The U.S. Coast Guard has been monitoring the salvage of a semi-submerged tugboat which leaked diesel fuel in the vicinity of the Old Bonner Bridge in Oregon Inlet, North Carolina. The tugboat, Miss Bonnie, allided with the bridge and was overwhelmed by storm surge resulting in the vessel being partially sinking submerged near the Old Bonner Bridge last Sunday. A … [Read more...]
Always Ready
By Captain George Livingston - Veteran’s Day this year got me thinking about the one military service branch I know well, the United States Coast Guard. Apparently, in mid-November, the House subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation met to discuss Commercial and Passenger Vessel Safety. Recent casualties involving the dive boat Conception and last year’s … [Read more...]
Bunker Spill in Honolulu Harbor
The U.S. Coast Guard repsonded to a bunker fuel discharge from a Matson containership near Pier 19 in Honolulu on Thursday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Honolulu received a report from the master of the M/V Kamokuiki, Wednesday evening that heavy fuel oil discharged during bunkering operations with a barge. The crew of the vessel immediately secured the discharge, … [Read more...]
DHS Grants ESG Contract Relief for Offshore Patrol Cutters
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has granted extraordinary contract relief to Eastern Shipbuilding Group related to the first four hulls in the Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program due to impacts from Hurricane Michael in 2018. ESG submitted its request extraordinary contract relief in June 2019 after their Panama City, Florida shipbuilding facilities … [Read more...]
U.S. Coast Guard Beefs Up Pacific Fleet to Counter China
By Philip J. Heijmans and Glen Carey (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Coast Guard is touting increased operations in the Western Pacific, thousands of miles from American shores, as China’s coast guard and civilian fishing militias increasingly assert the country’s territorial claims. A presence in the South China Sea and elsewhere will help enforce the sovereignty of partner nations … [Read more...]