Tag Archives: Coast Guard
F/V Haida Lady Update: Vessel has been raised, Coast Guard concludes monitoring diesel fuel clean-up near Sitka, Alaska
The fishing vessel, Haida Lady, has been raised with lift bags and dewatering pumps, and is tied off to shore. Approximately 1,550 gallons of diesel fuel and oily water mixture were removed from the vessel’s fuel tanks. An additional 275 gallons of oil products were recovered from the water with the use of absorbents, which included 72 sections of absorbent boom and 1,000 feet of harbor boom was deployed and recovered on-scene. All recovered oil products and the net were transferred to the vessel Eyak,,, photos, >click to read< 18:53
A Commercial Fishing Vessel Sinks – Coast Guard responds to diesel fuel discharge near Sitka, Alaska
The Coast Guard is responding to a report of a diesel fuel discharge, Tuesday, after a vessel sank near Sitka, Alaska. Sector Juneau personnel received a report, February 27, 2021 at 2 p.m., that the 52-foot fishing vessel, Haida Lady, sank and was completely submerged between Cobb Island and Silver Point South of Sitka, Alaska. The vessel reportedly discharged an unknown amount of unrecoverable diesel near Cobb Island. Photos, >click to read< 17:42
Coast Guard medevacs woman from fishing vessel near Cold Bay, Alaska
The Coast Guard medevaced a woman from a fishing vessel approximately 101 miles northwest of Cold Bay, Alaska, Sunday. An Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew hoisted the woman at 10 p.m. and safely transported her to a LifeMed flight team in Cold Bay for further transport to Anchorage. Watchstanders at the 17th District command center in Juneau received a medevac request,,, >click to read< 16:53
F/V Scandies Rose: Expert witnesses point to flawed stability calculations
When the Scandies Rose sank on New Year’s Eve of 2019, fishermen from all over Alaska were shocked. Five of the crew perished when the ship rolled onto its side, along with the ship’s captain Gary Cobban. Two crewmembers were rescued from a life raft by a Coast Guard helicopter crew.,, This week, the Coast Guard convened a Marine Board investigation into the cause of the sinking. So far, expert witnesses have described serious problems with the boat’s stability report, which is a rating of how stable the vessel is and how much equipment it can bear. And those issues might extend to many other fishing boats around Alaska. >Audio, click to read/listen< 09:54
F/V Scandies Rose: Tragedy survivor details harrowing experience during sinking
Jon Lawler, who was on the F/V Scandies Rose on Dec. 31, 2019, when the boat began rapidly sinking into the sea,,, As soon as things began going wrong around 10 p.m. that New Year’s Eve, Lawler knew something was severely amiss, he said, and immediately ran upstairs, encountering Capt. Gary Cobban in the process. “And I look at Gary,” he said. “And I said, ‘What the f— is going on? What’s going on?’ And he said, ‘I don’t know what’s going on. I think we’re f—— sinking.’ ‘No f—— s— we’re sinking.’ Fast forward, and Lawler would miraculously make it outside the boat alive, donning a rescue suit. That, though, was hardly the end of the distress. Video, >click to read< 13:35
F/V Scandies Rose: Survivor Jon Lawler’s Wrenching Testimony, Experts note serious flaws in a USCG regulation
The architects who testified were not involved with the development of the stability booklet for the Scandies Rose, a Washington managed boat which went down around 10 p.m. in the Gulf of Alaska during a storm that generated National Weather Service warnings of heavy freezing spray. Also Wednesday, Jon Lawler, one of the two survivors of the seven-person crew, offered wrenching testimony of the final minutes before the boat went under. After donning a survival suit, he exited the wheelhouse amid what he described as sheer panic as the boat tilted crazily and tossed people about. >click to read< 17:38
‘We are rolling over’ – The inquiry into the Bering Sea sinking of the F/V Scandies Rose crab boat opened with a mayday call
Through the buzz of airwave static, a voice can be heard giving coordinates in the Gulf of Alaska. Then four chilling words: “We are rolling over.” This nighttime Dec. 31, 2019, mayday transmission from the Scandies Rose, a Washington-managed crab boat, was played Monday morning as the Coast Guard launched two weeks of public hearings to investigate the sinking that took the lives of five of the seven crew. The Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation is the highest level of inquiry into accidents, and the schedule includes testimony from the vessel’s co-owner, two survivors, former crew, naval architects and people involved in repairs. >click to read< 13:08
Coast Guard completes 3 rescues during busy crab season opener
Station Cape Disappointment, along with Station Grays Harbor, launched 47-foot Motor Lifeboat [MLB] rescue crews at 7:30 a.m. for a fishing vessel taking on water near Willapa Bay. A Coast Guard helicopter eventually hoisted three individuals and their dog off their capsized vessel. The crew was then diverted at 9:15 a.m., south in the vicinity of Gearhart, Ore., to assist another fishing vessel with an injured crewmember. Simultaneously, a separate MLB rescue crew was assisting the crew of a 66-foot fishing vessel off the coast of Long Beach, Wash. The initial distress call came in at 9:30 a.m., stating a vessel with five people aboard was disabled and drifting to shore, dragging its anchor. In 16 to 18-foot seas,,, >Video, click to read< 21:49
Network Failure: Emergency VHF radio channel unreliable across Southeast Alaska
Coast Guard Commander Lyle Kessler said mariners calling on Channel 16 may have trouble getting through to watchstanders. The Coast Guard is advising mariners to carry an alternative means for sending distress calls. That ranges from an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, satellite phone or even a conventional cell phone. As of Wednesday, Kessler said nine VHF repeaters — Althorp, Cape Fanshaw, Duke, Gravina, Mt. Robert Barron, Mud Bay, Mt. Ripinski, Yakutat and Zarembo — are working only intermittently due to the microwave interference issue. >click to read< 09:59
Coast Guard medevacs 2 fishermen injured from vessel fire off Cape Charles coast
The Coast Guard medevaced two fishermen who suffered burns after their vessel (identified as F/V Vixen) caught fire approximately 36 miles east of Fisherman Island, Tuesday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Virginia Command Center received notification that a vessel caught fire and was spotted roughly 36 miles east of Fisherman Island at approximately 3 p.m. Sector Virginia Command Center watchstanders issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast to which a good samaritan responded, and retrieved the two men from the water after they had abandoned ship due to the vessel fire. >click to read< 23:00
Coast Guard rescues 3 fishermen off sinking crab boat
The Coast Guard rescued three people after their commercial crab fishing boat lost propulsion and collided with the jetties while attempting to transit through the entrance channel in Humboldt Bay, Sunday. At approximately 6:20 p.m., Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay watchstanders received a distress call on VHF-FM channel 16 from the fishing vessel Sunup stating their vessel had propulsion problems and was on the south jetty rocks inside the channel. photos, >click to read< 22:08
Fishing vessels crashes into rocks off South Jetty – “I was so shaken up did not calm down until I was able to hear his voice,” said Pandora Boling. William Boling who was a deck hand on the Fishing Vessel Sun up knew they were in trouble when they lost their light source. video, >click to read<
Astoria: Coast Guard issues warning to commercial fisherman turning off AIS
The Coast Guard has seen an alarming increase of commercial fishing and crabbing vessels disabling their AIS, purportedly in an attempt to keep their fishing spots secret from competition. “AIS is a vital tool in a host of Coast Guard missions including Search and Rescue and Port Security,” said Lt. Collin Gruin, boarding team supervisor at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River. “It’s not only illegal to turn it off but also incredibly dangerous.” “Crabbers may think that they are protecting their businesses, but they are actually making search and rescue efforts more difficult if an emergency happens at sea,” >click to read< 17:17
To honor our lost fishermen, we must act
Every time a Coast Guard crew embarks on a rescue mission to a commercial fishing vessel, we all want the same outcome – a successful rescue and safe return to shore. Maine communities know too well those outcomes vary. We rescued four fishermen in November 2018 after the Aaron & Melissa II sank 50 miles south of Rockland. Two years later, last November, we lost four fishermen when the Emmy Rose sank northeast of Provincetown. And a year ago this Saturday, Joe Nickerson and Christopher Pinkham perished when the Hayley Ann sank 47 miles southeast of Cape Elizabeth. >click to read< 08:14 More lobstermen in New England are wearing life jackets while they work – >click to read<
Trinidad fisherman credits survival training and the Coast Guard for saving crew
Captain David Rohbrach says, his crab season ended before it started. “I was going to set some gear inside the engine over heated and broke down, things can get, go bad in a real quick hurry,” he said. Rohbach says – when he lost power – his boat started drifting toward the shore – worried his would roll over he radioed the coast guard. “When this happened, I knew exactly how to handle it, what to do, I didn’t have to second guess anything,” he said. Required safety training helped him remain calm – which allowed him to follow proper procedure. video, >click to read< 07:28
Crab Boat Sinks – Coast Guard Rescues Distressed Fishermen
A spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed this evening. that members of the agency “rescued three fisherman” this afternoon near Patricks Point State Park north of Trinidad but said he wasn’t able to provide more information until he had gathered more facts. photos, >click to read<– A crew of commercial crabbing fishermen were rescued by U.S. Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay today after their boat experienced engine failure in turbulent water off the coast of Agate Beach. video, >click to read< 06:58
Fishermen rescued, fuel, debris spilled near Anna Maria Island
The Coast Guard rescued three fishermen from a 70-foot commercial fishing vessel that took on water Friday evening two miles west of Anna Maria Island. The fishermen are “OK,” according to boat owner Joe Versaggi, of Tampa-based Versaggi Shrimp Corp. But pieces of the Warrior, along with some fuel, continued to wash up on Anna Maria Island’s beaches this afternoon, floating south past Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach and reaching Longboat Key. While the Coast Guard reported earlier today that the hull of the vessel appeared intact, some of the 7,000 gallons of diesel fuel was reported leaking. photos, >click to read< 07:35
Coronavirus: Coast Guard offers extension on credentials, medical certificates, and course approvals
Coast Guard officials have announced an extension of merchant marine credential endorsements, medical certificates and course approvals to meet challenges caused by the global novel coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, the Coast Guard advised that due to these changes there may be a backlog in the processing of credentials and course approvals, especially near the end of the extension dates.,, Under the Coast Guard’s current statutory authority, the expiration dates of merchant mariner credentials may be extended for no more than one year. >click to read< 14:34
Coast Guard medevacs an injured fisherman 80 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor, Alaska
An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew based out of Air Station Kodiak and deployed aboard Cutter Alex Haley, hoisted the man from the vessel Magnus Martens after he suffered a severe leg injury. He was flown to Cold Bay and placed in the care of awaiting Guardian Flight Alaska personnel for further transport to Anchorage. The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley, also based out of Kodiak, received initial notification about the injured man while on patrol in the Bering Sea in the vicinity of Unimak Island. >click to read< 09:09
Coast Guard rescues 4 from fishing vessel fire near Fort Morgan, Alabama
The Coast Guard rescued four people Monday aboard a vessel on fire near Fort Morgan, Alabama. The four people were safely recovered and transported to shore in stable condition. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Mobile received a report around 6:45 p.m. from the commercial vessel F/V Alexandria Pearl that it was on fire and in need of assistance, about a half mile south of Fort Morgan. Short video, >click to read< 23:57
Coast Guard rescues 3 from commercial fishing vessel fire near Pascagoula, Mississippi
The Coast Guard rescued three people from a commercial fishing vessel on fire offshore Pascagoula, Mississippi, Thursday. All three people aboard F/V Lucky Angel were returned to shore safely. One person was transported to Singing River Hospital in stable condition after being evaluated by EMS. Watch standers at the Eighth Coast Guard District received a report around 10:30 p.m. from one of the crew members aboard the Lucky Angel that the vessel was on fire approximately 10 nautical miles south of Pascagoula Channel. >click to read< 14:08
UPDATED: Search suspended – Coast Guard, partners search for missing fisherman off Big Island
Multiple rescue crews are searching for a 32 year-old male who is reported to have fallen overboard late Wednesday. At 4:50 p.m., Wednesday, Sector Honolulu watchstanders received a phone call from the master of the commercial fishing vessel F/V Sea Goddess reporting the situation. Sector Honolulu watchstanders immediately issued an urgent marine information broadcast and launched rescue crews including partner agency assets. >click to read< 21:50
Coast Guard suspends search for fisherman missing from capsized vessel off Cape May
The Coast Guard has suspended the search Friday for a man reported missing after an overturned 32-foot fishing vessel was discovered near Cape May on Thursday. Coast Guard crews searched more than 30 hours and over 700 square miles for the missing man. An inquiry into the name identifying the vessel was made, and is F/V Conch RD. Watchstanders from Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay Command Center received an alert from an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon at approximately 2 p.m. Shortly afterward, a good Samaritan reported a capsized vessel in the area of the alert. The good Samaritan retrieved one person from the water,,, >click to read< 15:00
Coast Guard searching for missing man near Cape May from capsized fishing vessel
The Coast Guard is searching for a man who entered the water when a 32-foot fishing vessel capsized near Cape May, Thursday afternoon. Watchstanders from Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay Command Center received an alert from an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon at approximately 2 p.m. Shortly afterward, a good Samaritan reported a capsized vessel in the area of the alert. The good Samaritan retrieved one person from the water and reported that another person had been aboard the capsized vessel at the time of the incident. >click to read< 05:32