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SAN PEDRO, Calif. — The aircrews of Air Station Los Angeles spent the day training for cliff operations May 17 at Point Vicente Lighthouse. The air station trains for these types of operations twice a year in preparation for any rescues that may occur in the Southern California area.
The following happen so close to gCaptain Headquarters here in Morro Bay California that our CEO called from his ship to make sure the building was secure and relatives were safe. The future gCaptain was a little close for comfort but all ended well.
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Morro Bay isn’t a friendly inlet so our hats off to the guardsmen on duty that day. Give us a call (805-456-8644) and we’ll walk down some free gCaptain t-shirts for you guys.
More video from Station Morro Bay can be found HERE.
Our friends at the Unofficial Coast Guard Blog and the Coast Guard Report break this story on the USCG’s plans to restrict the blogging activities of those who serve. They write:
Homer Simpson - DOH!
Posted by The Gee Spot
Over at the Coast Guard Report, Thomas Jackson reports that one of his “on scene leaders” at headquarters has told him that a new media policy is in the works. Let’s hope Mr. Jackson is correct when he says, “At the end of the day I’m not sure Coasties need to worry about this just yet.” He notes,
Sadly we are told that the new policy will seek to restrict the First Amendment Rights of Coasties by limiting what they write in Blogs as well as what they can say in comments.
Perhaps by the time the ALCOAST hits the streets, any bold First Amendment restrictions will have been left aside in the re-writes.
I find it interesting that comments are something the Coast Guard is looking to squelch. Aside from the fact that comments are one of the key characteristics of blogs, comments are protected speech… and the publisher of the blog is not responsible for them. Section 230 of Title 47 of the United States Code (47 USC § 230) provides cover for blog publishers when it comes to comments. In short, blog publishers are not responsible for comments left by other people.
Here at gCaptain we love comments and some of the most consistently well written ones come from Coast Guard personnel at vastly different levels and on both the civilian and uniformed side. We hope this policy does not see the light of day.
BYM Marine and Maritime news is reporting:
A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging John Joseph Cota, a U.S. Coast Guard and California licensed ship pilot, with making false statements to the Coast Guard concerning his medications and medical conditions in 2006 and 2007. The false statements arose from annual physical examinations that pilots are required to complete every year to maintain their pilot’s license.
Cota, who was the pilot of the Cosco Busan, was previously charged with negligently causing the discharge of approximately 50,000 gallons of oil in San Francisco Bay from the 65,131-ton container ship when he caused the ship to collide with the San Francisco Bay Bridge on Nov. 7, 2007.
The grand jury’s indictment supersedes and includes charges brought previously by a criminal information that charged Cota with violating the Clean Water Act (CWA), as amended by the Oil Spill Act of 1990, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by causing the death of protected species of migratory birds.
The full post is here.
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This post was written by Richard Rodriguez, Rescue Tug Captain, and US Coast Guard approved instructor for License Training. You can read more of his articles at the BitterEnd of the net.
USCG Capt. Elmo Alexander in better days.
Reading like a chapter from Herman Wouk’s 1951 novel The Caine Mutiny the commander of Coast Guard Cutter Midgett has been relieved of duty.
The Seattle Times is reporting:
The commander of the Seattle-based Coast Guard 378′ cutter Midgett has admitted in an official inquiry that he berated and struck an enlisted man earlier this month when the ship was in Mexico. Alexander “struck an enlisted crewmember in the head while counseling him on his performance as a security watchstander.”
The Seattle Times article is here.
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This post was written by Richard Rodriguez, Rescue Tug Captain, and US Coast Guard approved instructor for License Training. You can read more of his articles at the BitterEnd of the net.
The USCG has intercepted another DIY Semi-Submersible operated by drug smugglers. CNN tells us:
In the past three months the Coast Guard has learned of more semi-submersible vessels smuggling drugs than it did in the previous six years, when there were 23 cases, officials said.
U.S. Coast Guard intelligence officers predict 85 cases this year and 120 next year.
In some instances, the semi-subs are towed behind other vessels and are scuttled if they are detected, Allen said. Authorities are investigating reports that some semi-subs are unmanned and are operated remotely, he said.
Diplomatic agreements give the U.S. Coast Guard drug-interdiction jurisdiction in partner countries’ waters.
Encounters have become so frequent — and the dangers of boarding the vessels so pronounced — that the Coast Guard is pushing for legislation that would make the use of “unflagged” semi-submersibles in international waters a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison, even if authorities can’t recover drug evidence because the smugglers scuttle the transports.
“There’s really no legitimate use for a vessel like this,” Allen said.
Earlier this year Eaglespeak and Coast Guard News gave us tour of a similar design:
Despite the cool factor these submarines have one fatal flaw that makes them poor candidates for smuggling efforts. ZeroSix fills us in:
The main problem with real subs is that they are not much more effective than the “semi-submersibles” that are coming out of Colombia (and even Europe). Submarines can only travel underwater, on battery power, for a short time. Otherwise, they are on the surface, or in a “semi-submersible” state, running on diesel power.
The most stunning failure, however, has to be the 100-foot vessel found inside a Bogota warehouse in 2000. The BBC reported:
Police in Colombia say they have found a half-built submarine in a warehouse in a suburb of the capital Bogota.
Police chief General Luis Ernesto Gilibert said Russian documents were found alongside the partially-completed vessel.
He said the 30 metre (100ft) vessel would have been capable of carrying huge quantities of cocaine or heroin.
He speculated that, once completed, the submarine would have been disassembled and taken by lorry to to Colombia’s Pacific or Caribbean coast.
To learn how to build your own submarine check out SubmarineBoat’s Link Page, just make sure to avoid any large ships during the trial run. A warning this NYC artist most likely ignored.
The Department of Justice has submitted “information relative to a criminal action ” in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, California; an accusation against a mariner for violating The Clean Water Act and The Migratory Bird Treaty Act. As a criminal case it will be processed not in Admiralty, but in criminal court, where there is a more relaxed and lesser general acceptance for technical qualification and terminology. The urgency in this priority matter may be a limitation in the Statutes or they are not very busy at DOJ. However it should be noted this an accusation for violating two acts, not an allision between a ship and a fixed object. Shaft alley lawyers, don your caps and peruse.
The defendant, JOHN JOSEPH COTA, did negligently (failed to act as a reasonable person might do in similar circumstances) cause (personally did) the discharge of oil in such quantities as may be harmful from a vessel, the M/V Cosco Busan, into and upon the navigable waters of the United States, without a permit. (Can one discharge oil with a permit?) Specifically, on or about November 7, 2007, Defendant Cota, while piloting the M/V Cosco Busan,(it has not been proven that at the time he was directing the navigation and movement of the vessel) caused approximately 58,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil to be discharged from the vessel into San Francisco Bay by acting in a negligent manner,(Supra) that included the following: (a) failing to pilot a collision free course (Supra; made it safely from Oakland to buoy #1); (b) failing to adequately review with the Captain and crew (all of them?) of the M/V Cosco Busan prior to departure the official navigational charts of the proposed course, (only one route out of Oakland) the location of the San Francisco Bay aids to navigation,( not reported as yet; only 18 aids not including bridge) and the operation of the vessel’s navigational equipment; (c) departing port in heavy fog ( term has no professional meaning: although reported as .1 mile) and then failing to proceed at a safe speed (too may variables and special circumstances involved) during the voyage despite limited visibility; (d) then failing to use the vessel’s radar (operational ability unresolved) while making the final approach to the Bay Bridge; (e) failing to use positional fixes during the voyage; and (f) failing to verify the vessel’s position vis-a-vis other established and recognized aids to navigation throughout the voyage. 33CFR164.11 “The owner master or person in charge shall ensure that: (a) the wheelhouse is constantly manned by persons who: (2)Fix the vessel’s position.”
All alleged in violation of Title 33, United States Code, Sections 1319(c)(1)(A) and 1321(b)(3), a Class A misdemeanor. Reviewing the above it is obvious that owners, masters and person in charge of vessels should make all employees aware of the possibility of enforcement by government of these acts, The media has correctly expressed, “they intend to make examples.” The courts, including those selected as jurors , under instruction, will expect a high professional standard of performance of licensed and documented mariners, seafarers and private boaters. It is possible with a proper defense, one may escape penalty, but the experience is devastating and costly.
This article was written by Captain John Denham, a veteran of 66 years maritime experience in seamanship, ship handling, navigation, piloting, and education. He is also author of The Assistant and DD 891.
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The following is the documented federal charges against Cosco Busan pilot John Cota. Read the rest of this entry »
AP Photo: The damaged Cosco Busan is seen in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007
The Associated Press is reporting that criminal charges were filed today against Capt. John Coda in the Cosco Busan allision with the San Fransisco Bay Bridge, back in November 10, 2007.
Here’s an excerpt:
Capt. John Cota could face up to 18 months in jail and more than $100,000 in fines if convicted of the misdemeanor charges, which include harming migrant birds protected by the government and violating the Clean Water Act. Cota was not taken into custody, according to court papers.
The complete post is HERE.
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This post was written by Richard Rodriguez, Rescue Tug Captain, and US Coast Guard approved instructor for License Training. You can read more of his articles at the BitterEnd of the net.
(Ed. note: This entry is reposted in it’s entirety with permission from Red Right Returning. Doug Gould is a fellow tower from the East Coast.)
Are you aware of the concept of license creep? When you renew your USCG license, the new license will expire exactly 5 years from the date of issue of the renewed license. So, if you renew 5 months before your current license expires, you will loose 4 or 5 months of the fee you paid when you got the previous license. If you are on your 4th or 5th renewal, you may have lost over a year’s worth of user fees.
Say you got your first license on January 1, 1980. You would have been required to renew in ‘85, ‘90, ‘95, 2000 and 2005 to be current today. So, you should be on the 6th issue of your license. But, if you always tried to be a good scout and renewed 6 months early each time, you would actually already be on your 7th issue rather than your 6th.
Here is the deal: you pay about $100 in fees to get a 5 year license, but you can only use all 60 months of that if you wait to the very last day to renew. Over the course of your career, you end up getting cheated, because you’re paying fees based on a 60 month renewal cycle, but you are forced to “surrender” some of those months when you renew.
Well, the Coast Guard calls this license creep. They recognize that it happens, and they have put in place system to keep it at a minumum. Here is a link to the official Policy Letter that explains to the REC how to deal with the problem.When I renewed in December, I asked about this issue, but I didn’t have this Policy Letter in hand, and the license examiner didn’t seem to know anything about this policy and just kinda shrugged his shoulders and said “too bad”…If your renewal is coming up, print this out and request “delayed issuance” of your next license.
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This post was written by Richard Rodriguez, Rescue Tug Captain, and US Coast Guard approved instructor for License Training. You can read more of his articles at the BitterEnd of the net.
US Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen
US Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen said in a recent email:
“USCG activities involving U.S. and foreign professional mariners and maritime organizations will be conducted with utmost professionalism and respect. Licensed and documented mariners are professionals who share our interests in a safe, secure, and environmentally compliant industry. Alexander Hamilton’s charge - to keep in mind that our countrymen are free men, and as such, are impatient of everything that bears the least mark of a domineering spirit - applies as much today as it did in 1790 and equally to international mariners and our trading partners .I have received reports from highly respected professionals recounting Coast Guard boardings, inspections, and investigations not displaying professionalism. additionally, some have said they lost the complete trust they once had in the Coast Guard and are fearful of retribution if they challenge the Coast Guard’s conduct.”
The complete text of Admiral Allen’s comments are HERE. Wired.com blog post: Coasties Get Sloppy Around Boaters It should be noted that my experiences with boarding teams have been positive. While Coasties do put on a game face when conducting boardings they are by in large fair in their approach. Voyages are terminated in only the most egregious of circumstances.
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This post was written by Richard Rodriguez, Rescue Tug Captain, and US Coast Guard approved instructor for License Training. You can read more of his articles at the BitterEnd
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