Search Effort News

Search teams detected underwater sounds while scanning the North Atlantic for a tourist submersible that vanished with five people aboard during a deep-sea voyage to the century-old wreck of the Titanic, the U.S. Coast Guard said early on Wednesday.The detection of the sounds by Canadian aircraft on Tuesday, day three of the search, was reported by the Coast Guard as the clock ticked down to the last 24 hours of the missing craft's presumed oxygen supply.Robotic undersea search operations were diverted to the area where the sounds seemed to originate…

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.

Freshwater ecosystems are threatened by a host of environmental stressors from human activities. Among the most insidious and impactful of these is invasion by non-native species.Over the past two centuries, established populations of nearly 190 non-native species of invertebrates, fishes, plants and microbes have been discovered in the Great Lakes basin. They were introduced through several sources and pathways including canals, pet release, bait bucket dumping, aquaculture escapes…

Chinese search and rescue officials pulled 12 bodies on Monday from waters southwest of Hong Kong after an engineering vessel snapped in two as tropical storm Chaba passed through, state television said.Maritime authorities of the southern province of Guangdong were stepping up efforts to identify the bodies, suspected to have drowned, after they were retrieved about 50 nautical miles from where the stricken ship sank, it added.Four of its crew were rescued by Monday, although…

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Monday it will call off its search at sunset for the remaining eight crew members missing from the lift boat Seacor Power, which capsized in the Gulf of Mexico last week.The Coast Guard said its vessel and air crews worked with local agencies and good Samaritans to scour more than 9,200 square nautical miles of sea over the course of 175 cumulative hours after the 234-foot Seacor Power overturned in rough seas and hurricane force winds approximately 8 miles south of Port Fourchon, La., last Tuesday.

Fourteen people believed to have traveled from Venezuela to Trinidad and Tobago were found dead in waters near the South American nation's coast, Venezuelan authorities said on Sunday, hours after Trinidad and Tobago confirmed the first bodies being found.At least 40,000 Venezuelans live in Trinidad and Tobago, the majority fleeing their country's economic crisis, unemployment, and lack of basic public services, often traveling in small rickety boats above their capacity, with limited supplies of fuel and food.Last year…

Families of 39 Filipino crewmen who were aboard a cattle ship that sank during a typhoon are pleading for a search to continue and to expand into uninhabited islands and nearby waters, two weeks after their vessel capsized off Japan.In tears during an online news conference, family members urged authorities to resume a massive search effort, after Japan's coastguard suspended its rescue last week.Of the ship's 43 crew, three were rescued—all Filipinos—but one later died after being found unconscious. Thirty-six Filipinos, two New Zealanders and two Australians are missing."We are getting frustrated not knowing where they are," said Liberty Seneres, wife of chief engineer, Aristotle Sabillena."We are worried.

The bodies of two more crew members from sunken offshore tug supply vessel Bourbon Rhode have been recovered by search teams in the Atlantic Ocean, the vessel's owner Bourbon announced on Tuesday. Three crew members are confirmed deceased, three have been rescued and eight are still missing after the vessel sank in heavy seas with 14 on board near a category 4 hurricane on Thursday.The bodies of two mariners were recovered at sea Monday night and transferred on the French navy Ventôse frigate…

ISL Star, a bulk carrier managed by Wallem Group, together with the U.S. Coast Guard successfully retrieved a crew of eight Indonesian fishermen adrift for over a week after their boat lost power in the middle of the western Pacific.The Hallelujar, a 60ft Indonesian-flagged fishing vessel of wooden construction, had been adrift for 10 days when on August 13th the AMVER vessel ISL Star received a message from the U.S. Coast Guard that the crew on board was seeking immediate assistance.

Coast Guard crews have suspended the search for one person missing after an explosion and subsequent fire at Delong Dock in Whittier, Alaska, Monday.An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, forward deployed to Cordova, searched by air while crews aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Chandeleur and Coast Guard Auxiliary 336 also conducted a search for the missing person.Shortly after midnight, Coast Guard Sector Anchorage watchstanders heard the phrase "Whittier fire…

Indonesian teams searching a lake for a sunken ferry in the hope of recovering nearly 200 bodies trapped inside have to contend with dangerous currents and cold, murky water far deeper than any scuba diver can ever go.The over-loaded ferry Sinar Bangun sank in bad weather in Lake Toba on Sumatra island on Monday. The lake, in the crater of an ancient supervolcano, is ringed by steeply sloping mountains, and is about 450 meters (1,500 feet) deep.Three people have been confirmed…

The full investigation report into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will be released after the latest search efforts are completed, officials said on Thursday, four years after the aircraft first went missing. Flight MH370, carrying 239 people onboard, became one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries when it disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. Malaysia agreed in January to pay U.S. firm Ocean Infinity up to $70 million if it found the plane during an offshore search effort that is underway and expected to end in June.

A boat carrying 31 people, including 28 Chinese tourists, is missing off the coast of Borneo, Malaysian maritime authorities said on Sunday. The boat left Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Malaysia's eastern Sabah state, at about 9 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Saturday bound for the popular tourist spot of Mengalum island, officials said. It was reported missing at about 9.50 p.m. after failing to arrive at the island and a search operation was launched soon after, Sabah and Labuan Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) deputy director Rahim Ramli said. Bad weather was hampering the search effort, which covers an area of about 400 nautical square miles. "We are looking at strong winds and choppy waters," he said.

Canada confirmed on Monday it has found the wreck of HMS Terror, the second of two British ships lost in the disastrous Franklin Arctic voyage of 1845, and said the government will work closely with northern aboriginals on ownership of the artifacts. Parks Canada, a federal agency, said in a statement it will work on "joint ownership" of the wreckage from the journey through Canada's Northwest Passage. Britain's Guardian newspaper reported earlier this month that the Arctic Research Foundation, a private group participating in the search effort, had found the ship in pristine condition at the bottom of a bay. Sir John Franklin and his…

The Coast Guard Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to the education and welfare of Coast Guard members and their families, announced today the details of its Annual Tribute to the 8th Coast Guard District. To be held on Friday, March 4 in New Orleans, Coast Guard Sector Mobile will be honored at the event for their skill and leadership in organizing a mass search and rescue operation on April 25, 2015. An unforeseen storm on that day struck Mobile Bay and nearby Mississippi Sound with tropical force winds and waves, grounding a 600-foot tanker and impacting the 117 sailboats participating in a race. In total, more than 470 sailors and crew were in the Bay that afternoon as the storm whipped up with little warning, creating a chaotic scene as competitors scrambled to react.

USS Sampson (DDG 102) and USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) concluded their assistance efforts January 15 after contributing more than 650 search hours to the Indonesian-led search effort for AirAsia flight QZ8501, The U.S. Navy reported. Working in coordination with the Government of Indonesia, the U.S. 7th Fleet assigned USS Sampson and USS Fort Worth to the mission shortly after the December 28 crash. USS Sampson departed from Singapore December 29 and arrived on station in the Java Sea December 30.

An eight-member team from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1 onboard USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) is supporting the ongoing Indonesian-led search effort for AirAsia flight QZ8501 with advanced Tow Fish side scan sonar systems capable of providing high-resolution images of the ocean floor. The Tow Fish side scan sonar system is used to identify objects on the seafloor and provide accurate imagery for analysis. The sonar carries a passive listening device for detecting an acoustic pulse and is towed behind a vessel between 1-5 knots.

USS Fort Worth joins USS Sampson as second U.S. Navy ship assisting with AirAsia QZ8501 search efforts. USS Sampson has been on station since December 29. Fort Worth is the littoral combat ship (LCS) on a rotational deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet and brings maneuverability, speed and a shallow draft, which allows her to conduct expeditious visual and radar searches in a congested, shallow water environment. Fort Worth is also outfitted with a MH-60R helicopter as well as two 11-meter rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB) to further maximize efforts.

USS Fort Worth joins USS Sampson (DDG 102), which has been on station since Dec. 29. Fort Worth is the littoral combat ship (LCS) on a rotational deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet and brings maneuverability, speed and a shallow draft, which allows her to conduct expeditious visual and radar searches in a congested, shallow water environment. Fort Worth is also outfitted with a MH-60R helicopter as well as two 11-meter rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB) to further maximize efforts. "We offer our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of those affected by this terrible tragedy," said Cmdr. Kendall Bridgewater, USS Fort Worth Crew 104 commanding officer. USS Sampson has assisted with searches since she arrived on station Dec. 29. The crew recovered several bodies Jan. 1 and Jan.

USS Sampson (DDG 102) is supporting the ongoing Indonesian-led search and recovery operations for the downed AirAsia flight QZ8501 and assisted in locating the crash debris field yesterday. At the request of the Indonesian government, Sampson arrived on station in the Java Sea in the early afternoon on Dec. 30 and began assisting in the search. The ship's MH-60R search and rescue helicopters were launched to assist in the search efforts and the crews, working with multiple Indonesian assets, discovered debris late on the 30th. The ship and her helicopters are still on station and continuing to search in close coordination with Indonesian authorities. "Sampson will remain on station as long as the Indonesian government feels they are providing useful assistance," said Capt.

The search for the missing schooner 'Nina' by the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) in June-July 2013 went beyond what many overseas authorities would have conducted, an independent reviewer has found. RCCNZ explain that David Baird, former General Manager of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Emergency Response Division, conducted the independent review at the request of Maritime New Zealand Director Keith Manch. The reviewer found: “In many areas RCCNZ went well beyond the requirements of the SAR Convention and its Standard Operating Procedures, demonstrating conviction, compassion and determination to achieve a satisfactory result.

Australia’s Joint Agency Coordination Centre informs that no signs of aircraft debris have been found by the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle 'Bluefin-21' since it joined the search effort. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has advised that the search in the vicinity of the acoustic detections can now be considered complete and in its professional judgement, the area can now be discounted as the final resting place of MH370. acquiring the specialist services required for a comprehensive search of the sea floor in that area. The expert satellite working group continues to review and refine complex analyses of radar and satellite data and aircraft performance data to determine where the aircraft most likely entered the water.

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search at 10 p.m., Friday, May 23, for the missing crew members of the 39-foot sailing vessel Cheeki Rafiki who reported distress approximately 1,000 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on Friday, May 16. At the request of the British Government, the Coast Guard resumed search efforts at 7:38 a.m., Tuesday, having suspending its original 4,000-square-mile search on Sunday after the sailors had not been located. After an additional 21,000 square miles of searches, the U.S. Coast Guard suspended the second search.