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San Francisco Chronicle News

31 Mar 2020

'Sailors Do Not Need to Die,' Warns Captain of Coronavirus-hit US Aircraft Carrier

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in the Philippine Sea in February 2020. (U.S. Navy photo by Sean Lynch)

The captain of the U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, in a blunt letter, has called on Navy leadership for stronger measures to save the lives of his sailors and stop the spread of the coronavirus aboard the huge ship.The four-page letter, the contents of which were confirmed by U.S. officials to Reuters on Tuesday, described a bleak situation on board the nuclear-powered carrier as more and more sailors test positive for the virus.The Navy puts the ship’s complement at 5…

26 Nov 2018

Ferry Allision in San Francisco

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the cause of a ferry allision that occurred at the San Francisco Ferry Building Friday afternoon.A crew member aboard the ferry San Francisco notified Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders of the allision around 2:40 p.m.There were reports of two minor injuries that did not require treatment beyond first aid and no reports of pollution.Photos published by the San Francisco Chronicle showed that the vessel suffered significant hull damage.The ferry's operator Golden Gate Ferry, a division of the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, said it will operate on a normal schedule Monday. "We will cover regularly scheduled trips with other vessels in our fleet as the M.S.

19 Oct 2009

More Visits to Isolated Alaska

According to an October 18 report from the San Francisco Chronicle, this past summer a 644-ft-long residential cruise ship with condos costing several million dollars apiece anchored in Nome, Alaska for a two-day visit. Four other cruise ships also docked in Nome recently in a trend toward more vessel visits to the remote town. (Source: San Francisco Chronicle)

15 Jul 2009

Hearing for Fleet Management Pilot

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, federal prosecutors told a judge that the pilot of the container ship that struck the Bay Bridge in November 2007 ignored basic safety precautions, lied to licensing authorities about his prescription drug use, and should be sentenced to 10 months in prison, the maximum recommended by his plea agreement. Capt. John Cota's lawyers asked for a two-month sentence, the minimum term in the plea agreement, and argued that prosecutors were making the 61-year-old pilot a scapegoat in "an accident with many causes." Their papers were filed Friday with U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, who is scheduled to sentence Cota this Friday. A court probation officer has recommended a $30,000 fine – which Cota's lawyers accepted – and a three-month sentence.

28 Jun 2007

Connaughton to Inspect Ships Docked in Suisun Bay

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the head of the Marad, Administrator Sean Connaughton will be in the Bay Area to take a look at the mothball fleet docked in Suisun Bay. The visit by Administrator Sean Connaughton comes as the agency seeks to scrap more than half the fleet. MarAd wants to tow the ships out of Suisun Bay to a scrapping facility in Texas. Before the ships are allowed to be moved, they have to have their hulls cleaned to get rid of intrusive marine organisms. But the Coast Guard halted the ship disposal plan earlier this year when it learned the ships were being cleaned in San Francisco Bay. According to water officials, cleaning the ships in the bay without proper protection of maritime life violates the National Invasive Species Act.

08 May 2006

Cause of Ferry Crash Unknown

The cause of the May 6 ferry crash at Pier 43 in San Francisco, which injured nine people, will not be known for at least several days, a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard said. The crash occurred at 4:22 p.m. when the Baylink ferry bound for Vallejo was backing out into the bay. Passengers said the ferry did not maneuver properly and hit the pier several times before a tugboat pushed it back into its berth. The captain, Philip Strickland Johnson, was reported by passengers to have issued a warning on the loudspeaker prior to the impact. (Source: San Francisco Chronicle)

06 Feb 2006

Ferries to Provide Assistance in Future Disasters

To address future disasters, the Bay Area Council is working in Sacramento with the governor and legislative leaders on major infrastructure bond proposals, which may well set the agenda for decades to come. Being discussed is the legislation authored by Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland eight years ago, and signed into law by the governor, regarding the Bay Area Council’s proposal for a comprehensive high-speed water transit system that -- in addition to significantly improving daily traffic -- would provide a highly flexible disaster recovery transportation system. This new system recognized that the waters of the bay could be transformed from a transportation obstacle into a transportation asset, with high-speed ferries running to all communities with waterfront access.