Monroe County News

California-based boatbuilder Moose Boats has delivered a new fireboat to the Rochester, N.Y. Fire Department. The M2-38, dubbed Marine 1, is the first Moose in the Great Lakes. With a roof monitor, a cockpit monitor, a 5” large diameter hose Storz discharge, and the ability to pump over 1,500 gallons per minute, this boat will offer greatly increased capabilities to the city and its surrounding communities, the builder said.Rochester Fire Department's new boat has an extended walk-around cabin configured with three shock-mitigating crew seats…

These days, cost-conscious municipalities across the fruited plain, from sea to shining sea, are ordering new waterborne assets to cover their many local responsibilities. When they do, they want ‘more bang for their buck,’ combining multiple missions – and the equipment that makes it all possible – onto one hull. That’s a tall order on the typically compact patrol boat style hulls that tend to be big on performance, but short on space for equipment that can demand a significant physical footprint. One such shipbuilder stepping up to plate to deliver on a raft of promises is Gulf Coast-based Metal Shark. Significantly expanding its presence in the fireboat market with a diverse range of fireboats currently in production for multiple customers…

Moose Boats, a boat designer and manufacturer in the San Francisco Bay Area, was awarded a contract from the City of Rochester, New York Fire Department for the construction of the first M2-38 Fire Rescue Catamaran to be delivered to the Great Lakes. Twin Cummins 425hp turbo diesel propulsion engines, Twin Disc transmissions and Hamilton water-jets will power the M2-38 aluminum catamaran. Rochester Fire's new Moose Boat will be equipped with a fire pump system flowing over 1,500…

The number of people who could be displaced in U.S. coastal regions due to rising sea levels this century as a result of climate change is much higher than previously thought, with more than 13 million Americans at risk with a 6-foot (1.8 meters) rise including 6 million in Florida, scientists said on Monday. The researchers assessed sea level change scenarios by 2100 from the U.S. Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for coastal states along with population growth trends and projections in high-risk areas. With a sea level rise of 3 feet, locations forecast to house 4.2 million people would be at risk of inundation while a doubling of the rise would bring the number to 13.1 million.

Coast Guard search-and-rescue crews are searching for a missing diver five nautical miles south of Key West, Florida, Saturday afternoon. Missing is Jim Bakazan, 50, wearing a black wet suit. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Key West received the report from the motor vessel Dream after Bakazan went missing while diving on the wreck of the USS Vandenburg. Sector Key West issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast and launched a Coast Guard Station Key West response boatcrew and an Air Station Miami HC-144 aircraft to search. A Monroe County Sheriff's Office dive team and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is assisting with the search.

The Coast Guard participated in a multi-agency Northern Border Initiative exercise to strengthen inter-agency security partnerships in five New York locations, Thursday and Friday. Approximately 500 people from 20 Federal, State and local agencies, as well as cross-border partners in Canada participated in the exercise. Capt. Brian Roche, commander of Coast Guard Sector Buffalo, served as lead federal official in the exercise, which was organized by the Monroe County Emergency Management Office. The exercise offered an opportunity to test and develop multi-agency response capabilities, including coordination of surveillance resources and the tactical deployment of forces to counter a security threat.

Scheduled for Thursday and Friday, federal, state, local and Canadian law enforcement partners will be brought together in a multi-agency exercise designed to prepare for and prevent cross-border terrorist and criminal activity on the Niagara River, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. There are no known threats against the area, but boaters may notice increased assets of law enforcement on the water. Organized by The Monroe County Emergency Management Office, the multi-jurisdictional exercise will be sponsored by The Department of Homeland Security.

The Port of Detroit welcomed the arrival of the ocean going vessel, Federal Yukina as it arrived at the Nicholson Terminal & Dock Company, located at 4105 West Jefferson Ave. in Detroit. The ship's arrival will begin the Port of Detroit's 2012 shipping season. "With the advent of the warm weather approaching, it is exciting to welcome the Federal Yukina vessel to the Port of Detroit because it signifies freight transportation throughout the St. Lawrence Seaway. This is vitally important to our economies and security…

The Navy will christen the USNS Robert E. Peary (T-AKE-5) at an 11 a.m. PST ceremony on Feb. The christening ceremony for the newest ship in the Lewis and Clark class of underway replenishment ships will be held at General Dynamics NASSCO, San Diego. The new ship honors Rear Adm. Robert Edwin Peary, (1856-1920), an American explorer born in Cresson, Pa., who is credited as the first person to reach the geographic North Pole. Peary was commissioned a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Oct. 26, 1881, and achieved the rank of rear admiral. He was recognized by Congress with a special act on March 30, 1911. Vice Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Peary S.

The Navy will christen the USNS Robert E. Peary on Feb. 9, 2008. The christening ceremony for the newest ship in the Lewis and Clark class of underway replenishment ships will be held at General Dynamics NASSCO, San Diego. Designated as T-AKE 5, the new ship honors Navy Rear Adm. Robert Edwin Peary, (1856–1920), an American explorer born in Cresson, Pa., who is credited as the first person to reach the geographic North Pole. Peary was commissioned a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Oct. 26, 1881, and achieved the rank of rear admiral. He was recognized by Congress by a special act on March 30, 1911. Vice Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Peary S.

On May 21, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule designating the state waters within the boundaries of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary ("Sanctuary") as a "no discharge zone" (NDZ). The rule takes effect on June 19, 2002. The Florida Keys Water Quality Protection Committee, Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County and Governor Jeb Bush supported the designation in the form of resolutions in 1999 and 2000. EPA concluded that the Sanctuary contains unique marine ecosystems that are a State and national treasure of high ecological, educational, aesthetic, recreational and commercial value. The rule applies to state waters only…

NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will conduct an emergency response drill in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary April 19-21, 2005, and is asking for assistance from local residents to help ensure its success. The goal of the drill is to improve the agency’s ability to protect the environment of the Florida Keys and the public in case of a major incident. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The scenario for NOAA’s first “Safe Sanctuaries” drill involves the hypothetical grounding of the M/V Portsmith Trader, an 800-foot cargo vessel carrying 270,000 gallons of fuel, at Elbow Reef off Key Largo. In the scenario, the grounding injures coral reef habitat and submerged historical artifacts, and an oil spill threatens other resources.

All American Marine Inc., launched a 56 x 21 ft. catamaran built under contract for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The high speed patrol vessel has been assigned to operate in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) and its Tortugas Ecological Reserve off the Southern coast of Florida. The vessel will serve as a long-range law enforcement patrol boat in the lower Keys. The patrol vessel is owned and maintained by NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program in the Florida Keys. Daily vessel operations will be administered by FKNMS law enforcement officers. Law enforcement in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is a cooperative partnership between NOAA and the State of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Mission Marine, Ltd. delivered its Mission 29-ft. 338 Pilot House Model to Monroe County Sheriff Marine Patrol in August located to Monroe County, NY. The aluminum catamaran will be used in a variety of missions including search and rescue, patrol, homeland security, drug intervention, and escorting the high speed ferry owned by the City of Rochester, and to assist the Coast Guard and Border Patrol. The Mission Marine vessel complements their fleet for rough water missions on Lake Ontario. The vessel is powered by twin 2006 Mercury Verados. Mission Marine provided a one-day training seminar, both classroom and on-water instruction, to the Monroe County Marine Patrol officers. The boat will based on the Genesee River at the Marine Patrol Headquarters.

Mission Marine, Ltd. delivered its Mission 338 (29’ x 11’5”) Pilot House Model to Monroe County Sheriff Marine Patrol in late August located in Monroe County on the banks on the Genesee River, Rochester, New York. The aluminum catamaran will be used in a variety of missions including search and rescue, patrol, homeland security, drug intervention, and escorting the high speed ferry owned by City of Rochester , and to assist the Coast Guard and Border Patrol. This Mission Marine vessel will complement their fleet for rough water missions on Lake Ontario . An independent marine professional was hired by the County of Monroe to do extensive research for their new vessel.