U.S. Coast Guard – Professional Mariner

27 Feb

Bollinger delivers fourth FRC to be home-ported in Guam

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newsshipbuilding, U.S. Coast Guard

(KEY WEST, Fla.) — The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday accepted delivery of the 62nd fast response cutter, USCGC Vincent Danz (WPC 1162), in Key West. Built by Bollinger Shipyards, it is the fourth FRC to be home-ported in Guam. "Accepting delivery of the Vincent Danz, Guam’s newest fast response cutter, demonstrates the Coast Guard’s enduring commitment to the security…

26 Feb

Coast Guard guides boxship to rescue sailor off Florida

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsSearch and rescue, U.S. Coast Guard

(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) — The U.S. Coast Guard and a good Samaritan vessel rescued a man aboard a disabled sailboat on Sunday approximately 35 miles off Cape Canaveral. A Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 aircraft crew located the disabled vessel and guided the nearby containership Polar Mexico to the scene. The ship’s crew brought the man aboard with no reported…

25 Feb

Salvors remove grounded barge from entrance to San Juan Harbor

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsSalvage, Tugboats and towing, U.S. Coast Guard

(SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico) — The unified command managing response efforts for the grounded barge Defiant announced the successful refloating and removal of the vessel from the Castillo San Felipe del Morro shoreline on Wednesday. The unified command said response personnel and contracted salvors refloated Defiant at 2:22 a.m., just before the arrival of high tide. Salvage crews and tugboat…

25 Feb

Injury highlights hazards to crew in tug-to-barge transits

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsTugboats and towing, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — While moored at a refinery in Chalmette, La., a towing vessel crewmember fell approximately 30 feet into the tow notch of an oceangoing articulated tug-barge (ATB) after overextending their reach and losing their footing while climbing the barge’s set-in pigeonholes. The fall resulted in multiple head and facial fractures and the crewmember became pinned within the tow notch,…

18 Feb

Salvors remove residual fuel from grounded barge in San Juan

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsPorts, Salvage, U.S. Coast Guard

(SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico) — The unified command announced salvors completed fuel removal operations Monday as assessments and preparations continue to remove a grounded fuel barge from the rocks along the San Felipe del Morro Castle shoreline. The barge Defiant grounded at about noon Feb. 9 just off the Port of San Juan harbor entrance. There were no reported injuries. The…

16 Feb

Coast Guard commissions sixth FRC for Arctic District

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newsshipbuilding, U.S. Coast Guard

(KODIAK, Alaska) — The U.S. Coast Guard commissioned Frederick Mann, the service's sixth Arctic District fast response cutter (FRC), during a ceremony Friday in Kodiak, Alaska. The ceremony was presided over by Rear Adm. Bob Little, commander of the Arctic District. Members of the Mann family were also in attendance, including the cutter’s sponsor, Mrs. Eugenia "Jeannie" Mann Hyder, niece…

13 Feb

Master lacked real-time data on vertical clearance before bridge strike

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsTowboats and towing, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — On May 7, 2025, a towing vessel struck a vertical lift bridge while transiting northbound on the Vermilion River in Perry, La., during rising river conditions. The investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard revealed that the vessel’s master miscalculated the bridge’s available clearance. This was due in part to relying on outdated river level data, which did not…

11 Feb

Davie gets Coast Guard order for five Arctic security cutters

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsIcebreakers, shipbuilding, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Coast Guard announced Wednesday it has completed the award of contracts for 11 Arctic security cutters, fulfilling President Trump’s directive to rapidly expand America’s icebreaker fleet. The latest award is for construction of up to five Arctic security cutters, bringing the president’s initial order to completion and marking a historic milestone in U.S. Arctic capability. The…

10 Feb

Fuel barge runs aground at entrance to San Juan Harbor

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsTugboats and towing, U.S. Coast Guard

(SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico) — U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Juan personnel are responding alongside local emergency agencies to a fuel barge that ran aground at about noon Monday off the San Juan Harbor port entrance by the San Felipe del Morro Castle. No injuries have been reported and there are no signs of pollution. The barge currently holds approximately…

10 Feb

Safety alert: Container operations with vessels alongside

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsPorts, Safety alert, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — During September and October 2025, multiple incidents occurred at various terminals throughout the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach that involved shipping containers unexpectedly falling overboard from container vessels. In one instance, several fallen containers struck an emission control barge moored alongside the container vessel. A crewmember on the barge suffered minor injuries, while the barge itself…