Coast Guard

Coast Guard inspections continue during shutdown

A Coast Guard safety examination in progress. USCG photo.

Coast Guard funding has lapsed due to the partial federal government shutdown, but the service is required to continue some operations and activities.

In general, the Coast Guard will continue operations authorized by law that provide for national security or protect life and property. However, certain administrative functions will be limited, the Coast Guard said in a Marine Safety Information Bulletin (MSIB) released yesterday.
Generally, vessels with current COIs will still be inspected as...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/coast-guard-inspections-continue-during-shutdown/

Temporary Spending Bill Will Send Back Pay to Coast Guard Personnel

A Coast Guard Cutter Sherman crewmember lowers the national ensign during a ceremony honoring Sherman’s final colors, held the evening before the Sherman was decommissioned in Honolulu, Mar. 28, 2018. Coast Guard photo.

Financial compensation is coming soon to the U.S. Coast Guard active duty and civilian personnel who for weeks either worked without pay or were furloughed during the partial government shutdown.

Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump announced he and Congress agreed to enact a...

https://news.usni.org/2019/01/25/40639

Robbins Maritime gets first Sub M COI from Hampton Roads sector

Robbins Maritime Inc., Norfolk, Va., received a Certificate of Inspection (COI) on its 78' tug Delta. Pictured left to right…Dustin Robbins, Gary Joyner, Derek Chapman, Nick Ahles, Jonathan Franchebois, Coast Guard Inspector MSS4 Dennis Croyle, Carl Baum, Charlie Foreman, Chris Guillot. Robbins Maritime photo

On Jan. 10, Robbins Maritime Inc., Norfolk, Va., received a Certificate of Inspection (COI) on its 78′ tug Delta. This was the first Coast Guard option COI issued by U.S. Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads, Va., according to Robbins Maritime officials.

“It was a great team effort and we greatly appreciated the Coast Guard working around our schedule to get the inspection done, particularly during the government shutdown,” Robbins’ port captain Jonathan Franchebois said. The Delta was built in 1991...

https://www.workboat.com/news/shipbuilding/robbins-maritime-gets-first-coi-hampton-roads-sector/

Report recommends more disaster ‘resilience’ for U.S. ports

The drillship Paragon DPDS1 grounded in the Port Aransas Channel during Hurricane Harvey. U.S. Coast Guard photo

The triple disasters of the 2017 hurricane season affected 45 U.S. ports, wreaking havoc but also leaving valuable lessons in how to better prepare for – and recover from – future storms, according to a report by federal maritime transportation experts.

“Over the course of the 2017 hurricane season, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria affected the operating status of at least 45 ports throughout the lower continental United States and U.S. Caribbean territories,” the report states. “The scale and...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/report-recommends-more-disaster-resilience-for-u-s-ports/

Coast Guard commandant posts Twitter message to personnel

Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz (left) delivered a message on Twitter concerning the government shutdown. Coast Guard image

The Coast Guard posted a message and video on Twitter Tuesday from Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz on the “unacceptable” affect that the lapse in appropriations has had on Coast Guard personnel.

Schultz’s Twitter post said: “Your Coast Guard leadership team and the American people stand in awe of your continued dedication to duty, resilience, and that of your families. I find it unacceptable that @USCG members must rely on food pantries and donations to get through day-to-day life.”

The post Coast...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/coast-guard-commandant-posts-twitter/

Philippines CG: Search continues for man who fell in the sea

According to the Philippines Coast Guard a crewmember from the foreign merchant vessel ‘Grande Progreso’ allegedly fell in the sea off Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental while underway enroute to Brazil last January 15, 2019.

Specifically, the vessel, under the Japanese flag, informed the Vessel Traffic Management System Misamis Oriental staff that one of the crew members was missing onboard the vessel around 6PM of January 15.

The missing crew member is identified as Mr Dominador Calot Fuentes III,...

https://safety4sea.com/philippines-cg-search-continues-for-man-who-fell-in-the-sea/

Icebreaker Healy gets $7.3 million overhaul at Vigor

The Coast Guard icebreaker Healy is undergoing a $7.3 million overhaul at Vigor Industrial's Seattle shipyard. Vigor photo.

The Coast Guard’s medium icebreaker Healy is undergoing a maintenance overhaul at Vigor Industrial, Seattle, after arriving at the Harbor Island shipyard in early January.

The $7.3 million contract includes sea valve renewal and overhaul, bow thruster modifications, ballast tank and underwater hull paint preservation, and various machinery overhauls.

The 420’x82’x29’ Healy will be at the yard, just across Seattle harbor from the icebreaker’s usual berth, through June 2019.

The ship is one of just...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/icebreaker-healy-gets-7-3-million-overhaul-at-vigor/

Icebreaker crew overcomes shaft seal, electrical breakdowns to reach Antarctica

The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star breaks ice in McMurdo Sound near Antarctica on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018. Coast Guard photo/CPO Nick Ameen.

The Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star arrived Jan. 17 on its annual deployment to Antarctica, as its crew continues to battle the 42-year-old ship’s aging equipment.

The 399’x83’x31’ Polar Star came to the U.S. science mission logistics hub at McMurdo Station, breaking through 18 miles of ice to bring in a Military Sealift Command-chartered Crowley Technical Management resupply ship, the 545’x76.3’ Ocean Giant with 400 containers of supplies. The U.S. military provides join maritime and air...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/icebreaker-crew-overcomes-shaft-seal-electrical-breakdowns-to-reach-antarctica/

Coast Guard not able to process commercial vessel documentation

A Coast Guard crew verifies proper documentation during a safety inspection in Chicago in August. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Master Chief Petty Officer Alan Haraf

Due to the lapse in federal funding, the Coast Guard’s National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) is not able to process commercial vessel documentation.

On its website, the NVDC says:

NOTICE: DUE TO THE LAPSE IN FEDERAL FUNDING, INFORMATION ON THIS WEBSITE MAY NOT BE UP TO DATE. TRANSACTIONS SUBMITTED VIA THIS WEBSITE MIGHT NOT BE PROCESSED AND WE CANNOT GUARANTEE A RESPONSE TO INQUIRIES UNTIL AFTER APPROPRIATIONS ARE ENACTED.

The NVDC is closed to the public until further notice. Phone service...

https://www.workboat.com/news/government/coast-guard-not-able-to-process/

Puerto Rico CG halts many migrant and drug smuggling incidents off Puerto Rico

The crew of a Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry, deployed to Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen, Puerto Rico, detected a vessel on January 7. Watchstanders with Coast Guard Sector San Juan diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Heriberto Hernandez (WPC-1114), who arrived on scene, and embarked 35 migrants. The Coast Guard discovered a backpack with 4 kilograms of heroin floating near the vessel.

Specifically, according to Capt. Jason Ryan, chief of enforcement for the Coast Guard 7th...

https://safety4sea.com/puerto-rico-cg-halts-many-migrant-and-drug-smuggling-incidents-off-puerto-rico/

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