Boat on the sea
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HandXRayA 22-year-old crewmember who was working aboard the 254-foot F/V PHOENIX was evacuated near La Push, Washington on Tuesday after he sustained a hand injury.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound received the emergency call at approximately 11:28. A boater in the area made the call on behalf of the F/V PHOENIX and reported that the vessel was located about 25 miles west of the Coast Guard Station Quillayute River.

Initially, the Coast Guard Cutter Cuttyhunk and boat crew from Station Quillayute River responded to the call. However, due to rough seas, they were unable to transfer the injured worker aboard the vessel. Winds of 12-knots per mile and 11-foot waves were reported.

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USCGC_HickoryThe U.S. Coast Guard has released the results of the investigation into the crane accident that took the life of Chief Warrant Officer Michael Kozloski on January 31st, 2019. The accident occurred in the Coast Guard buoy yard in Homer, Alaska. The 35-year-old accident victim from Mahopac, New York, was a crew member aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Hickory. A 17-year veteran, he was working in the vessel buoy yard when a crane rolled over and struck him.

The investigation revealed that the direct cause of the accident was the improper operation of the shoreside crane. Investigators also found that inadequate crewmember training, a complacency of shoreside operations, and leadership deficiencies aboard the Cutter Hickory contributed to the accident.

The commanding officer of the Cutter Hickory has been temporarily relieved of duty, with “loss of confidence in the officer’s ability to perform his duties” as the official reason cited. The call was made by Rear Adm. Matthew Bell Jr., who is the commander of the 17th Coast Guard District. A formal review is pending.

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SS-SavannahOn May 22nd we observe National Maritime Day, a holiday that recognizes and honors one of our country’s most important industries. Since it’s very beginnings, our country has identified itself as a seafaring nation. Our economy, commerce, and security depend on those who work at sea. On this day, we honor this history and the men and women who work in the maritime industries and trades.

The date was originally chosen as it was the anniversary of the day the American steamship Savannah set sail for the first ever transoceanic journey in a ship powered by steam. On May 22nd, 1819 the vessel headed for England on the first ever journey of this kind, in a ship powered by steam (it was actually a hybrid vessel, and so had a little help from the sails). The vessel arrived in England 29 days after leaving the U.S.

Congress officially established the holiday on May 20, 1933, but after WWII the annual celebration took on the flavor of a day of remembrance, as it was the Merchant Marines who had transported supplies and troops to war zones around the world. More than 250,000 Americans served in the Merchant Marines during WWII, and 6,700 were killed during duty. Hundreds were captured and detained as POWs, and over 800 U.S. merchant vessels sank or were damaged in the war zones they entered.

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1200px-DHC-3-Otter-300x141Six people are confirmed dead after two floatplanes collided near Ketchikan, Alaska. Originally, 2 people were missing, but the U.S. Coast Guard and Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad located the remaining two near the crash site of the Beaver floatplane.  They were deceased.

“We have been in regular contact with the family members throughout our search efforts,” said Capt. Stephen White, Sector Juneau commander. “This is not the outcome we hoped for and extend our deepest sympathies during this very difficult time.”

Ten people were taken to area hospitals and four with more serious injuries were flown to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center.

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Ann-Kathleen-300x164Crew members were forced to abandon ship when the F/V ANN KATHLEEN caught fire on Thursday, May 2nd just off the coast of Bandon, Oregon. Good Samaritan F/V LYNOMA rescued the fishermen from their life raft, then transferred them to a U.S. Coast Guard vessel after it arrived on the scene. No one was reported to have suffered injuries in the accident.

On Thursday afternoon at low tide, the 64-foot wood and fiberglass fishing vessel washed ashore just north of Floras Lake. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department reported that the vessel was still burning when it ran aground. Bandon Fire Chief Lanny Boston said the vessel was carrying approximately 2,000 gallons of diesel, which fueled the fire. By Friday, the fire had been successfully extinguished. Officials are investigating the cause of the fire.

Members of the local fire department, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality all evaluated the site for toxic materials. They are creating a response plan to safeguard the beach and a nearby shorebird nesting area. The area in which the vessel burned is a designated recovery area for the threatened western snowy plover. Officials have contacted the vessel’s owner and insurance company.

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Coast-Guard-Cutter-Healy-1800-300x200The U.S. Coast Guard recently released the new Arctic Strategic Outlook with a focus on leadership and innovation in the changing landscape of our nation. At a symposium in Seattle, Washington, the area commander discussed the new document and the role that the U.S. Coast Guard must take in the future. Keynote speaker Vice Adm. Linda Fagan said, “The tyranny of distance and the harsh Arctic climate pose significant challenges to agencies charged with providing maritime safety and security to all Americans, including the hundreds of villages and thousands of seasonal workers in the U.S. Arctic.”

Maritime workers rely heavily on the U.S. Coast Guard as first responders, but the Coast Guard also services the maritime economy as a regulatory agency; it is responsible for conducting marine inspections and serving as law enforcement.

“Search and rescue, law enforcement, marine safety, waterways management, and other Coast Guard missions are complicated by the Arctic’s dynamic and remote operating environment,” Fagan said at the symposium. “The Coast Guard will collaborate with stakeholders to develop new practices and technology to serve the maritime community and manage risk in the region.”

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Nylon-Nets-300x225It is estimated that our oceans hold 640,000 tons of discarded fishing gear. This “Ghost Gear” refers to any fishing gear that has been abandoned, lost, or discarded, often due to severe weather and other circumstances. Old nylon nets often end up in landfills, but more likely end up in our oceans where large sea creatures such as dolphins, sea lions, whales, and sea turtles can get tangled. According to a study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050 if we continue to discard plastics, nets, and gear at this rate.

Under the Healthy Seas initiative, organizations and companies are working together to come up with innovative ways to recycle this cast-off plastic and nylon material to create usable and sustainable apparel, soft goods, and building materials.

Aquafil is an Italian based textile company that recently opened its first U.S. based recycling facility in Phoenix, Arizona. Old carpets and fishing nets are broken down into nylon that is then shipped to their Slovenian processing facility. Through a process called ‘Depolymerisation’, the Italian firm turns salvaged and collected fishing nets into a unique yarn that can be used to make consumer goods.

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Kennicott_Alaska_Ferry_Front_View_2048px-300x225In November of 2012, Shannon Adamson suffered life-threatening injuries when the passenger gangway she was standing on collapsed. She fell 18-feet and suffered a shattered pelvis and sacrum, fractures in her lower back, loss of sensation in her right leg, a broken ankle, wrist and ribs, two punctured lungs, a lacerated liver, and a traumatic brain injury. Adamson required extensive surgery after this horrific fall and long painful sessions with a physical therapist just to learn how to walk again.

Court documents revealed that the Port of Bellingham was aware of a defect in the passenger gangway due to a similar accident that occurred in 2008. Engineering safety experts reported that the faulty system could have been resolved, but port authorities failed to install the recommended safety “limit switch”. The device would have cost the port less than $1000.

In the 2016 federal court case, the jury found the Port of Bellingham negligent, and not Adamson or the State of Alaska. Adamson was an employee of the Alaska Marine Highway System, but the court ruled that the defective passenger gangway was owned by the port. On Thursday, April 11th, 2019 the Port of Bellingham lost an appeal when the Washington State Supreme Court agreed with the previous ruling: Commercial landowners are liable for injuries that occur on the property they are responsible for maintaining, even if a tenant has priority to use the property, concluding that the Port of Bellingham must pay a jury’s $16 million verdict to the injured ferry worker.

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Coast-Guard-Hoisting-300x200Three Tampa Bay fishermen are glad to be alive after the 32-foot F/V MISS SATURIA sank about 90 miles west of Naples, Florida. Watchstanders in St. Petersburg received mayday calls from an unknown source, then launched a U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 helicopter crew and an HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane crew to search for survivors.

The Norwegian Pearl and the Rotterdam cruise ships both reported that they heard the mayday calls near their locations. The Norwegian Pearl diverted course to assist in the search. About 40 minutes later, the Coast Guard reported that they had received an alert from an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon registered to the MISS SATURIA. The vessel owner, James Glover, was contacted and reported that three fishermen were out on the vessel.

The U.S. Coast Guard sent an Ocean Sentry airplane crew from Miami to search for the men, then sent a helicopter to complete the rescue after the life raft strobe lights and red flares were spotted at about 4am. The Jayhawk helicopter crew hoisted the fishermen then transferred them to the air station where emergency medical personnel were waiting.

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CG-Kodiak-Air-Station-300x188Watchstanders at the U.S. Coast Guard 17th District Command Center in Juneau received a call on Monday that a crew member aboard the F/V RESURRECTION was suffering from what appeared to be a heart attack. A medevac was requested request at about 9 p.m.

The 49-foot longline fishing vessel was located approximately 65 miles east of Kodiak when the call was made. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew launched from Air Station Kodiak, and a rescue swimmer was lowered with a rescue basket, then hoisted the 38-year-old man to the helicopter. He was transported to Air Station Kodiak and placed in the care of EMS personnel, who transported him to Kodiak Providence Hospital.

“We sent a health technician to supplement the in-flight care, along with our standard aircrew members,” said Lt. Cmdr. Orion Bloom, search and rescue mission coordinator for the case. “When we know that a survivor is experiencing symptoms that might benefit from a level of care beyond what our rescue swimmers are trained to provide, we do our best to provide that higher level of care. We wish this man a swift recovery.”

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