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Coast Guard Vessel News

10 Dec 2023

Philippines, China Trade Accusations over South China Sea Collision

© olinchuk / Adobe Stock

The Philippines and China traded accusations on Sunday over a collision of their vessels near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea as tensions over claims in the vital waterway escalate.The Philippine coast guard accused China of firing water cannons and ramming resupply vessels and a coast guard ship, causing "serious engine damage" to one, while China's coast guard said the Philippine vessel intentionally rammed its ship.China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce…

23 Oct 2023

Philippines Says Chinese Coastguard 'Intentionally' Collided with Its Boats

(Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines)

The Philippines on Monday accused Chinese coastguard vessels of "intentionally" colliding with its vessels on a resupply mission in a disputed part of the South China Sea, as ties deteriorated between the Southeast Asian U.S. ally and Beijing.Both sides traded accusations after the latest incident on Sunday, which was the most serious yet in the waters around the disputed Second Thomas shoal, though no one was harmed.China said on Sunday that the Philippine boats "bumped dangerously" with the coastguard vessels and "Chinese fishing vessels" fishing there.On Monday…

18 Aug 2023

SECNAV Visits Bayonne Dry Dock

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro tours Bayonne Dry Dock (BDD) with BDD President Mike Cranston. It is SECNAV’s latest visit to naval bases, shipyards, depots, training ranges, tarmacs, and runways worldwide to witnessed firsthand the progress being made toward improving training, readiness, and modernization of the fleet and force. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Shannon E. Renfroe)

Earlier this week, Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro along with U.S. Representatives Rob Menendez and Mikie Sherrill visited to Bayonne Dry Dock & Repair Corp. (BDD).As the U.S. places renewed emphasis on navy shipbuilding and ship repair, the SECNAV has made it a point to visit to naval bases, shipyards, depots, training ranges, tarmacs, and runways worldwide to witnessed firsthand the progress being made toward improving training, readiness, and modernization of the fleet and force.BDD has provided repair services to vessels ranging from small tugboats to U.S.

09 Aug 2023

Forty-one Feared Dead in Migrant Shipwreck in Central Mediterranean

Credit: davide bonaldo/AdobeStock

Italian authorities on Wednesday said forty-one migrants are thought to have died in a shipwreck last week in the central Mediterranean, according to accounts by survivors who have been taken to the island of Lampedusa.Local public prosecutor Salvatore Vella confirmed media reports that four people who survived the shipwreck told rescuers they were on a boat carrying 45 people, including three children.Vella's office has opened an investigation into the incident.The 7-meter-long boat set off on Thursday morning from Tunisia's Sfax…

03 Aug 2023

Rights Groups Seek 'Credible' Probe into Fatal Greece Migrant Shipwreck

(Photo: Hellenic Coast Guard)

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on Thursday called for a "credible" probe into a migrant shipwreck off Greece in June in which hundreds died, saying that contrasting accounts by the Greek coastguard and survivors "were extremely concerning".The overcrowded fishing trawler said to be carrying between 400-750 people from Pakistan, Syria and Egypt sank in international waters off Greece on its way to Italy from Libya. Some 104 men survived and authorities recovered only…

15 Jun 2023

Shipwreck Off Greece Claims the Lives of at Least 78 Migrants. Search Underway for Survivors

©Hellenic Coast Guard

Rescuers scoured seas off Greece on Thursday in a massive search operation, as hopes dwindled of finding survivors of a shipwreck that killed at least 78 migrants in one of Europe's deadliest such disasters in recent years.Reports suggested hundreds of people had packed the fishing boat that capsized and sank early on Wednesday in deep waters about 50 miles (80 km) from the southern coastal town of Pylos, while being shadowed by the Greek coast guard. As dawn broke on Thursday, a coast guard vessel sailed into the nearby port city of Kalamata, transferring victims.

24 Mar 2023

San Francisco Area Storms Wreak Havoc on Marine Navigation

(Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

Recent storms that crossed the San Francisco Bay Area earlier this week left multiple vessels, docks, and barges adrift, causing navigational safety issues around the areaThree 60-foot deck barges were adrift, causing an allision with the 3rd Street Bridge at McCovey Cove leading to Mission Creek. U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco's Prevention Department was made aware of the situation and broadcasted a Notice to Mariners, noting that the area was closed to navigation. A finalized assessment of the bridge is pending the completion of an inspection by engineers.

16 Jan 2023

Indonesia Dispatches Warship to Monitor Chinese Coast Guard Vessel Near Offshore Fields

©Harbour Energy

Indonesia has deployed a warship to its North Natuna Sea to monitor a Chinese coast guard vessel that has been active in a resource-rich maritime area, the country's naval chief said on Saturday of an area that both countries claim as their own.Ship tracking data shows the vessel, CCG 5901, has been sailing in the Natuna Sea, particularly near the Tuna Bloc gas field and the Vietnamese Chim Sao oil and gas field since Dec. 30, the Indonesian Ocean Justice Initiative told Reuters.A warship…

14 Dec 2022

Tanker Helps Rescue Overdue Boaters off US East Coast

A Hong Kong registered tanker assisted in the rescue of two men adrift in a sailboat off the U.S. East Coast.On Sunday, watchstanders at the U.S. Coast Guard Fifth District command center were notified of an overdue sailing vessel, Atrevida II, which was sailing from Cape May, N.J. to Marathon, Fla. The two men aboard, 65-year-old Kevin Hyde and 76-year-old Joe Ditomasso, were last in contact with family and friends on December 3, when they departed Oregon Inlet, N.C. The Coast Guard began urgent marine information broadcasts and direct communication with commercial vessels in the area in an attempt to locate the Atrevida II. A search effort was launched, involving multiple Coast Guard aircraft and cutters, vessels from the U.S.

29 Nov 2022

Nigeria Stowaways Who Survived 11 Days on Ship Rudder Must Return Home - Spanish Police

©Spanish Coast Guard/Twitter

Three migrants rescued in Spain's Canary Islands, after apparently enduring an 11-day journey from Nigeria crouched on the rudder of a fuel tanker, should now be returned home under stowaway laws, a police spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday. In a photograph distributed on Twitter by the Spanish coast guard on Monday, the three stowaways are shown crouching on the rudder under the hull, just above the waterline of the Alithini II.The 183-metre ship, sailing under a Maltese flag, arrived in Las Palmas in Gran Canaria after setting out from Lagos in Nigeria on Nov.

01 Nov 2022

Nine Migrants Rescued, Dozens Missing after Boat Sinks off Greek island

Greece rescued nine migrants and was searching for dozens of others believed to be missing after their boat sank off the island of Evia early on Tuesday, the coast guard said. Nine people have been rescued from the boat, which sank off the southern tip of Evia, Greek coast guard spokesman Nikos Kokkalas told state broadcaster ERT. According to the migrants accounts, about 68 people were on the boat, Kokkalas said. A coast guard vessel, a helicopter and two boats sailing nearby are taking part in the rescue operation under gale-force winds, the coast guard said in a statement.

06 Sep 2022

Australia, NZ Exempt from Solomon Islands' Navy Ship Moratorium

© FiledIMAGE / Adobe Stock

Navy vessels from Australia and New Zealand will be exempt from a temporary ban on foreign ships entering the ports of the Solomon Islands, the Pacific island nation's prime minister told parliament on Monday.Foreign military vessels responding to a request for assistance from the Solomon Islands government would also be exempt, Prime Minister Manesseh Sogavare said.The Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China in April, which a leaked draft said allows the Chinese navy to replenish in Honiara…

30 Aug 2022

US Coast Guard Vessel Blocked from Bunkering in Solomon Islands

The USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC 1140). (Photo: Sara Muir / U.S. Coast Guard)

A United States Coast Guard vessel was unable to enter Solomon Islands for a routine port call because the Solomon Islands government did not respond to a request for it to refuel and provision, a U.S. official said.The islands' government did not immediately answer a Reuters request for comment. The Solomon Islands has had a tense relationship with the United States and its allies since striking a security pact with China in May.The USCGC Oliver Henry was on patrol for illegal fishing in the South Pacific for a regional fisheries agency when it failed to obtain entry to refuel at Honiara…

09 Aug 2022

Atlantic Towing PSVs Rescue Crew from Sinking Fishing Vessel

(Photo: Atlantic Towing)

Two platform supply vessels (PSV) stationed in eastern Canada came to the rescue of a crew from a sinking fishing vessel off the coast of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, on Monday.Atlantic Towing said its PSVs Atlantic Griffon and Atlantic Shrike picked up a radio transmission from a nearby vessel stating the fishing boat Gypsy Mariner had lost power and was taking on water. The PSVs immediately contacted the Canadian Coast Guard, and at 1:10 a.m., they were tasked to respond to the distress call.After sailing for 98 minutes…

11 Apr 2022

Philippines, China Call for Restraint in South China Sea

© luzitanija / Adobe Stock

Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the need to exercise restraint to maintain peace in the South China Sea, Manila's presidential office said on Saturday.The two leaders held an hour-long telephone summit on Friday, discussing a broad range of topics including concerns over the Ukraine crisis and COVID-19 pandemic responses."The leaders stressed the need to exert all efforts to maintain peace, security and stability in the South China Sea by exercising restraint…

04 Mar 2022

OSV Captain's Blunders Led to Collision with US Coast Guard Cutter

Screenshot of vessel traffic service camera at 1544, at the time of collision.​ (Source: ​​US Coast Guard​​)

An offshore supply vessel captain’s assumption and poor communication led to a collision with a U.S. Coast Guard cutter in Sabine Pass, a waterway between Texas and Louisiana, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found.The NTSB on Thursday released its report detailing its investigation into the October 11, 2020, collision between the offshore supply vessel (OSV) Cheramie Bo-Truc No. 33 and the Coast Guard cutter Harry Claiborne. The Cheramie Bo Truc No. 33 was traveling outbound for sea in Sabine Pass when it collided with the Harry Claiborne near Texas Point, Texas.

16 Sep 2021

Indonesia Boosts Naval Patrols after Foreign Ships Detected near Natuna

(File photo: Indonesian Navy)

Indonesian navy has increased patrols around its Natuna islands in the South China Sea after Chinese and U.S. vessels were detected nearby in international waters, despite saying there were no disturbance from the vessels, a navy official said on Thursday.Five navy vessels, assisted by an air patrol, have been deployed in North Natuna Sea to secure the area, Indonesian Navy western fleet commander Arsyad Abdullah told reporters.“The Navy’s position on the North Natuna Sea is very…

27 Apr 2021

Search Continues for 12 Missing from Capsized Lift Boat

A Coast Guard boat crew attempts to throw a hammer at the hull of the Seacor Power in an attempt to make contact with potential survivors inside the vessel. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Coast Guard Station Grand Isle)

The U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday it is still searching for 12 people missing from a lift boat that capsized in extreme weather conditions Tuesday in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.Coast Guard vessel and air crews have worked with other local agencies to scour the area overnight Wednesday and through the day Thursday in search of the dozen missing from the Seacor Power, which overturned in rough seas and hurricane force winds approximately 8 miles south of Port Fourchon, La. The search has covered approximately 6…

05 Feb 2021

China's Latest Weapon Against Taiwan: The Sand Dredger

© Frank / Adobe Stock

Taiwanese coast guard commander Lin Chie-ming is on the frontline of a new type of warfare that China is waging against Taiwan. China’s weapon? Sand.On a chilly morning in late January, Lin, clad in an orange uniform, stood on the rolling deck of his boat as it patrolled in choppy waters off the Taiwan-run Matsu Islands. A few kilometers away, the Chinese coast was faintly visible from Lin’s boat. He was on the lookout for Chinese sand-dredging ships encroaching on waters controlled by Taiwan.The Chinese goal…

28 Dec 2020

Coast Guard Vessel Spills Oil in Womens Bay, Alaska

(File Photo) The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spar. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Warrant Officer Marcus Trapp.

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Saturday it was responding to a report of a discharge of hydraulic oil from Coast Guard Cutter SPAR in Womens Bay, Kodiak, Alaska.Coast Guard said it was monitoring the cleanup which has been contracted to Choctaw Defense Services (CDS). Personnel on scene deployed boom systems, absorbent pads, and a skimmer that is pumping to a vac truck.Watchstanders at the Sector Anchorage Command Center received notification from the National Response Center at 9:40 a.m., that the crew of the cutter SPAR reported a hydraulic oil discharge.

17 Dec 2020

Cargo Ship Capsizes off Vietnam, 15 Sailors Missing

At least 15 sailors were missing on Thursday after a Panama-flagged cargo ship capsized in rough seas off Vietnam, Vietnamese state media said.The incident happened off the central province of Binh Thuan when the Xin Hong with 11 Chinese and four Vietnamese sailors onboard was transporting 7,800 tonnes of clay from Malaysia to Hong Kong, Nhan Dan newspaper reported.Sailors had contacted Vietnam for help earlier on Thursday when the ship began to list in rough seas, the report said.Vietnam has sent a rescue team, including a coast guard vessel, to search for the missing sailors, the report said, adding that the team had found an inflatable life raft near the sinking ship with no one inside.(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Giles Elgood)

20 Oct 2020

As the Arctic's Attractions Mount, Greenland is a Security Black Hole

File photo: Chinese research vessel Xue Long (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

On a windy August afternoon in 2017, Akitsinnguaq Ina Olsen was relaxing in the old harbor of Nuuk, Greenland's capital, when a Chinese icebreaker sailed unannounced into the Arctic island's territorial waters."I saw it by chance," Olsen, 50, told Reuters. "My first thought was: 'They're already here!' They're pretty cheeky, those Chinese."She pulled out her phone and took a picture of the 167-meter long Chinese icebreaker Xue Long (Snow Dragon), before it turned around and disappeared.The…

13 Oct 2020

Coast Guard Vessel Collides with Pleasure Boat in Florida

(File photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

A U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce 33-foot Special Purpose Craft—Law Enforcement boat and a 23-foot pleasure craft with five people aboard were involved in a collision Saturday near Manatee Pocket, in Florida.As a result of the collision, the pleasure craft began taking on water and became submerged in the channel.The people aboard the pleasure craft were embarked by the Coast Guard boat crew and taken to Sandsprit Park.One person from the pleasure craft was reported to be injured and was transported to Martin County Memorial Hospital for treatment. No other injuries were reported.

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