Clearwater News

2024 marks another year for development of a biennial WRDA bill—Water Resources Development Act, critical legislation for the Nation’s waterways, ports and harbors. WRDA encompasses a range of issues, from environmental regs to energy use to agriculture and, of course, a focus on projects critical for economic growth.Because these are dynamic and timely issues, Congress and the maritime sector like to keep WRDA on a two-year reauthorization timeline. Indeed, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, December and January, held three WRDA information hearings.

An American cruise ship passenger has been reported missing in the Gulf of Mexico.The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday it is searching for a man who reportedly went overboard from Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Glory.The Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector New Orleans received a report around 12:40 p.m. n Monday from Carnival Cruise Line that they had an unaccounted-for passenger. Carnival reported he was last seen on security camera at approximately midnight Monday morning.Family members identified the missing man as Tyler Barnett…

The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced a 44-year-old man from a motor vessel 250 miles northeast of Nassau, Bahamas, Saturday.The man was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital to receive a higher level of care. Coast Guard Seventh District watchstanders received a medevac request from the motor vessel Skyfall stating one of their crewmembers was reportedly suffering from severe stomach pain. Watchstanders instructed the vessel to navigate to 250 miles northeast of Nassau and consulted with the duty flight surgeon…

A new marine insurance facility for Ukrainian grain exports using the country's sea corridor has been set up in conjunction with Ukraine's authorities, insurance broker Miller said on Tuesday.Russia quit a U.N.-backed deal in July to enable exports from Ukraine to sail from three approved ports.Since then, Kyiv has launched what it calls a new temporary humanitarian corridor in an effort to break Russia's de facto blockade. Two ships have sailed in the recent days from the Ukrainian…

U.S. based shipping company Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) said crews aboard two of its vessels rescued a total of six individuals in two separate incidents occurring within 18 hours of each other.On the evening of May 30, 2023, the crew of the Overseas Santorini, as well as two other vessels, were notified by U.S. Coast Guard Norfolk of a sailing vessel in distress in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The closest point of land was the Azores approximately 800 miles to the East.

The U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday suspended the search for a missing 35-year-old man who went overboard from a cruise ship 186 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida.Coast Guard crews searched more than 5,171 square miles and 60 hours. Missing is Ronnie Peale.Carnival Cruise Lines personnel contacted Coast Guard watchstanders at 6:36 p.m., Monday, reporting that a passenger fell off the cruise ship Carnival Magic and entered the water.Coast Guard watchstanders launched air crews and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba (WMEC 907) to conduct search and rescue efforts from the air and on the water. U.S. Navy ships and aircraft in the…

Climate change advocates and seafarers recently gathered for a small conference at the Hudson Valley Maritime Museum in Kingston, N.Y., to discuss the shipping industry’s struggle to achieve sustainability and environmental compliance.The setting, the hamlet of Rondout, N.Y. (within Kingston), holds significance as it was, ironically, a Hudson River port once considered the largest coal port in the world (yes, the world). In 1828, the opening of the Delaware and Hudson Canal enabled coal to be delivered from Pennsylvania to New York City.

It’s amazing to consider that a commercial vessel in the Pacific Ocean, approaching the mouth of the Columbia River, can continue its eastward journey to finally tie up at the Port of Lewiston, in Lewiston, Idaho, America’s most inland West Coast port, 465 miles from the Pacific Ocean.The Columbia and Snake Rivers form that critical east-west waterway, an economic powerhouse regionally, nationally and internationally. According to the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA)…

Federal water managers are changing release and storage schedules at several Pacific Northwest dams because of a late season and strong atmospheric river that began June 9. Significant amounts of rainfall have fallen across the Columbia River Basin filling reservoirs and rivers.To assist in managing river stages at Vancouver, Wash., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division, is increasing storage behind the John Day Dam in Eastern Oregon. Where most dams on the Columbia and lower Snake rivers are “run of river” projects…

An ailing crewmember was medevaced from the cruise ship Serenade of the Seas, 80 miles west of Tampa, Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.A Serenade crewmember reported to Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg watchstanders the man was suffering from abdominal pain, and a Coast Guard flight surgeon recommended the man be brought ashore.An Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew medevaced the 34-year-old man and flew him to Tampa General Hospital in stable…

The first ship in the U.S. Coast Guard's Polar Security Cutter program will be named Polar Sentinel, Commandant Admiral Karl Schultz revealed in his 2022 State of the Coast Guard Address, delivered Thursday in Clearwater, Fla.The Polar Security Cutter program is planned to replace the Coast Guard's aging fleet of icebreakers, including the 46-year old heavy icebreaker USCGC Polar Star and 23-year-old medium icebreaker USCGC Healy.Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder Halter Marine has been awarded contracts to build the first two Polar Security Cutters, and the U.S.

Mobile satellite communications company Inmarsat said it as secured an an agreement with Clearwater Seafood that commits Canada’s largest vessel-operating seafood company to Fleet Xpress high-speed maritime broadband services.Clearwater Seafood chose to install the Fleet Xpress combination of high speed Ka-band and continuous FleetBroadband backup on board seven vessels replacing Ku-band services on each vessel. Deployed off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, each vessel is being fitted with GX100NX antennas from Intellian.“Robust connectivity for the crew is imperative for Clearwater…

A containership rescued a boater clinging to the hull of his capsized vessel approximately 86 miles east of Port Canaveral, Fla., Sunday.Stuart Bee departed Cape Marina in Port Canaveral on Friday and was reported missing Saturday after he did not return from his day trip. A marina member contacted watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville at 11:40 a.m., Saturday stating that 62-year-old Bee typically does not stay out overnight on his 32-foot boat Stingray.Watchstanders…

An ailing crew member was medevaced from a U.S.-flagged tug Patriarch on Tuesday, approximately 207 miles of east Turks and Caicos, and 287 miles north of Puerto Rico, the U.S Coast Guard said.The Crowley-owned Patriarch was en route from Jacksonville, Fla. to San Juan, Puerto Rico when the vessel's master contacted Coast Guard Seventh District command to request a medevac for a 59-year-old man on board who was suffering from medical complications and needed higher level medical…

Two fisherman reportedly adrift for two weeks and presumed lost at sea were rescued with help from a good Samaritan towboat crew and the U.S. Coast Guard.Domingo Jimenez, 45, and Ramon Castillo, 29, both from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, departed Samana, Dominican Republic on May 2. On May 5, USCG Sector San Juan watchstanders received a report from a concerned family member stating Jimenez and Castillo were overdue after heading out in their 25-foot vessel to fish approximately 132 miles northeast of Samana.The U.S.

A crewman injured from a fall on board a Cyprus-fagged bulk carrier was medevaced in the Gulf of Mexico, 13 miles west of Fort de Soto, Fla., Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard said its watchstanders in Sector St. Petersburg received a VHF marine radio call on channel 16 at approximately 4:30 p.m. from the 600-foot vessel Mottler stating the crew member had fallen and was in need of medical care.A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew responded to the call…

Three crewmembers were rescued from a sinking tugboat approximately 6 miles northeast of Andros Island, Bahamas, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Coast Guard 7th District watchstanders directed a helicopter crew to the scene after receiving an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) alert for the 62-foot Gulf Man at approximately 6:20 p.m. on Thursday.A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew arrived on scene, reported the tug was taking on water, hoisted all three crewmembers and transported them to Nassau, Bahamas.

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, recently recognized Chairman and CEO Tom Crowley Jr. and Crowley Maritime Corporation for more than 30 years of support at its 25th Tribute to the Coast Guard Seventh District event in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The event, originally scheduled for late January but postponed due to the partial government shutdown, was held April 18. The rescheduled date did nothing to dampen spirits…

The Coast Guard rescued a 57-year-old man Thursday 170 miles west of St. Petersburg.Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg command center watchstanders received a call via satellite phone at 1:24 p.m. from the master of the Mariya Moran, a 120-foot tug, stating a crew member was suffering from chest pains and was in need of medical attention.A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew launched to assist and arrived at 4 p.m.The…

The Coast Guard medevaced a 52-year-old man Thursday approximately 110 miles west of Clearwater.Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg command center watchstanders received a call via VHF-FM marine band radio channel 16 at 10:15 p.m. Wednesday from a crew member aboard the 43-foot fishing boat Tobo stating a passenger was suffering from stomach pains and was in need of medical attention.A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter crew launched to assist and…

The Coast Guard continues to search Tuesday for two missing people 46 miles east of Jupiter Inlet.The two people missing are a Bahamian national, a suspected migrant smuggler, and a 9-year-old Haitian national.

The Coast Guard is responding to a vessel adrift in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 80 nautical miles south of Cape San Blas, Florida, Wednesday.Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Mobile received a report at approximately 2 p.m. from crewmembers aboard a NOAA ship, the Gordon Gunter, that a 30-foot white sailboat named My Time appeared to be floating adrift.Members aboard the Gordon Gunter reported that the My Time appeared to have electronics operating, sails stowed, and did not respond to radio calls or the ship’s horn.

IMTRA Corporation and its employees are saddened by the passing of former CEO and long-time member of the IMTRA family, Nat Bishop, after a 15-year battle with melanoma.Bishop joined IMTRA, the leading manufacturer, supplier and importer of quality marine products, in May 1974 and worked there until his retirement at the end of 2013. He spearheaded the company’s expansion effort by opening its southeast operation in Clearwater, Florida, which proved to be pivotal for the company’s growth and profitability.