U.S. Coast Guard News – Page 5

Coast Guard, Partners Respond to Cruise Ship Fire in Glacier Bay, Alaska

The Coast Guard on June 5 responded to a reported fire aboard the 178-foot passenger vessel Wilderness Discoverer in Glacier Bay, National Park, Alaska. The fire was extinguished and all 51 passengers along with 16 crewmembers were safely disembarked aboard the cruise ship Sapphire Princess, according to the Guard. According to the Coast Guard, watchstanders in Juneau received the initial call from the crew aboard the Wilderness Discoverer at 7:30 a.m. stating that there was a fire aboard the vessel and they needed assistance. Coast Guard cutters Pike and Anthony Petit, along with an Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew and resources from the National Park Service transited to assist the vessel. “Our primary concern is ensuring the safety of the passengers and the crew,” L.t. j.g....

USCG Completes Study Re: Safe Navigation Along West Coast

The U.S. Coast Guard said June 7 that it has published in the Federal Register a final report of the Pacific Coast Port Access Route Study (PAC-PARS), which is the first comprehensive evaluation of vessel traffic patterns that use Pacific coastal waters off California, Oregon and Washington. “The main goal of the PAC-PARS was to evaluate historic and future waterway usage to determine navigational risk and provide recommendations to uphold safety of navigation,” the Coast Guard explained in a statement. “To do this,” the statement continued, “the study examined vessel tracking data from the past 10 years and considered environmental data, existing and planned offshore development infrastructure and historical marine incident data among other datasets.” The Coast Guard also considered ...

Coast Guard Rescues 2 from Capsized Fishing Boat Off SW Oregon Coast

The Coast Guard rescued two people from their boat after it capsized the night of June 7 off the coast of Nesika Beach, Oregon. According to the USCG, watchstanders at Coast Guard Columbia River received notification around 7:30 p.m. from the wife of the captain of a 26-foot commercial fishing vessel stating that her husband had not made it back to the marina at the time he said he would. Shortly thereafter, according to the Guard, watchstanders dispatched a rescue boatcrew from Station Chetco River aboard a 47-foot motor lifeboat and an aircrew aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station North Bend. They also conferred with the local police department who confirmed the operator’s truck and trailer were still at the boat ramp. The wife had also relayed to the Coast Guard that ...

U.S., Philippine, Japan Coast Guards Conduct Trilateral Engagements

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Stratton and crew arrived in Manila on June 1 to conduct professional exchanges and joint operations with members of the Philippine and Japan Coast Guards during Stratton’s months-long Indo-Pacific deployment. Members from the three Coast Guards engaged in the first ever group of trilateral activities at sea and in port during a multi-day visit building upon enduring partnerships between the nations. “We’re eager to join the Philippine and Japan Coast Guards and participate in meaningful engagements with our allies and partners both in port and at sea,” Stratton’s commanding officer, U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Brian Krautler, said. “This first trilateral engagement between the Coast Guards of these nations will provide invaluable opportunities to strengthen glob...

Coast Guard Cutter Stratton Departs Japan

Northern California-based U.S. Coast Guard cutter Stratton departed Yokosuka, Japan on May 3, following a scheduled port visit while deployed to the Indo-Pacific. Stratton is currently deployed in the Indo-Pacific to engage with ally and partner nations and to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific. “Deploying U.S. Coast Guard assets to the Indo-Pacific promotes security, safety, sovereignty and economic prosperity in the region while strengthening relationships between the U.S. and partner nations,” Stratton’s commanding officer, Capt. Brian Krautler said. Yokosuka was Stratton’s third port visit since departing its homeport of Alameda, California. The cutter’s crew was conducting exercises in the region to share best practices and expertise in search-and-rescue and law enforcement. U....

USCG Participates in Active Shooter Drill at Alaska Marine Terminal

On April 26, members of the U.S. Coast Guard and agency partners took part in a full-scale active shooter exercise at the Ketchikan Alaska Marine Highway System Terminal. Participants, which included Coast Guard Sector Juneau, Coast Guard Station Ketchikan and Coast Guard Public Information Assist Team, were able to run through tactical processes, practice ways to de-escalate the situation and utilize crisis communications during the exercise, which involved an “active shooter” at the terminal and on the 408-foot AMHS marine vessel Matanuska, according to the agency. Coast Guard Station Ketchikan was also able to use a 45-foot medium response vessel to rescue a “victim” from the water. “In the event of an active shooter incident, we must be ready for an effective, coordinated emerge...

Northern Edge War Games Take Place in Gulf of Alaska

Thousands of U.S. military service members, five ships and over 150 aircraft were in Alaska from early-to-mid-May for Northern Edge 2023 (NE23), war games in the Gulf of Alaska and elsewhere in the state to enhance combat readiness. They were joined for the Indo-Pacific Command exercise by other service members from the United Kingdom and Australia to provide opportunity for joint, multinational and multi-domain operations designed to offer high-end, realistic war fighter training. Northern Edge got underway May 4 and continued through May 19. For security reasons, the start of the biennial training is never announced until it’s already underway. Commanding officers have described NE23 as an example of their strong relationship with the state of Alaska and one that demonstrates Americ...

Polar Star Home After Operation Deep Freeze

On April 10, the Coast Guard cutter Polar Star and its crew returned to Seattle following a 144-day deployment to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2023. This was the Polar Star’s 26th voyage to Antarctica for Operation Deep Freeze, which is an annual joint military service mission to resupply the United States Antarctic stations, in support of the National Science Foundation, the lead agency for the U.S. Antarctic Program. This year marks the 63rd iteration of the annual operation. The Polar Star is a 399-foot heavy polar icebreaker commissioned in 1976. It weighs 13,500 tons and is 84-feet wide with a 34-foot draft. The vessel has six diesel and three gas turbine engines able to produce up to 75,000 horsepower. The cutter left Seattle for Antarctica on Nov. 12, a journ...

Coast Guard Conducts Fishing Boat Search and Rescue Exercise in Hawaii

U.S. Coast Guard and Kauai, Hawaii agency personnel conducted a search-and-rescue exercise (SAREX) off Kauai’s coast on March 29. The exercise simulated a multi-agency response to the report of an overdue fishing vessel that failed to return to shore. The open-water exercise was held from 9 a.m. to noon, ending with the vessel being located. “The general scenario (was) an overdue vessel that didn’t make it back,” Senior Chief Petty Officer Timothy Elhajj, the officer in charge of Coast Guard Station Kauai, explained. “This scenario allows all the county, state, local, federal and (the) Coast Guard to practice search and rescue.” As part of the exercise, an incident command post was set up at Kukuiula Small Boat Harbor and the participants coordinated the on-scene assets while testing ...

Coast Guard Offloads $166 Million Worth of Narcotics in San Diego

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Waesche offloaded more than 6,325 pounds of cocaine and more than 13,220 pounds of marijuana worth more than $166 million in San Diego on March 29. The five interdictions occurred in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Central and South America in February and March. “This marks Waesche’s first counter-narcotics patrol in several years and the crew did an outstanding job to work with international and inter-agency partners to successfully prevent $166 million dollars’ worth of illicit drugs from entering our country, cities and neighborhoods,” the Waesche’s commanding officer, Capt. Robert Mohr, said. “The Coast Guard is dedicated to preventing illicit drugs from entering our country via the maritime environment,” Eleventh Di...