Coast Guard – Page 6 – Professional Mariner

20 Jan

NMC cites high inventory of training course, program approval requests

Rich MillerLicensing & TrainingCoast Guard

(MARTINSBURG, W.Va.) — The inventory of course and program approval requests remains high, causing National Maritime Center (NMC) staff to begin evaluating requests more than 90 days after submittal by requesters. In an effort to drive inventory down, the NMC is taking the following actions: • The NMC will extend all courses and programs that expire between Jan. 31, 2022,…

01 Jun

Polar Star swaps penguins for polar bears, overcomes Arctic hurdles

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsAlaska, Coast Guard, COVID, icebreaker, McMurdo Station

Despite “absolutely treacherous” conditions, the recent Arctic mission by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Polar Star — the nation’s only heavy icebreaker — has been deemed a major success by the vessel’s commanding officer. “I’m incredibly proud of this crew,” Capt. William Woityra told Professional Mariner in March. Polar Star left Seattle in early December after quarantining and double rounds…

01 Jun

Five die, eight missing after liftboat capsizes near Port Fourchon

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsCoast Guard, Gulf of Mexico, marine casualties, mariners, maritime accidents, maritime casualties, maritime fatalities, maritime news, NTSB, SEACOR Power

Five people died and eight others remain missing after a liftboat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico near Port Fourchon, La., after encountering hurricane-force winds while underway. The 234-foot SEACOR Power rolled over at about 1630 on April 13, roughly 7 nautical miles from the port. The vessel came to rest on the seafloor partially submerged. Winds had exceeded 80…

01 Jun

Barge hits St. Johns River jetty, grounds after being towed away

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsBridgeport, Coast Guard, Global Diving & Salvage, Margery, mariners, maritime accidents, maritime industry, maritime news, tugboats

A barge carrying coal ash hit a jetty marking the entrance to the St. Johns River east of Jacksonville, Fla., with the breached vessel ultimately grounding more than a mile south on the Atlantic shoreline after being towed away. The tugboat Margery had the 418-foot Bridgeport under tow when the barge hit a submerged section of the south jetty at…

02 May

Towboat loses power, hits Ohio River dam before drifting through

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsBelleville, Coast Guard, Crounse Corp., Edith Tripp, mariners, maritime accidents, maritime news, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Eight crewmembers escaped from an upbound towboat that lost propulsion on the Ohio River and drifted through a dam near Belleville, W.Va. The 1,800-hp Edith Tripp struck the Belleville Dam at about 1300 on March 3 before passing through one of the structure’s open gates. The towboat’s empty hopper barge, which was not identified, became wedged against the dam before…

02 May

Venerable icebreaking workboat sinks at its slip in Milwaukee

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsCoast Guard, Harbor Seagull, Kinnickinnic River, maritime accidents, maritime news, Port of Milwaukee

In the early morning hours of Feb. 22, Port of Milwaukee harbor master Wayne Johnson got a phone call he wasn’t expecting. The port’s 60-year-old workboat, Harbor Seagull, had sunk at its slip in about 20 feet of water. “When I got that call … my heart went up into my throat,” he said. “To see her on the bottom…

22 Dec

Polar Star swaps ends of the earth, heads for Arctic duty

Professional Mariner StaffCutters, Maritime NewsArctic, Coast Guard, icebreaker, McMurdo Station, Polar Star

The only surviving heavy icebreaker in the U.S. Coast Guard fleet, the 44-year-old Polar Star (WAGB 10), has a new winter mission after the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cutter’s annual resupply excursion to McMurdo Station in Antarctica to be canceled. Instead, Polar Star sailed to the Arctic in early December from Seattle, where it is home-ported, marking the icebreaker’s first…

22 Dec

Tow hits anchored pontoon boat in North Carolina, killing one

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsBeaufort, Coast Guard, Intracoastal Waterway, John Parrish, North Carolina, pontoon boat, tugboat

One recreational boater died and another was injured when a tugboat pushing a single barge hit an anchored pontoon boat in the Intracoastal Waterway near Beaufort, N.C. The barge, pushed by the 94-foot John Parrish, hit the pontoon boat outside the navigation channel at about 1300 on Nov. 3, said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Dan Schrader. Both people on…

22 Dec

Casualty Briefs

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsBlount Island, Coast Guard, Hoegh Xiamen, Jacksonville, maritime casualties, NTSB, Sabine Pass, Sagami, Texas

Crewman missing, presumed dead after falling from ship off Texas A 27-year-old mariner sailing aboard the tanker Sagami is missing and presumed dead after falling into the Gulf of Mexico near Sabine Pass, Texas. The victim, whose name and nationality were not identified, worked aboard the 557-foot tanker registered in Panama. He fell overboard at about 1906 on Dec. 2…

22 Dec

Three crew rescued from barge after tugboat sinks off RI coast

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsCoast Guard, maritime accidents, Point Judith, rescue, tugboat, Warthog

Three mariners sought refuge on a deck barge after their tugboat took on water near Point Judith, R.I., and they were unable to keep up with the flooding. The 46-foot Warthog was towing the unidentified 108-foot barge west toward Long Island Sound on Nov. 25 when the tug encountered trouble. A female crewmember called for help at 0817 before all…