Coast Guard Eighth District News

The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced a crewmember from Allseas' pipelayer Solitaire Tuesday approximately 13 miles south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana.Coast Guard Eighth District and Coast Guard Sector New Orleans command center watchstanders received a report at approximately noon Tuesday from the Solitaire of a 65-year-old male crewmember experiencing heart attack-like symptoms. Sector New Orleans watchstanders diverted a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew to assist.

An ailing crewmember was airlifted from a pipelay vessel in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Coast Guard Eighth District and Coast Guard Sector New Orleans command center watchstanders received a report at approximately 10 p.m. Saturday from the Solitaire of a 32-year-old crewmember aboard experiencing severe abdominal pain.Sector New Orleans watchstanders coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew to assist.

The U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday it had evacuated a crew member from motor vessel Solitaire approximately 15 miles south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Coast Guard Eighth District and Coast Guard Sector New Orleans command center watchstanders received a report at approximately 10 p.m. Saturday from the motor vessel Solitaire of a 32-year-old male crewmember aboard experiencing severe abdominal pain. The Solitaire is a pipelayer owned by the offshored service firm Allseas.Sector…

Within the U.S. Coast Guard Eighth District alone, marine casualty data indicates that over the past 12 years, 44 recreational vessels have struck (allided) moored barges within barge fleets, resulting in 26 fatalities and 44 injuries. These serious incidents involving barges highlight the critical need for barge operators to properly display navigation lights in accordance with the Inland Navigation Rules. As with all marine casualty investigations, the Coast Guard seeks to identify the specific causal factors involved in each incident, including whether the involved barge fleets are sufficiently lit. The Coast Guard would like to take this opportunity to remind barge operators of their obligation to meet current barge lighting regulations.

Recent casualties involving explosions aboard barges conducting tank cleaning operations alongside marine terminals have resulted in serious injuries to vessel crews and facility workers, catastrophic property damage, as well as harm to the environment. A review of related casualties has revealed that vessel personnel, facility personnel and shore side managers failed to ensure that established procedures and safe practices were followed. Specifically, the Operational Manuals and regulatory requirements were not routinely followed by those involved. As a result unintended and disastrous consequences occurred. This safety alert aims to raise awareness regarding this issue and highlight critical lessons learned from these incidents.

At its Annual General Meeting in New Orleans last week, members of WISTA USA (Women’s International Shipping &Trading Association) were urged to support investment in infrastructure projects in order to maintain and grow the transportation of waterborne commerce in the United States. From U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-La.) to Spencer Murphy of Canal Barge Company, Rick Calhoun of Cargill, Gary LaGrange of the Port of New Orleans, Joel Dupre of Southern Recycling and Colonel Richard Hansen of the U.S.

The Coast Guard Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that its 21st Annual Tribute to the United States Coast Guard Eighth District will take place on Friday, March 14, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Admiral Robert J. Papp, commandant, U.S. Coast Guard and his wife, Linda Papp, will speak at the event. The Coast Guard Foundation’s New Orleans awards dinner is a celebration of the men and women serving in the U.S. Coast Guard's 8th District, which includes the Gulf Coast and the inland waterways of the country. This year, the Foundation will pay special tribute to seven Coast Guard spouses and the roles they play in keeping their Coast Guard families and communities strong…

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that its 21st Annual Tribute to the United States Coast Guard Eighth District will take place on Friday, March 14, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Admiral Robert J. Papp, commandant, U.S. Coast Guard and his wife, Linda Papp, will speak at the event. The Coast Guard Foundation’s New Orleans awards dinner is a celebration of the men and women serving in the U.S.

20th Annual Dinner to be Held in New Orleans on March 1st, 2013. The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that its 20th Annual Tribute to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Eighth District will take place on Friday, March 1, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Coast Guard Foundation’s New Orleans awards dinner is a festive celebration of the men and women serving in the U.S. Coast Guard's 8th District, which includes the Gulf Coast as well as the inland waterways of the country.

Singapore Ship Operator and Engineers Plead Guilty to Crimes Related to Pollution from Cargo Ship Traveling to Mobile, Alabama; Company Sentenced to Pay $1.2 Million Criminal Penalty. A ship management company headquartered in Singapore pleaded guilty and was sentenced today in federal court in Mobile for deliberately falsifying records to conceal pollution discharges from the ship directly into the sea. Target Ship Management Pte. Ltd., the operator of the M/V Gaurav Prem, pleaded…

Ship’s Captain Convicted of Obstructing a Coast Guard Inspection. The former captain of a Panama-flagged cargo ship that discharged hundreds of plastic pipes into the ocean, was convicted yesterday by a jury in Mobile, Ala., for obstructing a U.S. Coast Guard inspection of the vessel in the port of Mobile on Sept. 21, 2011. Prastana Taohim, 38, the captain of the M/V Gaurav Prem, was found guilty of two counts of obstruction of justice, announced Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Kenyen R. Brown, U.S.

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization, announced that its Annual Tribute to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Eighth District, The Guardian of the Heartland Dinner, will take place on Friday, April 15, 2011. The event will honor several aircrews from Air Station New Orleans, and Aviation Training Center Mobile for their actions during the explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010. Coast Guard efforts included evacuating the most critically injured rig workers from the Damon Bankston…

Stonington, Conn. – The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that its Annual Tribute to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Eighth District, The Guardian of the Heartland Dinner, will take place on Friday, April 15, 2011. The event will honor several aircrews from Air Station New Orleans, and Aviation Training Center Mobile for their actions during the explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010.

The Coast Guard adjourned the formal hearings, Thursday, March 11, concerning the Jan. 23, 2010, incident involving the tank vessel Eagle Otome, the Gull Arrow and the tug Dixie Vengeance. The incident resulted in more than 400,000 gallons of oil being spilled into the Sabine-Neches waterway. Eric Lewis, the VTS watchstander, testified concerning his training, maritime experience, and the details of the displays and sensors he monitors as a watchstander. He also described his watch and the geographic area of the waterway he monitors.

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced that its Guardian of the Heartland Annual Tribute to the United States Coast Guard’s Eighth District will take place on Friday, April 3, 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Eighth Coast Guard District spans 26 states throughout the Gulf Coast and the heartland of America from its headquarters in New Orleans. Honoring each sector throughout the District, the gala’s Co-Chairs are local business leaders in the community, Donald T. “Boysie” Bollinger, of Bollinger Shipyards, and Otto Candies, owner of Otto Candies, LLC. Vice Admiral Vivien Crea, vice-commandant of the Coast Guard, and Anne B.

Local Coast Guard personnel from Sector Corpus Christi will be receiving personal awards for their heroism during Hurricane Katrina in an awards ceremony Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. Helicopter aircrew members will be presented several awards including the Coast Guard Medal, The Air Medal and six Coast Guard Commendation Medals. Aviation Survival Technician Third Class Robert Williams is to receive the Coast Guard Medal. Petty Officer Williams is a Rescue Swimmer who organized and led the rescue of 150 desperate people from the roof top of a flooded hotel in New Orleans, including three men who threatened him with knives wanting to be rescued first. Lieutenant Junior Grade Dan Howe, an HH-65B Dolphin Helicopter pilot, will be recognized with an Air Medal.

More than 150 members of the Eighth Coast Guard District staff returned to their headquarters here today after they relocated to St. Louis more than two months ago due to Hurricane Katrina. Located in the Hale Boggs Federal Building on Poydras Street, the Eighth District staff oversees the command and control duties for the Coast Guard's Eighth District, an area that covers all or part of 26 states and is the largest district in the Coast Guard. In accordance with the district's continuity of operations (COOP) plan, about 50 of the members of the Eighth District staff began deploying to St. Louis on Aug. 27, prior to Hurricane Katrina's landfall. The COOP allowed the staff to manage and support Eighth District functions from St.

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday it was closing a 147 mile-long section of the Missouri River to marine traffic due to high water levels after recent heavy rains. The Coast Guard Eighth District office at St. Louis, Miss., said in a statement that recreational and commercial traffic was being restricted between mile 146 and 293 on the river, from central Missouri west to near Kansas City. The closure comes two weeks after the Coast Guard reopened a 500-mile stretch of the upper Mississippi River north of St. Louis that had been closed for a month by flooding and high water.

Commanding Officers conference. At the meeting, Admiral Casto and his staff outlined Coast Guard proposals to reorganize the Eighth District, splitting much of the inland rivers and the Gulf Coast into two separate regions. The proposal would have the effect of recreating the old Second District, which was closed in a cost cutting measure in 1996. As a part of the previous reorganization effort, staff levels were cut. For instance, prior to 1995, the old Eighth District had Marine Safety Division staff of 27 people to cover the Gulf Coast. Today the division has only 25 people to cover the Gulf Coast and all of the inland system. Admiral Casto said that the new security responsibilities of the Coast Guard make the current structure unworkable.