Tag Archives: U.S. Coast Guard
Newport, Oregon: Fishing vessels collide at sea in thick fog
U.S. Coast Guard crews safely escorted two small fishing vessels, one of which was taking on water, back to the dock after they apparently collided in thick fog about 12 miles offshore early Wednesday morning. The Coast Guard will investigate the cause of the incident, which was called into Station Yaquina Bay shortly after 5 a.m. Both fishing boats, F/V Chief Joseph and F/V Linda were still operable, but the Linda sustained damage to its hull and was taking on water. The Coast Guard crew passed over a pump in case it was needed to keep the fishing vessel afloat. >click to read< 13:54
How the U.S. Fishing Fleet Served the Navy and Coast Guard in WWII
In the early days of World War II, demand skyrocketed for vessels to fill the needs of the U.S. sea services. The Coast Guard was no exception as they competed with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army for new construction as well as privately owned ships. Facing a high demand for vessels, the service turned to the U.S. fishing industry as a source for its cutters. These emergency acquisitions included East Coast trawlers, whalers from both coasts, and East Coast menhaden fishing vessels, such as the Emergency Manning vessel Dow (WYP 353). During World War I and World War II, the menhaden fishing fleet became a ready reserve for the Navy and Coast Guard. Both services needed small, shallow draft vessels for coastal convoy escort, mine planting, minesweeping, and anti-submarine net tending duty. Many of these vessels were purchased or leased, while others were loaned to naval forces by fishing businesses as their contribution to the war effort. >click to read< 18:28
Derelict fishing vessel sinks off Point Whitehorn
The derelict 1930s fishing vessel sank off Point Whitehorn while being towed from Blaine Harbor to Bellingham. The Bligh Island, a 79-foot wooden hull purse seiner, had been in the Port of Bellingham’s custody since 2017. The port put the abandoned boat up for auction, but there were no bidders, port public affairs administrator Mike Hogan said.,, The boat sank in about 160 feet of water off Point Whitehorn at the end of Birch Bay. To Hogan’s knowledge, the vessel is the first boat owned by the Port of Bellingham to sink. >click to read< 16:21
Workers respond to a fishing boat that ran aground in Homer Harbor
Quick action by salvage crews last Wednesday, June 2, prevented a Homer fishing boat from flooding and sinking when it ran aground on the wood grid in the Homer Harbor. The 40-foot F/V Redoubt heeled over after the boat got stuck on the edge of the grid as the tide went out.,, “With the tide flooding, without those bags it would have filled the boat,” Hawkins said. “”He (the boat owner) was so fortunate in that everybody and everything was in place to make it work so they could save his boat.” >photos, click to read< 09:16
A dramatic rescue off the Maine coast changes the course of many lives
Russie Lane describes himself as a “reluctant storyteller.” All his life he has stuttered, and about fifteen years ago he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He prefers to be in the background. The story he set out to research had always been part of the Lane family history. Something they all knew about and remembered – but rarely spoke about. They referred to it simply as “the rescue.” All he had was one single newspaper article confirming what had happened that summer day off the coast of Maine. video, >click to read< 09:04
Maine Man Pleads Guilty to Making Hoax Distress Call
On December 3, 2020, while at the Spruce Head Fisherman’s Co-op, Nathan Libby, 31, communicated a false distress call for a vessel and crew reportedly taking on water in the vicinity of Spruce Head. In response, the U.S. Coast Guard initiated a search lasting more than five hours, which included the use of a local Coast Guard vessel, a Maine Marine Patrol vessel, and a helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod. Further investigation identified Libby as the caller and the search was suspended as a hoax call. >click to read< 07:39
F/V Emmy Rose: Side Scan Sonar locates sunken fishing vessel off the Massachusetts Coast
It was a tragedy that claimed the lives of all the fishermen aboard the Portland, Maine-based boat: crew members Robert Blethen Jr., Jeff Matthews, Ethan Ward and Mike Porper. The four men were presumed dead and mourned by their loved ones at a candlelight vigil held two days after the 82-foot-long steel ship sank on Nov. 23, 2020. Now, roughly half a year after the Emmy Rose’s sinking, authorities announced they found the sunken fishing vessel following a search of around 5.5 square miles of the seafloor with side-scan sonar, a device used to detect objects on the bottom of the ocean. >click to read< , or >here<, 20:25
President Joe Biden to speak at Coast Guard Academy commencement in New London
The ceremony, which is closed to the public, is expected to take place outdoors on Cadet Memorial Field around 11 a.m. However, New London police said in an email Monday that members of the community are allowed to assemble in three locations: McKinley Park located at the corner of Williams Street and Crystal Avenue, the grass area on Williams Street just after the overpass and the grass parcel across the street from the academy’s main gate. But no one will be permitted to gather past the main gate. >click to read< 07:30
Seacor Power: Two more dead crew identified – search of capsized lift boat continues – Nine still missing
Confirmed deaths stood at four after the Lafourche Parish coroner identified the latest victims, both found inside the jackup barge: Anthony Hartford, 53, of New Orleans and James “Tracy” Wallingsford, 55, of the northeast Louisiana village of Gilbert. Hartford’s wife, Janet, said a knock came to her door at 3 a.m. with news of her husband’s death. >click to read< Seacor Power death toll rises to four as dive teams recover two bodies -The 
confirmed death toll in the Seacor Power liftboat disaster has risen to four, after dive teams recovered two bodies inside the overturned oil exploration vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. Nineteen crew members were aboard the Seacor Power when the vessel flipped over in about 50 feet of water during hurricane-force winds and high waves on Tuesday. Six were quickly rescued, nine remain missing, and now four are confirmed dead. >click to read< What we know about capsized lift boat Seacor Power and rescue efforts off Louisiana coast, an inventory of related stories, >click here< 20:55
Divers search Seacor Power wreckage for survivors – Second body recovered 33 miles from Seacor Power site
Search-and-rescue divers worked Friday to get inside the cabin of the capsized Seacor Power lift boat, hoping to find survivors a day after rescuers several miles away plucked the body of a second crewman from the Gulf of Mexico. >click to read< Second body recovered 33 miles from Seacor Power site – He has been identified as 69-year-old Ernest Williams of Arnaudville, LA. Officials say the body was spotted by an aerial crew around 7:10 p.m. Thursday night. A Coast Guard boat was deployed to recover the body Friday morning. >click to read< 20:31
Seacor Power: Coast Guard points to early survivors as search continues, with updates from the Gulf this evening
Evening came to Port Fourchon on Thursday with still no word on the fate of a dozen missing crewmembers from a capsized lift boat seven miles offshore, though officials suggested for the first time that human life may still remain aboard the Seacor Power. U.S. Coast Guard officials said the observations of rescuers who were scrambling to save the crew hours into the aftermath of the disaster Tuesday caused the agency believe at least 
two members who had survived the capsizing were still on board. >click to read< Coast Guard saw five crew members on hull of Seacor Power Tuesday; 2 went back into vessel – A team of divers contracted by the U.S. Coast Guard headed to the wreckage site Thursday,,, As of Thursday, a total of six crewmembers aboard the Seacor Power had been rescued, and the body of 63-year-old captain David Ledet had been recovered. The remaining 12 members are unaccounted for, including the two who were on the hull late Tuesday and said they were going back inside. >click to read<‘ God please bring him home’ – The niece of Gregory Walcott, 62, of Abbeville, said her family holds out hope that her uncle is among the survivors in an air pocket awaiting rescue. “Knowing him,” Crystal Randle said Thursday afternoon, “he’s worrying about us.” >click to read< 21:46
Coast Guard medevacs 25 year-old- fisherman suffering from seizures from fishing vessel 58 miles off Charleston
The Coast Guard medevaced a 25 year old man from the 47′ foot F/V Golden Retriever approximately 58 miles east of Charleston, Tuesday. A Coast Guard Air Station Savannah MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew transferred the man to Medical University of South Carolina Hospital at 1:49 p.m. to receive further treatment. At approximately 11:25 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Charleston watchstanders
F/V Scandies Rose: Inaccurate Design Calculations May Have Put Scandies Rose in Harm’s Way
According to the Marine Safety Center, the hydrostatics model that the naval architect provided for the vessel “did not accurately represent the F/V Scandies Rose,” for multiple reasons. MSC alleged that it did not accurately model poop deck or forecastle enclosed volume, did not model the bulwarks, had significantly less superstructure windage than the actual vessel, appeared to have much different tank capacities than the vessel capacity plan, and neglected downflooding in calculations. >click to read< 07:50
F/V Scandies Rose: U.S. Coast Guard and NTSB conclude formal public hearing proceedings of the tragedy
The joint investigation board reviewed and considered evidence related to the loss of the fishing vessel, which occurred on Dec. 31, 2019. The board heard from 43 witnesses, who provided testimony into the conditions influencing the vessel prior to and at the time of the casualty. Testimony also focused on weather, icing, training fisheries, the Scandies Rose’s material condition, owner and operator organizational structures and culture, the regulatory compliance record of the vessel, Coast Guard policy, and practices related to vessel design, engineering and inspections.,,, Recordings of the proceedings are available,,, Documents, exhibits, helpful videos, Board biographies, and other hearing information is available >click to read< 15:43
F/V Scandies Rose: Investigation Takes a New Look at Crab Boat Stability
Last week’s hearings on the tragic sinking of the ill-fated fishing vessel Scandies Rose have raised questions about the stability booklet requirements for crab boats, which are routinely exposed to severe freezing spray in Alaskan waters. Many crab boat sinkings have been blamed on ice buildup and loss of stability over the decades, but the U.S. Coast Guard design standard for ice accumulation relies on an IMO rule that was not formulated with crab vessels in mind, leading several naval architects who testified last week to question whether it is time for a revision. >click to read< 09:19
U.S. Coast Guard announces formal investigation into F/V Coastal Reign capsizing
The Coast Guard announced today a formal marine casualty investigation has been convened into the marine casualty of the commercial fishing vessel Coastal Reign which capsized February 20, 2021 resulting in the loss of two lives. The crew of the 38-foot fishing vessel, Coastal Reign, were attempting to cross the Tillamook Bay Bar inbound when the vessel capsized with four crewmembers on board. The Coast Guard has established an e-mail address for the public and interested parties to provide information, ask questions and make comments related to the ongoing investigation and scheduled hearing. This e-mail will be checked regularly and all correspondence will be acknowledged. The e-mail address is: [email protected]. >click to read< 13:48
U.S. Coast Guard Inquiry of F/V Scandies Rose sinking begins in Seattle on Monday
A two-week federal inquiry into the fatal sinking of the F/V Scandies Rose, lost on New Year’s Eve 2019 west of Kodiak Island, will open on Monday in Seattle. The U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies will hold a virtual formal hearing to consider evidence related to the sinking of the Dutch Harbor-based fishing vessel until March 5. The 130-foot crab boat sank near Sutwik Island, Alaska around 10 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2019 with seven crew members aboard. Two fishermen were rescued wearing gumby survival suits in a life raft, but five others were never found. >click to read< 07:50 To ensure public access and participation, the hearing will be streamed live each day at click> https://livestream.com/uscginvestigations,
‘Mask police’: Commercial fishermen, watermen required to wear masks on boats via Biden, Coast Guard COVID orders
The U.S. Coast Guard is requiring masks be worn on commercial fishing boats and other vessels as part of President Joe Biden’s executive orders mandating face coverings on federally regulated transportation vehicles.,, Now, they are also going to be enforced on watermen and those working on fishing boats, according to the Coast Guard. U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md.-1st, said mandating the mask on watermen and fishermen working outdoors is burdensome, goes against the science of how of and where COVID is spread and could require masks to be worn at all times on boats, including while sleeping. >click to read< 19:10
Congressman Harris Asks for Clarification on Mask Mandate for Small Craft Fishing Vessels – The Coast Guard has issued guidance that all commercial fishing vessel occupants will be required to wear masks, and that they will enforce this mandate. >click to read<
Jacksonville: Coast Guard suspends search for missing crab fisherman near Buckman Bridge, Man identified
The Coast Guard suspended the search Friday for a man who went missing after reportedly falling overboard a 30-foot fishing vessel near Buckman Bridge south of Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Thursday. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office received a report at 7:57 a.m. of a 30-foot commercial fishing vessel unmanned and running in circles near the southside of the Buckman Bridge. >click to read< 19:31
Missing boater identified -The missing boater in a multi-agency search has been identified as 20-year-old Michael Vaughn III, who disappeared after falling overboard from a 30-foot commercial fishing vessel near the Buckman Bridge Thursday morning. >click to read<
U.S. Coast Guard to hold virtual formal hearing for loss of F/V Scandies Rose
The U.S. Coast Guard is scheduled to conduct a formal hearing starting Monday February 22 in Edmonds Wash., to consider evidence related to the sinking of the fishing vessel Scandies Rose. The hearing will focus on the conditions influencing the vessel prior to and at the time of the casualty. This will include weather, icing, fisheries, the Scandies Rose’s material condition, owner and operator organizational structures and culture, the regulatory compliance record of the vessel, and testimony from the survivors and others.>click to read< 12:21
Marine Board of Investigation: Coast Guard looking for details regarding F/V Scandies Rose ahead of public hearing, November 25, 2020 – >click to read<
U.S. Coast Guard Works to Make BSAI Crab Fishery Catch Less Deadly in 2021
Within the commercial crab fishing fleet of Alaska’s Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) sail some of the most widely admired and respected fishermen on earth. The BSAI crab fishery was widely considered the most hazardous U.S. commercial fishery in the 1990s after 73 fishing-related fatalities.,, laws did not address the problem of overloading vessels with crab pots, a major cause of vessel disasters and deaths. This gap in safety regulations was partially corrected by the Coast Guard in 1999 with the introduction of a dockside stability and safety compliance check program.,, Recent tragedies in these fisheries have shed light on just how important stability checks are for the fishing fleet. F/V Destination and F/V Scandies Rose sank in February 2017, and New Year’s Eve 2019, respectively, claiming the lives of 11 fishermen. >click to read< 22:50
U.S. Coast Guard admits it failed to warn Bering Sea fishing fleet about known Russian military exercises
Adm. Charles Ray told a U.S. Senate panel Tuesday that the Coast Guard knew Russia was conducting military exercises in August and failed to inform members of the U.S. Bering Sea fishing sector, Alaska Public Media reported. “This was not our best day with regards to doing our role to look after American fishermen,” Ray said. “I’ll just be quite frank: We own some of this.” The captain of the fishing vessel, Northern Jaeger, believed he had no choice but to comply and sail five hours south,,, >click to read< 13:10
For commercial fishermen, November is the cruelest month
November trips can be treacherous, and the forecast was unnerving, 9-foot swells in the afternoon and gusts as strong as 40 miles per hour. But the 56-foot F/V Leonardo, its diesel engines groaning after a series of repairs, steamed out to fishing grounds 24 miles southwest of Martha’s Vineyard. It would not return, and three fishermen, Mark Cormier Jr., Gerald Bretal, and his step-son Xavier Vega, were never found. Ernesto Garcia, the lone survivor, was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter crew at dusk, about two hours after the ship capsized. >click to read< 07:33
Fishing Boat Sinks 24 off Vineyard – November 24, 2019. The fishing boat F/V Leonardo out of New Bedford sank Sunday afternoon 24 miles southwest of the Vineyard. 
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued one mariner from the vessel. A search and rescue operation is underway for three others. Sector Southeast New England received an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) signal at 3:18 pm, F/V Leonard, >click for 10 posts<
Coast Guard medevacs chief engineer 70 miles northwest of Saint Paul Island, Alaska
The Coast Guard medevaced a fisherman from a commercial fishing vessel approximately 70 miles northwest of Saint Paul, Tuesday. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak safely hoisted the 43-year-old man, at approximately 12:25 p.m., and transferred him to awaiting emergency medical services personnel in Saint Paul Island for further transport to Anchorage. At 7 p.m. Monday, 17th District command center watchstanders received a medevac request from F/V Frontier Spirit for the chief engineer who was experiencing abdominal pain. >video, click to read< 15:30
F/V Emmy Rose: U.S. Coast Guard suspends search for four missing fishermen off the coast of Massachusetts
BOSTON — The Coast Guard suspended the active search for four missing fishermen off the coast of Massachusetts, 5:22 p.m., Tuesday. “The decision to suspend a search is never an easy one. Our crews conducted searches continuously for over 38 hours covering an area of approximately 2066 square miles,” said Capt. Wesley Hester, Search and Rescue mission coordination, Coast Guard’s First District. “We extend our condolences to the friends and loved ones of these fishermen during this trying time.” >click to read the press release< 19:04
Two missing after shrimp boat capsizes in Beaufort County, South Carolina
The U.S. Coast Guard and multiple other agencies are searching for two adult males who disappeared after a shrimp boat capsized Tuesday. Responders found the capsized shrimp boat in St. Helena Sound near Harbor Island where the pair had been fishing. Multiple agencies have boats, cutters and helicopters searching for the fishermen. >click to read< 07:14
Coast Guard, partner agencies searching for 2 men near St. Helena Sound – Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Charleston received notification at 3:47 p.m., Tuesday from a family member stating the two men were overdue. A Coast Guard Air Station Savannah helicopter aircrew deployed a rescue swimmer to the 27-foot capsized vessel with no signs of the two men. >click to read<
U.S. Coast Guard rescues seven in two missions off the Georgia coast – Video
The Coast Guard rescued seven people in two separate search and rescue cases Tuesday off the Georgia coast. In the first rescue, three people were hoisted from a life raft about 60 miles east of Tybee Island,,, In the second rescue, a separate Air Station Savannah Dolphin aircrew hoisted four survivors at 5:18 a.m. after the fishing vessel, Jimmy & Charlie, began taking on water near Egg Island. >Video, click to read< 15:13
Fisherman medevac’d from shrimp boat 15 miles off Baffin Bay, Texas
The Coast Guard medevac’d a 58-year-old male from a fishing vessel 15 miles off Baffin Bay, Texas, Thursday evening. Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi watchstanders received a report at 8:30 p.m. Thursday from the crew of the Los Nietos, a 77-foot fishing vessel, stating a crewmember suffered a head injury. >video, click to read< 13:51
Video: U.S. Coast Guard, Air Force, and Navy medevac fisherman from commercial fishing vessel off Hawaii
The Coast Guard, Air Force, and Navy successfully medevaced a 73-year-old fisherman from the 84-foot commercial fishing vessel Lady Alice 150 miles east of Hilo, Friday. At 7:37 a.m., Monday, the owner of the Lady Alice notified JRCC watchstanders that the master of the vessel appeared to be suffering symptoms of a stroke. The mariners aboard provided medication to the patient and were instructed by JRCC watchstanders to monitor his condition and maintain scheduled communication. Duty flight surgeons from the Coast Guard and Air Force were consulted and recommended sending Air Force pararescue jumpers from the 129th Rescue Wing to the vessel before the mariner’s condition deteriorated. Video >click to read< 10:22
U.S. Coast Guard rescues two fishermen from a grounded fishing vessel in Neka Bay
The Coast Guard rescued two fishermen Tuesday from a grounded fishing vessel in Neka Bay, south of Hoonah. Coast Guard Cutter John McCormick arrived on scene at approximately 8:34 a.m. and launched a small boat crew who rescued the operator and a crew member from the fishing vessel Reluctant. No injuries were reported. The Coast Guard received Reluctant’s initial report about running aground at about 8:30 a.m. photos, >click to read< 07:25
