COAST GUARD YARD

'All-Hands' Ceremony Held at Coast Guard Yard

During an "All-Hands" celebration held at the Coast Guard Yard on Oct. 2, four members of the Maryland Congressional Delegation and the Coast Guard's Assistant Commandant for Systems presented three prestigious awards to the shipyard's work force. Employees of the yard, its tenants commands and invited guests numbered nearly 900 and enjoyed the mid-morning festivities on the parade grounds of the 101 year old shipyard in Baltimore, Md. The honors recognized outstanding achievements by Yard employees in the areas of government reinvention, environmental management, and maritime excellence. The ceremony opened with U.S. Senators Paul Sarbanes and Barbara Milkulski's presentation of the Vice President's Hammer Award to the Coast Guard Yard. The Hammer Award is Vice President Al Gore's special recognition for teams of federal employees who have made significant contributions in support of the principles of the National Partnership for Reinventing Government. The Yard's Hammer Award recognized the 49' BUSL, (Boat Utility Stern Loading) Production Team and Gainsharing Initiative, the latter permitted under the Yard's Reinvention Lab Status attained four years ago. Early in the 49'BUSL construction program, the Yard designated a team of in-house experts to reengineer the project's production line in order to streamline time and cost of building the new work boats. The restructuring resulted in a simplified production of each successive boat

Ferry Collision Kills One

A ferry collided with a recreational boat on Monday in heavy fog off southwest Florida, killing one person and injuring two others aboard the smaller vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The ferry boat Atlantis was making a morning run in the Gulf of Mexico from Fort Myers, Florida, to the Florida Keys when it collided with a 21-ft. (6.4-m) pleasure craft about 9 miles from shore, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Dana Warr.

Tanker Runs Aground

The Coast Guard is monitoring a tanker that ran aground in East Rockaway Inlet, NY about 450 yards from shore. Poling and Cutler Marine, the owners of the tanker, notified the Coast Guard Sector in New Haven, CT, that the tanker ran aground on sandy bottom and is carrying 672,000 gallons of #2 home heating oil. Coast Guard pollution response officers report that the ship suffered no apparent hull breach and no oil product entered the water

Coast Guard Contributes Material for Artificial Reef

The Coast Guard, in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), is scheduled to deploy worn buoy sinkers to an artificial reef off the coast of New Jersey on Saturday. The Coast Guard cutter Juniper, a 225-ft. buoy tender homeported in Newport, R.I., will be adding a total of 10 buoy sinkers weighing approximately 16,000 pounds each to the Axel Carlson Reef site located approximately six miles from Shark River Inlet and four miles from Manasquan

Gas Carrier Grounded by Tropical Storm

Coast Guard personnel deployed to San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic to support Dominican Republic authorities during salvage operations of Liberian gas carrier SCF Tomsk which ran aground Monday. Dominican Republic authorities have established a Unified Command to coordinate salvage operations between local agencies and the marine industry responding to the incident. The Nodrog Shipping Corporation owned vessel has hired marine salvage company Titan to conduct salvage operations

Bulk Carrier Grounds Off Hawaii

HONOLULU - The Coast Guard continues to monitor a grounded ship at the entrance to Barbers Point Harbor. The Cape Flattery and crew were inbound to Barbers Point Harbor at about 7 a.m. to offload cement when it ran aground about 400 yards from the entrance. The current plan is for the ship's owner to complete a salvage plan and have all necessary tugs in place before a high tide at about 8 p.m. The four tugs are on scene to assist in refloating the Cape Flattery.

Gas Carrier Grounded by Tropical Storm

Coast Guard personnel deployed to San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic to support Dominican Republic authorities during salvage operations of Liberian gas carrier SCF Tomsk which ran aground Monday. Dominican Republic authorities have established a Unified Command to coordinate salvage operations between local agencies and the marine industry responding to the incident. The Nodrog Shipping Corporation owned vessel has hired marine salvage company Titan to conduct salvage operations

Operation Neptune Shield Aims to Protect U.S. Ports

New security regulations and specially trained port security teams are among the newest tools being employed in Operation Neptune Shield, the Coast Guard's plan for fighting the global war on terrorism here at home, as military operations continue against Taliban and Al-Qaida fighters overseas. "Since Sept. 11, the Coast Guard has implemented a multi-layered strategy for protecting our ports and waterways," said Atlantic Area Commander Vice Adm. Thad Allen

In Their Third Century of Shiprepair

By Larry Pearson The year was 1895. Grover Cleveland was in the second of his two nonconsecutive terms as President of the United States. In Mobile, Ala. a new shipyard opened at the ft. of Palmetto Street, named Harrison Brothers Dry Dock& Repair Yard, Inc. About 1915, it moved across the Mobile River to Blakely Island and they have been located there ever since. In 1958, the company opened a second shipyard about a mile south of the original location

Waesche Completes Acceptance Trials

The U.S. Coast Guard’s second National Security Cutter (NSC), Waesche, recently completed four days of rigorous tests called Acceptance Trials to ensure the cutter meets all of its contractual requirements and is ready for delivery.  Waesche’s Acceptance Trials were conducted in Pascagoula, Miss., from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, 2009, by the Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV)