Former Coast Guard News

A South Korean court on Saturday issued arrest warrants for a former defense minister and a former coast guard chief over their alleged mishandling of the death of a state fishery ministry employee at the hands of North Korean troops two years ago.The decision by the Seoul Central District Court, which cited risks of them fleeing or destroying evidence, came days after the prosecutors on Tuesday filed for arrest warrants and follows an investigation by the government that showed…

Four more defendants have been sentenced for their roles in a test score-fixing scheme at a U.S. Coast Guard exam center, U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced.On December 8, Alonzo Williams, who plead guilty to being an intermediary in the scheme, was sentenced by the Honorable Barry W. Ashe to 40 months incarceration to be followed by three years of supervised release.Quang Tran, Harry Johson and James Carr, who each plead guilty to unlawfully receiving an officer-level mariner license…

Another eight current and former merchant mariners have been indicted in a a test score-fixing scheme at a U.S. Coast Guard exam center in Louisiana.The defendants are charged with obtaining, and intending to use, officer-level licenses that were procured through falsified exam scores. The fraudulent scores were for examinations designed to test the mariners’ knowledge and training to safely operate under the authority of those licenses.The allegations stem from an investigation…

In 2007, scholar Nassim Nicholas Taleb, who holds a doctorate from the University of Paris, wrote a bestselling book titled “Black Swan,” which proposed a theory involving unpredictable events with significant impact. Taleb believed that a black swan event was an outlier with significant impact and, once it occurs, is the source of deep reflection and rationalization. Since the book’s publication, a significant number of research efforts have been developed to consider possible black swan events that significantly impact the Maritime Transportation System (MTS) and the Maritime Global Commons.

The State University of New York Maritime College, in collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, National Academy of Sciences, academic institutions, industry partners, and federal, state and local agencies, will host the 10th Annual Maritime Risk Symposium (MRS 2019) Nov. 13-15, 2019, at New York Maritime College located in the Bronx, New York.MRS 2019 will bring together academics, government and commercial entities to discuss the threats, challenges and risks associated with the Marine Transportation System with a focus on current and future marine transportation challenges and threats.

Legislation to reform the U.S. domestic marine recycling industry, the Ships to Be Recycled in the States (STORIS) Act, was introduced today by U.S. Senators David Vitter (R-La.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.). Congressman Garret Graves (R-La.) will introduce the companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation aims to improve the domestic ship recycling industry and promote transparency by requiring reports from Maritime Administration (MARAD) and an audit by the Government Accountability Office. “The Maritime Administration receives millions of dollars in federal funding, but they’ve never reported how the sales money is spent or how the agency awards contracts,” Vitter said.

At the July 23, 2014, hearing of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation on “Implementing U.S. Policy in the Arctic” the committee chairman, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), opened the proceedings by holding up a graphic of the icebreaker fleets of the world—which depicts nearly 40 Russian icebreakers—and then commented on the “dismal state” of the U.S. icebreaker situation. The hearing background paper noted that the United States presently has only two working polar class icebreakers…

Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit (MSU) Savannah informs it has held a change of command ceremony to formally recognize transfer of command of the unit from Cmdr. Joseph Loring to Cmdr. Amy Beach. Cmdr. Loring served as commander of MSU Savannah for the past three years and is departing to continue his service at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Loring said Savannah has an excellent and strong maritime community and provides unparalleled military support, and the MSU does great work so it is hard for him to leave. “I’ve had a great tour,” he added. Cmdr. Amy Beach  who previously served as chief of the prevention department at Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound in New Haven…

'BNS Somudra Joy' (formerly the Coast Guard Cutter 'Jarvis'), sailed recently from Alameda, marking a major milestone in international cooperation between the United States and Bangladesh. Joined by a small Coast Guard team of advisors, headed by Cmdr. Wendy Tomko, the Bangladeshi crew will make port calls at San Diego, Honolulu, Guam and Malaysia on their way to Bangladesh. This concludes a two-year-long process of identifying the cutter for decommissioning, advising foreign allies of its availability…

The U.S. Coast Guard & U.S. Attorney Office announce sentencing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Former Coast Guard man Shane Coxon, 24, was sentenced for knowingly making a false distress call to the Coast Guard in July 2010, and was sentenced to time-served of approximately three and a half months imprisonment to be followed by two years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay the U.S. Coast Guard more than $4,500 in restitution. Prior to the incident, Coxon was a petty officer second class in the Coast Guard, stationed at Sector Northern New England. On July 18, 2010, Coxon called the Coast Guard Sector Northern New England Command Center, provided a false name and reported a flare sighting off the coast of Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced the 2012 Coast Guard Foundation Award for Heroism will be presented to Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, for its rescue of eleven people in January 2012, at the 32nd Annual Salute to the United States Coast Guard event on Thursday, October 11, 2012 in New York City. On January 24, 2012, Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak was called into action to assist mariners of the 58-foot fishing vessel, Kimberly, in distress in treacherous weather conditions on Portage Bay. The boat reported being grounded in ice and hypothermic conditions as the results of category 3 hurricane level winds, 20-foot seas and heavy snow.

The U.S. Coast Guard will transfer a decommissioned 378-foot High Endurance Cutter to the Philippines at 1 p.m. May 22 at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Pier Papa in North Charleston, S.C. The former Coast Guard Cutter Dallas will be transferred in a ceremony presided over by Rear Adm. John Korn, assistant commandant for Acquisition. “Since 1967, Coast Guard Cutter Dallas has served the American people well, from Vietnam and the Pacific to its final Coast Guard patrol in the Mediterranean, where the crew interdicted 4,000 pounds of cocaine and 940 pounds of marijuana,” said Korn.

The Obama administration’s failure to budget $1.6 billion for two of the Coast Guard’s flagship vessels is drawing criticism from U.S. lawmakers, who contend that the service’s missions will be threatened. The Department of Homeland Security’s proposal for the fiscal year, beginning October1, requests $683 million to fund only the sixth of eight planned National Security Cutters, made by Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. The agency, which oversees the Coast Guard, didn’t seek funding for the remaining two cutters for fiscal years 2014 to 2017. The 418-foot-long cutters are needed to replace an aging fleet of vessels, many of which are more than 40 years old and expensive to maintain, according to the service.

Ridge Global Launches New Maritime Consulting Team - Flag Bridge; Top-tier Maritime Experts to Address Challenges in Global Maritime Risk and Sovereignty Management. Ridge Global, an international provider of security and risk management services, today announced the launch of Flag Bridge™, a new service focused on maritime risk and sovereignty management. The Flag Bridge team includes an elite cadre of former U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) admirals and distinguished maritime professionals…

Gloria Bennis, wife of the late Coast Guard Admiral Richard E. Bennis, USCG Captain Craig Bone and NY Waterway President Arthur E. Imperatore, Jr., christen The Admiral Richard E. Bennis, NY Waterway’s newest high-speed ferry, tomorrow at the Coast Guard Building next to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. After the traditional champagne christening, Mrs. Bennis will take the helm of the new ferry for a 10-minute cruise past the Statue of Liberty, returning to the American Park Restaurant for a short speaking program and lunch. Admiral Bennis, the former Coast Guard Captain of the Port of New York/New Jersey, directed the largest waterborne evacuation in history on September 11, 2001. The ferry also pays tribute to all the men and women of the Coast Guard.

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Chairman of Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, convened the Subcommittee to examine the Coast Guard's administrative law system. "Today, the Subcommittee received testimony regarding the Coast Guard's administrative law system from two former Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) suggesting that during their tenure, they worked in an atmosphere that did not support their exercise of judicial independence in the consideration of cases. "Additionally, serious allegations were raised that, if true, would imply that patently improper actions may have been committed to direct an ALJ to decide matters in the Coast Guard's favor. The Subcommittee received testimony from Mr. Peter A. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Rosemary Denson, and Ms.

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, released the following statement today following the death of former Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Owen J. "Today, I join the Coast Guard in mourning the loss of one of its most influential and respected leaders, former Commandant Admiral Owen J. Siler. Through his relentless dedication, Admiral Siler changed the face of the Coast Guard from one of a search and rescue mission to the modern, multi-mission organization that it is today. "It is with great respect that I commend the Admiral's pivotal efforts to expand the membership of the Coast Guard through the institution of a minority recruitment program and the expansion of opportunities for women.

The U.S. Coast Guard today announced the death of Adm. J. William Kime, 72, Coast Guard commandant from 1990 to 1994, who succumbed to cancer earlier this morning. "This is a very sad day for the Coast Guard," said Adm. Thad Allen, commandant of the Coast Guard. "The Coast Guard lost a close member of our family, and America has lost a great leader. In the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Adm. Kime pioneered how the Coast Guard now prevents and responds to oil and hazardous chemical spills, significantly minimizing the environmental damage caused by such spills. "Our heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Valerie, their children, and the entire Kime family during this very difficult time," Allen said.

Several topics and speakers have been added to the 1999 EPA Region III Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Conference maritime track. The conference will be held September 20-23 at the Hilton Washington & Towers, Washington, D.C. Coordinating federal, state, and private sector participation in emergency planning and response can be an overwhelming task. Despite this, Tom Rayburn of the Great Lakes Spill Commission has achieved this feat.! Rayburn will be discussing some of the innovative approaches to environmental and economic protection from potential spill impacts achieved by the Great Lakes partnership. Doug Dillon of the Delaware River and Bay Marine Fire Fighting Task Force and a former Coast Guard Officer…

The Huron Explorer, a 41-ft. former Coast Guard vessel now serving on the Great Lakes is the first modern U.S. research vessel to operate free of petroleum products. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) small research vessel is now powered by soybeans. The Huron Explorer, a 41-ft. former Coast Guard vessel now serving on the Great Lakes, is the first U.S. research vessel to operate free of petroleum products. The vessel was given an award by the Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program during an Earth Day Week event on the shores of Lake Michigan. "NOAA has a commitment to stewardship of the environment, and this research vessel, the R/V Huron Explorer, demonstrates that commitment in very practical ways.