580-foot motor vessel Wise Honest, a 17,061-ton, single-hull bulk carrier ship connected to U.S. sanctions violations departed under tow Monday.This action comes after an investigation by the Department of Justice and the sale of the ship in a Southern District of New York Federal Court-directed auction. The Coast Guard’s role in these proceedings was to ensure the safety and security of the Port of Pago Pago and the vessel.Most recently, the Coast Guard captain of the port received, reviewed, and approved the submitted tow plan from the company who purchased the ship…

The U.S. Coast Guard commissioned the newest Hawaii-based 154-foot Fast Response Cutter in Honolulu, Thursday.“There is no greater reflection of the commandant’s strategic vision and commitment than the fact that as we commission the William Hart today, it will be the fifth Coast Guard cutter commissioned in the last two years here at Base Honolulu that will operate in the heart of Oceania,” said Rear Adm. Kevin Lunday, commander Coast Guard 14th District. “There is no question that by our actions and not our words alone…

The Coast Guard terminated the voyage of the 45-foot pleasure craft, Breaking the Habit, with 12 passengers aboard Saturday near American Airlines Arena.Watchstanders determined that the vessel was operating illegally and in violation of a previous Captain of the Port order. This is the second time within a month the vessel was discovered operating as an illegal charter. A Coast Guard Station Miami Beach boarding team conducted the boarding of the pleasure craft and discovered the following violations:Violation of 46 C.F.R.

The Coast Guard is responding after at least two barges struck the I-10 San Jacinto River Bridge near Channelview, Texas, Friday.At 12:05 a.m., Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received a report that nine barges had broken away from their moorings at the San Jacinto River Fleet, north of the San Jacinto River bridge.An Air Station Houston MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew and a Station Houston 29-foot Response Boat-Small boatcrew were diverted to the scene.Sector Houston-Galveston Vessel Traffic Service had already suspended vessel movement under the I-10 bridge at 7:20 p.m. Thursday due to strong currents. The suspension remains in effect.

Ship pilots stopped moving vessels along the Beaumont, Texas, Ship Channel due to severe weather caused by Tropical Storm Imelda, said the U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday.Imelda, officially downgraded to a tropical depression, dumped 24 inches (61 CM) of rain on east Texas is the past 24 hours, closing Exxon Mobil Corp's Beaumont refinery and chemical plant. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; editing by David Evans)

The Coast Guard continues to respond to an incident aboard the commercial fishing vessel Miss Emma off Oahu, Wednesday.“We’re pleased there was no loss of life in this case, and there are no current reports of pollution,” said Lt. j.g. Seth Gross, a command duty officer for Coast Guard Sector Honolulu. “We will conduct another overflight of the area today, and Coast Guard personnel are investigating the cause of the fire."The vessel caught fire Tuesday afternoon about 8 miles south of Sand Island prompting a search and rescue response.

The U.S. Coast Guard closed the upper Houston Ship Channel on Thursday morning as 11 Greenpeace USA protesters blocked a portion of the country's largest oil port near Baytown, Texas, the agency said.The channel is closed from Light 102A to Light 104, the Coast Guard said in a notice.The closure of the Ship Channel at that location blocks tanker ship traffic to and from five major refineries in the Houston area, including Exxon Mobil Corp's 560,500-barrel-per-day refinery in Baytown, which is 26 miles (42 km) east of downtown Houston.One ship was waiting to enter the Ship Channel, which links the Gulf of Mexico and the Port of Houston…

The Coast Guard medevaced a crewmember from a crude oil tanker approximately 20 miles offshore of Galveston, Texas, Wednesday.Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received notification from the crew of the crude oil tanker Pacific Jewels that a member of the crew suffered a back injury and was in need of medical assistance. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon who recommended the medevac.An Air Station Houston MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew was launched to the scene.The Dolphin helicopter crew hoisted and transferred the crewmember to awaiting emergency medical services personnel at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.Weather on scene was reported as 4-foot seas with 20 mph winds.