Tag: Coast Guard

The team aims to find out if there is any possibility of terrorist links A joint investigation team of the Indian Navy, Coast Guard and state marine police is interrogating the 16 crewmembers of a Bangladeshi vessel that had sneaked into Balasore coast. The team aims to find out if there is any possibility of terrorist links.Two days after the Bangladeshi vessel's 16 crewmembers were taken into custody, the joint investigation has begun laying emphasis on "subversive and terror" angles. "The possibility of their links with terrorist organizations cannot be ruled out at the moment," said an official source. "The investigation has so far remained inconclusive. The arrested Bangladeshis are being subjected to intense questioning and interrogation as some clues have come out which indicate that they had trespassed into country's coastal zone with malicious intent.As the versions being given by the Bangladeshi crews vary from that of one another, investigators doubt the motive of their infiltration," said Shantanu Kumar Das, nodal officer, coastal security wing of the state police. No arms and ammunition were recovered from the seized foreign vessel. But there is a distinct possibility that they might have dumped the cache into the sea before the Coast ...

The fishing vessel was seized off the Alaska coast after being accused of illegal fishing Authorities are working to remove the 22 crew members from a fishing vessel that was seized off the Alaska coast after being accused of illegal fishing.Coast Guard spokeswoman Sara Francis says federal authorities are in Dutch Harbor to meet with the crew, determine their countries of origin and begin the process of returning them to their home countries. She says the goal is to have the crew removed Monday but says there are high winds and seas in the area.The Coast Guard seized the rat-infested Bangun Perkasa Sept. 7, about 2,600 miles southwest of Kodiak, after a report that the ship was fishing illegally with a drift net. Authorities found 30 tons of squid and 30 shark carcasses on board.The vessel was brought three miles off Dutch Harbor on Sunday, but logistics delayed removing the crew earlier.Source: AP

Coast Guard is onsite monitoring the cleanup State conversation officials report a freight ship has spilled about 150 gallons of heavy oil in Unalaska.The state Department of Environmental Conservation says in a situation report that the ship Nelson Star spilled the oil when it was moored Wednesday at the Unalaska city dock.A company was hired to contain and recover the oil. Boom has been deployed. The report says a light sheen reached shore, but no wildlife has been affected.The cause of the spill wasn't immediately known. The Coast Guard is onsite monitoring the cleanup.Source: AP

S.S. Montebello sank after a Japanese submarine torpedoed the large oil tanker on 1941 The Coast Guard awarded a contract to Global Diving and Salvage Inc. to determine if oil is present aboard the sunken ship S.S. Montebello, which sits 900 feet below the ocean surface approximately 6.5 miles off the coast of Cambria, Calif.The S.S. Montebello sank after a Japanese submarine torpedoed the large oil tanker on December 23, 1941. The Montebello broke apart and sank landing upright with her bow broken off and landing apart from the majority of the wreckage.Multiple dive operations have been conducted between 1996 and 2010 to survey the site and determine the hull's integrity. To date, no signs of leakage have been detected, and from previous scans, the hull appears to be intact."The California coast is a vital national resource that we must protect," said Coast Guard Capt. Roger Laferriere, who is acting as the Federal On-Scene Coordinator. "Working in concert with our state and local partners, it is our duty to ensure we gain good information about the Montebello so we can do our best to protect the marine environment.""This sampling and observation operation will provide the answers needed to truly assess ...

Checking Batanes waters for oil spill after a cargo vessel ran aground The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is checking the waters of Basco, Batanes for an oil spill after a cargo vessel carrying 18 crewmembers and construction equipment ran aground there last weekend.PCG spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Algier Ricafrente said the MV Wakay Trader was being towed some 100 meters southwest of Basco Pier at 2:30 p.m. Sunday when it ran aground."(The Coast Guard Station in) Basco is continuously monitoring MV Wakay Trader so the station could immediately respond and extend assistance in case an oil spill occurs," the PCG said in an article posted Tuesday on its website.The PCG also advised the vessel's master to file a marine protest explaining how the incident happened.According to the PCG, the vessel was loaded with 579 cubic meters of gravel and sand, and two heavy equipment.The vessel already had engine trouble on Saturday while it was anchored some 300 yards west of Basco Pier.However, the vessel drifted on the shallow water until it went aground.At around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, the crewmembers found a hole inside the engine room and saw water coming in at about one drum every three minutes.They decided to transfer ...

BP well is not leaking Federal officials investigating reports of small amounts of oil popping up on the Gulf of Mexico surface near where a BP well blew out last year said Friday they found no oil leaking from seafloor wells.This week the Coast Guard and BP sent deep-sea robots down to the disaster site and no leaks were found at the well or at two other wells drilled during the months-long work to get the out-of-control well capped. They said no sheens were seen on the surface either."We saturated that area by both air and sea," said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer John Edwards. "With no known origin, this sheen ranks up there among the thousands of other quote-unquote mystery sheens that happen every day in the Gulf."Apparently there was a leak somewhere - perhaps from a natural seep on the seafloor or some other source, even drilling equipment that sank to the seafloor after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers and sparking the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The BP well spewed about 200 million gallons of oil last year.Ed Overton, a Louisiana State University chemist leading efforts to analyze ...

The vessel was drifting due to technical snag in the engine The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has rescued six crew members on board an Oman vessel Sakar-7, about 160 nautical miles (NM) off Porbandar coast in the Arabian sea.The incident took place when the vessel that was drifting for last 11 days due to technical snag in the engine, entered into Indian territory and was spotted by Coast Guard aircraft on routine patrol in Arabian sea, an official release said.After the ICG aircraft sighted the vessel adrift about 162 NM south west of Porbandar on August 19, it sent an investigation call to it, which was responded in a suspicious manner, the release said. ICGS Vijit, which was patrolling close to Dwarka, was diverted towards the suspected vessel, while the Coast Guard aircraft continued surveillance on the vessel, and merchant ships transiting through the area were cautioned about the vessel.The Coast Guard officers from Vijit took control of the ship on August 20 and interrogated all the six crew members on board the vessel of Sultanate of Oman. "It was found that the vessel Sakar-7 of Sultanate of Oman with six crew on board (one Oman and five Yemen) was ...

Government asserts Louisiana company misrepresented hull strength of converted vessels The United States has filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., against Bollinger Shipyards Inc., Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC and Halter Bollinger Joint Venture LLC, the Justice Department announced. The suit alleges that Bollinger, which is headquartered in Lockport, La., made material false statements to the Coast Guard under the Deepwater Program.The government's complaint alleges that Bollinger proposed to convert existing 110-Ft Patrol Boats (WPBs) into 123-Ft WPBs by extending the hulls 13 feet and making additional improvements. As a result of Bollinger's misrepresentations about the hull strength of the converted vessels, the Coast Guard awarded a contract to convert eight Coast Guard 110 foot cutters to 123 foot cutters. The first converted cutter, the Matagorda, suffered hull failure when put into service.An investigation by the Coast Guard and the prime contractor, Integrated Coast Guard Systems, concluded that the calculation of hull strength reported by Bollinger to the Coast Guard prior to the conversion was false. Efforts to repair the Matagorda and the other converted vessels were unsuccessful. The cutters are unseaworthy and have been taken out of service."Companies which make false statements to win Coast Guard contracts ...

The plan is to start doing some exercises and learn how to work together A U.S. Coast Guard Advanced Interdiction Team (AIT) embarked on the guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57) who is currently involved in U.S. Navy counter-piracy operations, July 23.AIT's are elite, deployable Coast Guard boarding teams comprised of highly trained maritime law enforcement specialists who are capable of Level III Non-compliant boardings. As the only organization in the U.S. government with the combined authority of a law enforcement agency, an intelligence agency, and a military service, the 12-person AIT brings additional capabilities and expertise to USS Mitscher's visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team.Under the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard has the authority and capability to interdict, apprehend, and refer suspected criminals for prosecution. It also has expertise in gathering and building evidentiary packages required for prosecuting piracy and other maritime crimes."We can assist in evidence collection, and if a case goes to trial, we can prepare case packages," said Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Robert List, the Officer in Charge of the advanced interdiction team. "We provide technical expertise to the teams."Between operations Mitscher's VBSS team and the AIT will train together to enhance their ...

The entire crew was rescued An Indian official says that navy and coast guard helicopters and ships have rescued 30 crew members from a sinking merchant ship off Mumbai's coast hours after it sent a distress signal.Indian navy spokesman Capt. Manohar Nambiar told The Associated Press that the MV Rak sent out a distress signal early Thursday morning. The navy and coast guard immediately began rescue operations.The entire crew was rescued. The sailors from Indonesia, Jordan and Romania were taken to the naval base in Mumbai.The vessel was carrying a cargo of coal and was traveling from Indonesia to the western Indian state of Gujarat.Nambiar said the ship was being monitored by the coast guard to estimate the rate at which it was sinking and to check for a possible oil spill.Source: AP