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Fifth Coast News

21 Jun 2023

USCG Relieves Commanding Officer of Sector North Carolina

© Jenny Thompson / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Coast Guard said it has temporarily relieved Capt. Matthew Baer from command of Coast Guard Sector North Carolina, Tuesday, June 20, 2023.Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath, Fifth Coast Guard District commander, temporarily relieved Baer due to a loss of confidence in his ability to effectively command the sector, pending an administrative investigation and final determination.The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to MarineLink's request for comment.Cmdr. Courtney Sergent…

27 Sep 2019

USCG Commissions FRC in Honolulu

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew West/released

The U.S. Coast Guard commissioned the newest Hawaii-based 154-foot Fast Response Cutter in Honolulu, Thursday.“There is no greater reflection of the commandant’s strategic vision and commitment than the fact that as we commission the William Hart today, it will be the fifth Coast Guard cutter commissioned in the last two years here at Base Honolulu that will operate in the heart of Oceania,” said Rear Adm. Kevin Lunday, commander Coast Guard 14th District. “There is no question that by our actions and not our words alone…

20 Oct 2017

Rob Nakama: From USCG to Foss Maritime

Rob Nakama (Photo: Saltchuk)

Just two weeks after accepting the U.S. Coast Guard’s congratulations on a military career spanning almost three decades, Rob Nakama drove from Washington D.C. to Seattle to join Foss Maritime as the company’s Manager of Contingency Planning and Emergency Response. “I’ve been in the military for the majority of my life; the transition has been surreal,” he said. Nakama was born in Hawaii, growing up on the island of Maui as the son of a taro farmer who worked for the Aloha Poi Factory.

18 Oct 2017

Charting the Next 100 Years of Naval Station Norfolk

What does the future hold for Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval station? Building on the accomplishments of the last 100 years, leading experts will consider the possibilities and navigate toward a secure and sustainable future at the upcoming symposium, Naval Station Norfolk: Charting Our Next 100 Years, Friday October 20th at the Main, hotel and conference center. The Future Fleet Design session will be conducted by VADM Richard P. Breckenridge from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.. The session will discuss the USFF Fleet Design Plan that will drive the implementation of Fleet Design by 2023. The presentation on Fleet Design will define how the fleet…

03 Feb 2016

Woman Medevaced from Cruise Ship East of Cape Hatteras, NC

The Coast Guard medevaced a 61-year-old woman Monday from a cruise ship 230 miles east of Cape Hatteras. Fifth Coast Guard District watchstanders received a report at 1 p.m. stating a woman aboard the cruise ship Norwegian Breakaway was found unconscious. An MH-65 helicopter crew and C-130 aircraft crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City launched to medevac the woman at 2 p.m. The helicopter crew arrived on scene at 3:50 p.m. and transferred the woman to the helicopter. The helicopter crew arrived at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Va., at 6 p.m where the woman was transferred to awaiting EMS personnel in stable condition. "We were very pleased with our crew's ability to hoist the woman from the cruise ship and deliver her safely,” said Thomas A.

18 Feb 2015

Insights: Rear Admiral Paul F. Thomas

Rear Admiral Paul Thomas is the Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy overseeing three Coast Guard directorates: Inspections and Compliance, Marine Transportation Systems, and Commercial Regulations and Standards. The programs include waterways management, navigation and boating safety, ports and facilities, merchant mariner credentialing, vessel documentation, marine casualty investigation, commercial vessel inspections, and port state control. A longtime specialist in Marine Safety…

28 Nov 2014

USCG Medevacs Man From Sailboat off NC Coast

The Coast Guard medevaced an injured 62-year-old man from his sailboat Thursday approximately 100 miles east of Kill Devil Hills. Watchstanders at the Fifth Coast Guard District command center in Portsmouth, Virginia, received notification at approximately 8:30 p.m. Wednesday from the International Emergency Response Coordination Center, reporting they received a distress message from the sailboat Austina. The report stated the boat operator fell, injured his hip and was in need of medical assistance. Watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and directed the crew of the MCT Matterhorn to assist. The MCT Matterhorn is registered with the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System.

31 Dec 2013

Attention on Deck!

U.S. Coast Guard Safety Alert for Commercial Fishing Vessels. According to U. S. Bureau of Labor statistics, in 2012 commercial fishing was the second most dangerous occupation in the country, with over 117 fatalities per 100,000 workers.i This alert serves to remind commercial fishing vessel owners, operators, and crew members of the dangers associated with working around moving deck machinery, rigging, and equipment. A recent marine casualty resulting in the death of a crew member highlights the need to remain evervigilant to unsafe practices and conditions. In this instance, the crew member was standing in a hazardous location on the vessel’s working deck…

30 May 2013

USCG Releases Investigation Report on 2009 Parasailing Accident

The Coast Guard Thursday released the final report on the investigation of the parasailing accident involving the small passenger vessel Tied High off the coast of Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., in 2009. Several factors contributed to the deaths of two people killed August 28, 2009, while parasailing with the vessel, the report said. The investigation found the initiating event for this casualty was the failure of the winch to retrieve the passengers in flight during the storm and high winds that occurred that day. Weather in this case had a constant negative impact during this casualty, along with three primary causal factors involving human error on the part of the company owner and vessel master…

20 Apr 2012

Drug Smugglers Caribbean Semi-submersible Interdicted

The crews of the Coast Guard Cutter Decisive, Coast Guard Cutter Pea Island, Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S), and the Honduran Navy have interdicted a drug smuggling, self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) vessel in the Western Caribbean Sea. SPSS vessels are used regularly to transport illegal narcotics in the Eastern Pacific, and this interdiction is only the fifth Coast Guard interdiction of an SPSS in the Caribbean. Built in the jungles and remote areas of South America, the typical SPSS is less than 100 feet in length, with four or five crewmembers, and carries up to 10 metric tons of illicit cargo for distances up to 5,000 miles.

15 Sep 2008

New Maritime Strategy to be Presented in NC

Senior Officers from the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard will present the new Maritime Strategy "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower" -- to the Research Triangle Park Community at the on September 18. The Raleigh/Durham event is the next in a series of national "Conversations with the Country," that bring together a cross-section of American society to discuss the future roles of the sea services in protecting the homeland and working with global partners to prevent war. The ports offer the closest, most cost-efficient route to one of the fastest growing cargo markets in the . The new U.S. Maritime Strategy recognizes…

21 Jul 2004

New Coast Guard Station to be Unveiled

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled Thursday to celebrate the opening of the new Coast Guard Station Oak Island operations building. Crews from Coast Guard Station Oak Island, located in Caswell Beach, N.C., will be opening their doors to a new station after their original station burned down Feb. 1, 2002, for unknown reasons. In the mean time, crews have been conducting operations for more than two years in two doublewide trailers while a new, state-of-the-art facility was constructed on familiar station ground. Since the fire, Station Oak Island has grown larger with the addition of a new 25-foot homeland security response boat and 10 more crewmembers. Attending the ceremony will be Chief of Staff, U.S. Coast Guard, Vice Adm. Thad W.

16 Dec 2004

Coast Guard, NJ State Marine Police Form Partnership

Rear Adm. David Pekoske, Commander, First Coast Guard District, Rear Adm. Sally Brice O’Hara, Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District and New Jersey Acting Governor Richard J. Codey will formalize an important maritime security partnership at a signing ceremony to be held Liberty State Park at 2 p.m. Thursday. The partnership, known as a Memorandum of Agreement, allows Coast Guard law enforcement crews and New Jersey State Marine patrol officers to better work together to ensure the safety and security of New Jersey’s waters and waterfront facilities, including those in the ports of New York/New Jersey and Philadelphia/Camden. Under the terms of the agreement…

11 Jan 2005

USCG, NJ Police Enter Partnership

As the mandate to secure U.S. waterways continues to evolve, the U.S. Coast Guard and the New Jersey State Marine patrol forged an important partnership which highlights the necessity for cooperation among federal, state and local authorities. Rear Adm. David Pekoske, Commander, First Coast Guard District, Rear Adm. Sally Brice O'Hara, Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District and New Jersey Acting Governor Richard J. Codey formalizes the maritime security partnership last month. The partnership, known as a Memorandum of Agreement, allows Coast Guard law enforcement crews and New Jersey State Marine patrol officers to better work together.

11 Feb 2005

USCG, Virgina Police Enter Agreement

PORTSMOUTH, Va. – Rear Adm. Sally Brice O’Hara, Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District and the Commonwealth of Virginia Governor Mark Warner will formalize an important maritime security partnership at a signing ceremony to be held at 10 a.m. Monday at the Renaissance Hotel. The partnership, known as a Memorandum of Agreement, allows Coast Guard law enforcement crews and Virginia Marine Police officers to better work together to ensure the safety and security of Virginia’s waters and waterfront facilities, including those in the Port of Hampton Roads and the National Capitol Region. “We’re working across traditional agency boundaries to make America stronger in the maritime domain,” said Rear Adm. Brice O’Hara.

27 Jul 2005

USCG Admiral Testifies on Chem Facility Security

WASHINGTON - Coast Guard Director of Port Security, Rear Adm. Craig E. Bone, testified today on chemical facility security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “Considering the vast economic utility of our ports, waterways and coastal approaches, it is clear that a terrorist incident against a facility in our marine transportation system could have a disastrous impact on public safety, the environment, our nation’s economy, and international trade. Such an incident, if it were to occur in a strategic port, could also threaten our military mobilization capabilities. An incident at one of the 350 chemical…

29 Jul 2005

Coast Guard Admiral Testifies on Chemical Facility Security

Coast Guard Director of Port Security, Rear Adm. Craig E. Bone, testified today on chemical facility security before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. His written statement submitted for the record, follows. "Good morning Madam Chairperson and distinguished members of the Committee. It is a pleasure to be here today to discuss the U.S. Coast Guard’s role in securing the chemical facilities on the navigational waterways of the United States. The men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security remain committed to improving maritime homeland security each and every day through continued interagency cooperation and assistance from our partners at the local, state and international levels, as well as maritime industry stakeholders.

23 Sep 2005

Rear Admiral Hereth to Lead Rita Effort

President George W. Bush has declared under the Stafford Act that an emergency exists in the State of Texas and the State of Louisiana, and ordered federal aid to supplement State and local response and recovery efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Rita. That declaration effectively characterizes Hurricane Rita as an Incident of National Significance under the National Response Plan (NRP). In accordance with the guidance provided in the NRP, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has designated Rear Admiral Larry Hereth, U.S. Coast Guard, as Principal Federal Official (PFO) for incident management purposes during the response and recovery operations for Hurricane Rita in Texas.

19 Feb 2003

Fifth CG District Proposes RNA

The U.S. Coast Guard is proposing to establish a regulated navigation area (RNA) encompassing the entire Fifth Coast Guard District. The RNA is intended to provide for safety of life and property, help facilitate commerce, and impose restrictions on vessels operating within the RNA when ice is a threat to navigation. Comments on the proposal should be submitted by April 21, 2003.

15 Mar 2006

Coast Guard Members to be Awarded for Katrina Service

Eighty members from the Coast Guard air station here will receive awards Wednesday for their actions during the Hurricane Katrina rescue response. RADM Larry Hereth, commander of the Fifth Coast Guard District, will officiate the ceremony where pilots, rescue swimmers, flight mechanics and maintenance mechanics will be presented with Air Medals and other honors. The 80 members comprise about one-third of the air station's entire crew. The air station deployed two rescue helicopters with numerous crews to the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast, where they were active in the response that saw more than 33,500 people rescued by the Coast Guard. C-130 airplanes from the station also deployed, providing logistical support for rescue operations.

18 Oct 2007

Ship’s Chief Engineer Convicted in Vessel Pollution Case

Mark Humphries, the chief engineer of the M/V Tanabata, an American-flagged car-carrier ship based in Baltimore, was convicted by a jury on one count of conspiracy and two counts of making false statements, announced Ronald J. Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Rod J. Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. At trial, it was proven that the M/V Tanabata had a removable bypass pipe or “magic pipe” that was used to discharge oily waste without the use of an oily-water separator, a required pollution control devise. The discharges were, however, falsely recorded as having been processed through the separator in the ship’s oil record book, a required log regularly inspected by the U.S.