USCG – Fishermens News

Coast Guard, NOAA Free Humpback Whale on Independence Day

24Jul

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Coast Guard, NOAA Free Humpback Whale on Independence Day

It was real freedom on the 4th of July for a humpback whale struggling after being entangled in fishing lines in the Port of Valdez, in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, thanks to efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA Fisheries. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said July 19, that NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline had received numerous reports late on the afternoon of July 3 of a young humpback whale entangled in the middle of the Port of Valdez. The animal was believed to have multiple wraps of line around the base of its tail and was trailing a bright yellow buoy. The Coast Guard Station Valdez launched a boat crew to get eyes on the situation to pass along to NOAA experts to determine the severity of the entanglement. On July 4, two...

“Deadliest Catch” Commercial Crab Boat Sinks at Seattle Pier

22May

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“Deadliest Catch” Commercial Crab Boat Sinks at Seattle Pier

U.S. Coast Guard officials are investigating the sinking of the 91-foot crab vessel f/v North American, which became submerged May 14 at a pier east of Ballard Bridge on the south side of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in Seattle. It was unclear whether anyone was aboard the vessel at the time of the sinking, but no human casualties were reported by the Coast Guard. There were also no reports of injured wildlife or impacts to vessel traffic due to the incident. The North American, one of the commercial crab fishing boats featured on the Discovery Channel series “Deadliest Catch,” had a maximum fuel capacity of 32,500 gallons of diesel. The Coast Guard opened the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and contracted Global Dive and Salvage, an oil spill response company, to conduct clean-...

Construction of New Coast Guard Icebreakers Faces Major Setback

15May

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Construction of New Coast Guard Icebreakers Faces Major Setback

Lack of experience in building icebreaking ships, as well as the overall cost of the program were cited by a congressional subcommittee chairman last week as key factors in delay of construction of the vessels to replace a nearly 50-year-old heavy icebreaker. “The demand for Coast Guard services is increasing and will continue to increase in the future,” Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez, R-Florida, chair of the House Homeland security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, said. Gimenez noted in opening remarks at the May 7 subcommittee meeting that the Coast Guard has not commissioned an icebreaker of any kind since 2006. He cited concerns over the Coast Guard’s failure to accurately estimate the cost of its shipbuilding programs. Testimony given during the hearing state...

Alaska Delegation Secures Funding for 1st Commercial Icebreaker in Decades

27Mar

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Alaska Delegation Secures Funding for 1st Commercial Icebreaker in Decades

U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski (both R-Alaska) and Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) have secured federal funding for the purchase of a commercially available icebreaker ship, they announced March 21. The Fiscal Year 2024 Homeland Security Appropriations Act includes $125 million to purchase the icebreaker. The delegation has also secured commitments from the Coast Guard that the icebreaker will be homeported in Juneau, Alaska to afford the vessel greater access and reach into the Arctic. “The inclusion of funding for the first icebreaker in a generation is significant progress for our state and our country’s national security,” Sullivan said in a statement. “Our national security interests in the Arctic have never been more critical. We have a lot more work to do, but ...

Coast Guard Intercept Yields Cocaine Stash Valued at Over $143 Million

28Feb

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Coast Guard Intercept Yields Cocaine Stash Valued at Over $143 Million

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter in pursuit of a suspected vessel during a counter-narcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean recovered 4,950 kilos of cocaine valued at over $143 million, Coast Guard officials said Monday, Feb. 26. The interdiction by the Coast Guard cutter Alert, on its last patrol out of its current homeport in Astoria, Ore., is among the Coast Guard’s largest single intersections in the Eastern Pacific and represents a major blow to criminal organizations attempting to smuggle illicit narcotics through the maritime domain, the Guard has said. The mission also serves as the capstone in Alert’s time in the Coast Guard Pacific Area. The Alert is to shift homeport in June to be stationed in Cape Canaveral, Fla. as part of the larger Coast Guard Force Alignment Initiat...

Polar Star Heads South from Seattle for Antarctica’s Operation Deep Freeze

22Nov

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Polar Star Heads South from Seattle for Antarctica’s Operation Deep Freeze

For the 27th year running, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Polar Star is enroute to Antarctica to break a navigable channel through ice for Operation Deep Freeze (ODF). It’s a task described by Polar Star Commanding Officer Capt. Keith Ropella as a unique, important mission that requires year-round effort from crew to prepare the now 47-year-old vessel for the 20,000 nautical mile round trip, where the Polar Star will be subject to extreme environmental conditions. The Coast Guard said that it’s recapitalizing its polar icebreaker fleet to ensure continued access to the polar regions and to protect the country’s economic, environmental and national security interests. To date, the Polar Star has completed the third of five planned phases of the service life extension project at a cos...

Coast Guard Cutter Kimball Returns to Honolulu After 85-Day Patrol

8Nov

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Coast Guard Cutter Kimball Returns to Honolulu After 85-Day Patrol

The Coast Guard cutter Kimball returned to its homeport in Honolulu on Nov. 2 after completing an 85-day patrol covering 14,000 nautical miles from the Hawaiian Islands north to the Arctic Circle. While at sea, the crew provided search-and rescue coverage and conducted living marine resources (LMR) and counter Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing operations during the patrol, following a response to wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui. On Aug. 8, while en route to the Aleutian Islands, the cutter received a report of people in the water attempting to escape a raging wildfire on Maui. The cutter shifted to the tactical control of Sector Honolulu and altered course to support the mass search and rescue efforts. Arriving on scene within hours, the Kimball became ...

Coast Guard Establishes IUU Fishing, Environmental Response Centers in Hawaii

25Oct

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Coast Guard Establishes IUU Fishing, Environmental Response Centers in Hawaii

Two new marine environmental response units were established in Hawaii earlier this month, via ceremonies for the Marine Environmental Response Regional Activities Center (MER RAC) and Illegal Unreported Unregulated Fisheries Center of Expertise (IUUF COE). The Coast Guard said in an Oct. 23 announcement that Vice Adm. Andrew Tiongson, commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area and Rear Adm. Jo-Ann Burdian, Assistant Commandant for Response Policy, presided over the ceremonies on Fort Island, Hawaii, on Oct. 11. The intent, according to the Guard, is to encourage sustained, long-term engagement with partner nations within the Indo-Pacific. “These new detachments, strategically positioned here in Hawaii will fulfill exactly what the Indo-Pacific Strategy directs.” Tiongson said in a s...

Coast Guard Cutter Healy Embarks on Arctic Ocean Mission

30Aug

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Coast Guard Cutter Healy Embarks on Arctic Ocean Mission

The Coast Guard cutter Healy and a team of researchers have embarked on a months-long missing to gain insight on how warmer water from the Atlantic Ocean is being introduced into the Arctic at the shelf water level, deep basin interior and upper ocean. The mission was announced by the Coast Guard on Aug. 26. According to the announcement, researchers from the National Science Foundation and International Arctic Research Center will service the Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observational System (NABOS), in hope of developing an understanding of water circulation in the region and will sample the water column in areas normally inaccessible due to pack ice. Research findings would be of interest to the Crab Plan Team of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which has ongoing...

23Aug

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National Maritime Center Offers Free Replacement of Credentials Lost in Hawaii Wildfires

U.S. Coast Guard officials with the National Maritime Center (NMC) say they’ll provide duplicate merchant mariner credentials at no charge to mariners whose credentials were lost or destroyed during wildfires in Hawaii. Affected mariners are asked to provide a statement of loss to NMC via fax at (304) 433-3412 or email the statement to IASKNMC@uscg.mil. The statement should include the mariner’s full name, date of birth, current mailing address, current phone number and/or email address, and the mariner’s reference number or if that is unknown the last four digits of the mariner’s social security number. The statement should also describe circumstances surrounding the loss/destruction of the credential. Unless otherwise requested, any duplicate merchant mariner credential issu...