Safety alert: Keyed VHF radios may block AIS reception

Safety alert: Keyed VHF radios may block AIS reception

(WASHINGTON) — A very high frequency (VHF) maritime radio transmission on one’s own vessel, or even transmissions by a nearby vessel a football field’s length away (about 445 feet), may block AIS reception for the duration the radio is keyed. An analysis of the relevant standards has shown that this may impact all classes of AIS equipment regardless of how…
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Polar Star handles fast ice, wraps up Antarctic mission

Polar Star handles fast ice, wraps up Antarctic mission

(SOUTHERN OCEAN) — The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) and crew departed McMurdo Station, Antarctica, on Feb. 12 after operating for 51 days below the Antarctic Circle in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2024. Polar Star and crew broke a 38-mile channel through fast ice to create a navigable route for vessels to reach McMurdo Station and…
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Coast Guard program aims to protect Salish Sea whales

Coast Guard program aims to protect Salish Sea whales

(SEATTLE) — U.S. Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound has introduced a four-year pilot program to mitigate adverse impacts of vessel traffic on endangered and threatened whales in the Salish Sea. The program will receive reports of whale sightings by mariners via the Puget Sound Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) and provide near real-time data about the location of whales to mariners…
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Cargo ship departs Alaska after lithium-ion battery fire

Cargo ship departs Alaska after lithium-ion battery fire

(JUNEAU, Alaska) — The cargo ship Genius Star XI departed Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on Sunday en route its intended destination in San Diego, Calif. The vessel’s voyage was delayed for about eight weeks after it experienced a fire in its cargo holds, which included large industrial lithium-ion battery units. The unified command managing the incident has stood down and all…
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Coast Guard, Navy partner on boxship medevac off Saipan

Coast Guard, Navy partner on boxship medevac off Saipan

(SANTA RITA, Guam) — In a display of exceptional interagency cooperation, a commercial mariner in urgent need of medical care was safely evacuated to Guam on Friday thanks to the swift actions of the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy's Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 (HSC-25). "This successful medical evacuation underscores the strong partnership between the U.S. Coast Guard,…
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Coast Guard proposes shipping safety fairways on Atlantic coast

Coast Guard proposes shipping safety fairways on Atlantic coast

(WASHINGTON) — On Jan. 19, the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for a system of shipping safety fairways along the Atlantic Coast. This NPRM is posted to USCG-2019-0279 and is open for public comment through April 18. The rulemaking proposes 18 fairways providing space for safe, unobstructed vessel traffic along the Eastern…
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More witness testimony scheduled on Port Newark ship fire

More witness testimony scheduled on Port Newark ship fire

(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have scheduled follow-up witness testimony on Wednesday and Friday in support of the ongoing investigation into the fire that occurred on July 5, 2023 aboard the Italian-flagged cargo vessel Grande Costa D’Avorio while docked at the Port Newark, N.J. The videos of testimony are scheduled to be…
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Passenger ferry grounds near entrance to Maui harbor

Passenger ferry grounds near entrance to Maui harbor

(HONOLULU) — The U.S. Coast Guard continues to respond to a passenger ferry that ran aground near Maalaea Harbor, Maui, on Monday. At 5:05 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Honolulu watch standers received notification from the small passenger vessel Expeditions Five, a 55-foot ferry with three crewmembers on board, that they had run aground near the entrance to the harbor. Watch…
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Crews begin removing petroleum from sunken 1940s tug

Crews begin removing petroleum from sunken 1940s tug

(SAN FRANCISCO) — Contractors under the direction of a unified command will begin petroleum removal efforts on the tugboat Mazapeta today. Mazapeta, a 1940s-era military tugboat, sank Sept. 4, 2023, in Little Potato Slough in the San Joaquin Delta northwest of Stockton, Calif. Approximately 1,600 gallons of diesel and engine oil were reported on board at the time of the…
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