Tag Archives: Sector Columbia River

Fine quadrupled for repeat offender “paper captain” violation

Further investigation after a vessel operator declined an October notice of violation issued by the Coast Guard uncovered the operator in question had previous violations of the Jones Act. The initial fine of $3,000 has been increased to $12,968.50, the calculated average penalty for a repeat violator, said Lt. Cmdr. Colin Fogarty. “The violator, John D. Gibbs, declined it,” Fogarty said in a phone interview. “When the (notice of violation) is declined, it becomes a civil penalty.” Fogarty said enforcement elements targeted the vessel, the F/V Southern Horizon, because of information gathered. We went onboard, and the captain admitted to being a paper captain.” >click to read< 09:50

Coast Guard responds to sunken fishing vessel in Warrenton, Ore.

Coast Guard crews are responding to the Warrenton Marina where the commercial fishing vessel Western Skies has sunk and is leaking fuel Sunday. Coast Guard incident management division personnel, from Sector Columbia River, have opened the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for $40,000 and has hired Global Diving and Salvage to conduct cleanup and pollution recovery efforts. Coast Guard was notified at around 5:30 a.m. that the 43-foot vessel sank at its moorings and there was diesel fuel actively leaking from the partially submerged vessel. Personnel from the Warrenton Marina deployed containment boom around the vessel to minimize the potential impact of the leaking diesel fuel. The amount of diesel fuel and other oil products on board the vessel is unknown.
Global Diving and Salvage response crews are deploying to the seen and will conduct operations as safety allows. Coast Guard crews are attempting to contact the vessel owner, but have so far been unable to. There were no persons known to be aboard the vessel at the time of its sinking. -USCG- 15:00