Sea Tow News

Salvors are sending a crane barge to lift a yacht that ran aground on a coral reef just off Puerto Rico's Flamenco Beach.The 72-foot sailing catamaran Obsession was reportedly traveling with four people on board from Puerto Rico to the British Virgin Islands when it struck a reef during a stop in Culebra on July 21. No injuries were reported.To remove the vessel, salvage and marine services contractor Resolve Marine has deployed its 400-ton shear-leg barge. The 164-foot-long, 54-foot-wide barge is being towed by tugboat from Baltimore and is expected to arrive to Culebra…

Four crew members are missing from a roll-on/roll-off cargo vessel that is disabled, overturned and has caught fire near Brunswick, Georgia, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Sunday.Twenty people have been safely removed from the ship, and the Coast Guard said it is working with local partners to locate the four crew still missing from the 656-foot vehicle carrier, MV Golden Ray, which began listing heavily and capsized with 23 crew and one pilot on board in St. Simons Sound early on Sunday morning.The Coast Guard said it was notified of the capsizing by a 911 call around 2 a.m.There were 4…

The Coast Guard saved three mariners aboard a disabled sailing vessel more than 50 miles east southeast of Cape Lookout, Saturday evening.At 9:45 a.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina received notification of the 36-foot disabled sailing vessel Cloud from Sea Tow. All persons aboard the sailing vessel had donned their life jackets and there were no injuries or medical concerns aboard.The Coast Guard launched Coast Guard Cutter Richard Snyder to assist, and diverted…

A 223-foot cargo vessel that ran aground Tuesday morning near Charlotte Amalie Harbor in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands has been refloated, according to local responders. The Togo-flagged vessel Ocean Spirit I grounded just off of the entrance of the harbor’s East Gregory Channel while reportedly transporting more than $1 million of cargo from St. Thomas to Puerto Rico, including six huge propane trailer trucks, automobiles, lumber and food. There were no signs of distress or oil leaking from the vessel…

A 223-foot cargo vessel has run aground near Charlotte Amalie Harbor in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. Coast Guard said its watchstanders in San Juan where contacted at approximately 5 a.m. Tuesday by St. Thomas Harbor pilots who reported that the Togo-flagged cargo vessel Ocean Spirit I had run aground just off of the entrance of the harbor’s East Gregory Channel. There are no reported signs of distress or oil leaking from the vessel, according to the Coast Guard, whose marine casualty investigators are on scene investigating the cause of the incident.

The U.S. Coast Guard is conducted a first-light assessment survey Thursday of a tugboat oil spill on the Halifax River near Ormond-by-the-Sea. The tug Tutahaca was reported to be leaking bilge oil into the river Wednesday. A Coast Guard Air Station Savannah MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew was directed to launch to conduct an overflight assessment survey of the river. Marine Environmental Response and Sea Tow arrived on scene with the tugboat at approximately 11 p.m. Wednesday and deployed 600-feet of containment boom and more than 1,500-feet of absorbent boom around the affected area.

Sea Tow Services International, Inc., a professional on-water assistance provider, honored members of its national network for outstanding customer service and dedication to boating safety at the Sea Tow Awards Luncheon held on November 17. The event was a highlight of the organization’s 2016 Annual Meeting, which brought Sea Tow operators from across the country to the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort in Orlando from November 14-17, 2016. Sea Tow Franchise of the Year, awarded to the franchise that most exemplifies Sea Tow’s high standards of service and operation…

Captain Joseph Frohnhoefer, Jr., the founder and CEO of Sea Tow Services International, died Tuesday at the age of 71. He passed at his home in Southold, NY after a battle with cancer. Frohnhoefer founded Sea Tow, which now has over 100 locations across the U.S., Europe and the Caribbean, in 1983. He stated publicly that he founded the company after the U.S. Coast Guard stopped responding to non-emergency calls. Previously he had been a Coast Guard captain, a licensed electrician and a woodshop teacher at Mattituck High School.

U.S. Coast Guard and Marine Corps helicopter crews rescued two people and a dog Sunday from a grounded sailboat near Beaufort. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina in Wilmington received a call at approximately 11:50 a.m. from the operator of the 22-foot sailboat Serendipity who stated the boat was grounded and being taken over by waves near the number 15 buoy in Beaufort Inlet. Sector North Carolina personnel issued an urgent marine information broadcast and launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Elizabeth City to the scene. A Marine Corps HH-46 Sea Knight helicopter crew from Air Station Cherry Point arrived on scene first and hoisted a man with a heart condition from the grounded vessel. The crew placed him in the care of awaiting EMS at Fort Macon.

the Aransas Pass bridge Saturday. At approximately 6:30 p.m., the Aransas Pass Police Department notified Coast Guard watchstanders that there were people in the water in the vicinity of the Aransas Pass bridge. The watchstanders from Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi launched a 25-foot response boat from Coast Guard Station Port Aransas, diverted an MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter crew already out on patrol, and issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast requesting mariners in the area to render assistance. The response boat arrived on scene at approximately 6:45 p.m. and recovered two people sitting atop an overturned pleasure craft. Three other people were previously picked up by good Samaritans and were later transferred to the Coast Guard response boat.

Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound Command Center was notified at approximately 5:20 p.m., via VHF Channel 16, that a 38-foot pleasure craft was tipped over with the motor still running and six mariners in the water just south of the Greenport Ferry North Terminal. Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick O’Halloran, 27, a boatswain’s mate at Station Chatham, was nearby on a private vessel and was the first on scene just 4 minutes later, to assist the mariners out of the water. “I’ve been in the Coast Guard for three years and it was unreal watching this happen in front of me,” said O’Halloran, a Shelter Island, N.Y., native. “I realized I needed to make sure they were safe and that the boat was away.

Representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, Federal, State, County and several members of the maritime community have received a Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation award during a ceremony held at the Canaveral Port Authority Maritime Center in Port Canaveral, Florida, informs the US Coast Guard. On July 1, 2014, the 584-foot bulk carrier J.S. Comet, sought refuge off Port Canaveral, Florida when 19 of the 21 crewmembers aboard were stricken with symptoms of food poisoning and were unable to continue to safely operate the vessel. The coordinated response involved five Coast Guard units, three fire departments, Cape Canaveral Hospital…

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) reported it is responding to a report of a vessel that caught fire and became disabled with two men and a dog aboard south of the McCormick Bridge in the Intracoastal Waterway in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., Thursday. A boatcrew from Coast Guard Station Mayport, Fla., is currently on scene with the vessel, the fire is extinguished and there are no injuries reported, the USCG said. Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department notified watchstanders in the Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville command center of the situation at 7:54 a.m. The men were reportedly transiting from Palm Cove Marina in Jacksonville aboard the 33-foot sport fisher Day Tripper when the boat caught fire.

Members assigned to U.S. Coast Guard Sector Charleston are monitoring a sunken vessel Wednesday for potential pollution in Shem Creek, in Mount Pleasant, S.C. The Coast Guard was notified by the Charleston County 911 Consolidate Dispatch that the commercial fishing vessel Lady Eva was at the Wando Seafood Company dock and sinking in Shem Creek. Upon being notified of the incident, the Coast Guard dispatched pollution responders to determine if the vessel was discharging any hazardous material. The owner of the Lady Eva informed the Coast Guard the vessel had little to no fuel aboard due to operations over the last few days. Soft sorbent padding and sausage boom has been placed around the vessel in an effort to capture any residual pollution.

Your Road Service at Sea (R) Reaches Milestone Worth Celebrating. For three decades Captain Joe Frohnhoefer and his wife Georgia of Sea Tow Services International have leveraged their greatest strengths-- Captain Joe's in-depth knowledge of the sea and Georgia's meticulous attention to detail-- and built an impressive worldwide network of everyday heroes, their Sea Tow Captains. Throughout 2013, Sea Tow International will celebrate these efforts and reflect on the ground-breaking accomplishments of the past thirty years.

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search 8:15 p.m. Wednesday for a 34-year-old tow boat operator who went missing Tuesday morning after the Coast Guard received a distress alert from an emergency position indicating radio beacon near Great Egg Harbor. Missing is David McAuliffe. The 45-foot Sea Tow boat Cape Hatteras departed Absecon Inlet at approximately 7:45 a.m. Tuesday en route to Great Egg Harbor, according to the boat's owner. Three hours later, Coast Guard watchstanders received an EPIRB activation alert. The operator aboard the Cape Hatteras did not respond to cell phone or radio calls. The Coast Guard searched more than 400 square miles, for 65 combined asset hours. "We are deeply saddened by the difficult decision to suspend our search efforts for Capt.

Cooperation Broadens Project Management, Marine Cargo and Logistics Capabilities in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Crowley Maritime Corporation's solutions group and PB Towage Ltd., part of the Pacific Basin Shipping group, have formed a business alliance that combines their respective services and regional positioning to collectively broaden their project management, marine project cargo and logistics capabilities in Southeast Asia and Oceania. The alliance will enable the companies to provide comprehensive project management, project cargo transportation, logistics, ocean towing, offshore support, salvage support and bulk cargo transportation solutions to oil and gas…

The U.S. Coast Guard contracted the removal of any fuel or hazardous substances that may be aboard the 65-foot motor vessel Wanderer Monday, after the vessel sank in the Intracoastal Waterway at Osprey Marina in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Saturday morning. Personnel at Coast Guard Sector Charleston were notified of the sunken vessel and directed pollution responders to investigate further. The vessel Wanderer was found partially submerged at the pier and was actively sheening diesel fuel. The responsible party made initial efforts to mitigate the spread of pollution to the local waterways by having an absorbent boom deployed around the vessel and dock. Horry County Fire and Rescue and Towboat US recovered or removed a total of seven 55-gallon drums and two 50-gallon fuel tanks from the vessel.

Sea Tow Services International Inc. announced that Captain Tom Kehlenbach, owner of Sea Tow Central Connecticut, has been named to the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Marine Trades Association (CMTA) for a three-year term, starting July 1, 2012. The appointment was made on March 14th during CMTA’s 58th Annual Meeting at the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Capt. Kehlenbach has been a CMTA member since 1990, when he founded Sea Tow Central CT. “The CMTA has been a great organization to be a part of for so many years,” he said.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued three people Monday after their 68-foot fishing vessel started to sink 36 miles southwest of Sanibel Island. A member of Sea Tow Marco Island contacted Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg watchstanders reporting they overheard a crewmember aboard the Cheyenne call out “mayday,” declare that they were taking on water and unable to keep up with the flooding. Watchstanders diverted the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Marlin, an 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat homeported in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., to the scene. "Once on scene, the rescue crew determined there was a crack in the hull somewhere on the forward bow," said Kevin Coyne, a search and rescue coordinator at the sector.

Sea Tow Services International, Inc., a leading professional marine assistance provider in the USA, says that the number of stations transmitting its free Automated Radio Check service in coastal and inland boating areas across the U.S. has risen to over 130 locations. Claimed to be the first and only service of its kind, Sea Tow continues to seek new host stations in its mission to expand this vital boating safety service. Automated Radio Check, which is provided by Sea Tow in association with MariTEL, lets boaters quickly and easily check that their vessel’s VHF radio is working.

Sea Tow Services International Inc., announces the opening of Sea Tow Delmarva, owned and operated by Capt. Hank Fulmer. Sea Tow Delmarva serves boaters along the coasts of Delaware and Maryland on Delaware Bay, from Slaughter Beach Inlet south to and including Lewes and Rehoboth, Del., and Indian River Inlet and Ocean City, Md. Capt. Fulmer and his staff of U.S. Coast Guard-licensed Sea Tow Captains operate three boats out of Slaughter Beach Inlet, Ocean City, and Indian River Inlet, and may add a fourth boat to the Sea Tow Delmarva fleet in the next year. "We're excited that Capt. Fulmer has joined our long list of Sea Tow operator Captains nationwide," said Capt. Joseph Frohnhoefer, Sea Tow's founder and CEO. Capt.

Sea Tow Reports Increased Boating Activity and Calls for Assistance Midway Through July 4th Holiday Week. Incidents Underscore the Need to Follow Commonsense Boating Safety Guidelines. The extended July 4th holiday has been one of the busiest in recent years for Sea Tow Services International Inc., the nation’s leading on-water assistance provider, and its network of Sea Tow locations across the U.S. This increased activity reflects a growing desire among boaters to enjoy the many benefits of the boating lifestyle with friends and family. By midway through the July 4th holiday week, which runs this year from June 29-July 8, 2012, Sea Tow already had received more than 2,200 calls for assistance.