Gulf Strike News

A private dive team will try to locate the source of a suspected oil spill spotted in the Bay Marchand area of the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, after Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc in the region this week, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Saturday.U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite images, first reported by the Associated Press on Wednesday, showed a miles-long brownish-black slick spreading in coastal waters about two miles off Port Fourchon, Louisiana, an oil…

On December 22, 2018, a continuing resolution passed by Congress to fund a portion of the U.S. Government into the 2019 fiscal year expired and was not renewed resulting in a partial federal government shutdown. Among the affected Executive Departments are the Department of Homeland Security (which includes the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection), the Department of Transportation (which includes the Maritime Administration), the Department of Interior (which includes the Bureau of Environment and Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM))…

Responders continued to monitor and prepare salvage, firefighting and pollution contingencies for a tug and barge that allided with a pipeline near Bayou Perot 30 miles south of New Orleans Wednesday. All crew members were able to exit the tug; the captain reportedly suffered second to third-degree degree burns. ES & H, the oil spill response organization, is on scene and has mobilized 7,218 feet of containment boom and 6,000 feet of 18-inch containment boom, one cabin boat, five responder class boats, one Marco skimmer and two 24-foot express hull vessels in response to the incident.

The Coast Guard escorted the disabled Carnival Triumph to the Alabama Cruise Ship Terminal in Mobile Thursday evening. The tug vessel Roland Falgout and four assist tugs towed the Triumph to the Alabama Cruise Terminal following more than a 100-hour voyage from Cozumel, Mexico to Mobile. Resources used to assist the Triumph: The 210-foot Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous and crew, homeported in Cape May, N.J.; Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile MH-60T crew; The 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Stingray crew; Three Coast Guard Station Dauphin Island 45-foot Response Boat — Medium crews; One Coast Guard Station Pascagoula boatcrew; Coast Guard Gulf Strike Team. The Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous arrived on scene Sunday night and safely medevaced one passenger to the Carnival Legend.

US Coast Guard's unified command is dealing with a crude oil spill from a damaged barge in Vicksburg, Miss. The barge had earlier been damaged through contact with a bridge support while in tow, and the Mississippi River remains closed to all traffic for a 16-mile distance between mile marker 425 and mile marker 441 near Vicksburg. Currently there are 21 northbound and 34 southbound vessels affected due to the river closure. A lightering and salvage plan has been approved by the unified command and multiple response crews have been dispatched to begin removing oil from the barge.

The unified command continues to respond to a crude oil spill in the lower Mississippi River near mile marker 434 in Vicksburg, Miss., Monday. Tank soundings indicated that the barge is still leaking product into the waterway. Containment boom has been deployed around the area at the leak and skimmers are being used to recover product. Personnel from Sector Lower Mississippi River, Marine Safety Detachment Vicksburg and the Coast Guard Gulf Strike Team from Mobile, Ala., are on scene and continue to assess the size of the spill and oversee cleanup operation. The tank levels are being constantly monitored for further leakage. The leaking tank contained approximately 80,000 gallons of light crude oil.

1909-  Stations Holly Beach, and Hereford Inlet, New Jersey: the schooner C.B. parted its chain while weighing anchor. She set a distress signal which was discovered by the lookouts at both stations. The surfboats proceeded to the scene and surfmen swept for the chain and assisted in securing it on board. 1943- USS Ingham, CG, rescued all hands from the torpedoed SS Matthew Luckenbach. 1967-The 378-foot high endurance cutter Hamilton, first in her class, was commissioned. This was the first class of major vessels in the U.S. government's inventory that were powered by jet turbines. 1991- CGC Cape Hatteras (WPB 95305) was decommissioned on 18 March 1991. She was the last 95-foot patrol boat in the Coast Guard. She was then transferred to Mexico.

1968- Seifu Maru, a Japanese refrigerator vessel, reported a fire and requested clearance to enter Dutch Harbor, Alaska to combat it. They also reported that two crewmembers had been overcome by smoke and requested their evacuation for hospital treatment. Clearance was granted and CGC Citrus was ordered to proceed and assist in fighting the fire. The burning ship arrived in Dutch Harbor on Jan 24 and advised that the fire was raging between the decks. Fire fighting parties from Citrus began assisting the crew of the Japanese vessel. USCG aircraft evacuated three patients from Seifu Maru to Kodiak for hospitalization. The fire assistance rendered by Citrus in a four-day operation saved the Japanese vessel.

1846-USRC McLane ran aground while attempting to cross the bar of the River Alvarado during the Mexican War. 2001- On October 15, 2001, President George W. Bush announced that a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle had anthrax in it. This followed a number of other anthrax attacks in Florida and New York. The EPA requested Coast Guard assistance. Members of the Atlantic Strike Team deployed to Washington, D.C., while Gulf Strike Team members were deployed to Florida. Strike team members conducted entries into the affected areas, collected samples, and assisted in the cleanup of those areas. The AST members in Washington coordinated entries into the U.S. Capitol, Hart Senate Building, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Government Printing Office, among others.

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating an allision between a towing vessel and a wellhead in the Barataria Waterway at approximately 1 a.m., July 27. The tug vessel Pere Ana C, pushing the dredge barge Captain Buford Berry, allided with the wellhead while it transited the Barataria Waterway. The wellhead is currently emanating oil and natural gas into Barataria Bay. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans issued a Broadcast Notice to Mariners that a report of oil release was detected. An…

1909-  Stations Holly Beach, and Hereford Inlet, New Jersey: the schooner C.B. parted its chain while weighing anchor. She set a distress signal which was discovered by the lookouts at both stations. The surfboats proceeded to the scene and surfmen swept for the chain and assisted in securing it on board. 1943- USS Ingham, CG, rescued all hands from the torpedoed SS Matthew Luckenbach. 1967-The 378-foot high endurance cutter Hamilton, first in her class, was commissioned. This was the first class of major vessels in the U.S. government's inventory that were powered by jet turbines. 1991- CGC Cape Hatteras (WPB 95305) was decommissioned on 18 March 1991. She was the last 95-foot patrol boat in the Coast Guard. She was then transferred to Mexico.

1846-USRC McLane ran aground while attempting to cross the bar of the River Alvarado during the Mexican War. 2001- On October 15, 2001, President George W. Bush announced that a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle had anthrax in it. This followed a number of other anthrax attacks in Florida and New York. The EPA requested Coast Guard assistance. Members of the Atlantic Strike Team deployed to Washington, D.C., while Gulf Strike Team members were deployed to Florida. Strike team members conducted entries into the affected areas, collected samples, and assisted in the cleanup of those areas. The AST members in Washington coordinated entries into the U.S. Capitol, Hart Senate Building, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Government Printing Office, among others.

Seventy Coast Guard Strike Team members from the National Strike Force deployed to the World Trade Towers incident, Washington D.C., and Boca Raton, Fla., to assist other agencies with response as a result of terrorist attacks. The Coast Guard Strike Force, specialists in emergency and chemical response, were requested by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assist with air monitoring, contractor oversight and operating washing stations in New York at Ground Zero and the Staten Island Landfill evidence collection site. In Washington, Strike Force members are dressed in Level B response gear to help gather samples at the Capitol Building and the Hart Senate Office Building. Additionally, they are providing contractor oversight and are operating washing sites on scene.

City Harbor at about 6 p.m. Monday. barge. Chemical dock 2 Monday evening. Martin Product Sales LLC is continuing to work closely with the U.S. incident. level of the surrounding waters. safety zone in the immediate area. recreational and fishing boats. There are no injuries reported. of this accident.

The lower section of the Neches River from just north of DuPont plant to the Veteran’s Bridge remains closed as the oil spill clean up continues. "The safety of our responders, and the restoration and opening of the Neches River as quickly as possible are our main goals," said Capt. Sharon Richey, Commanding Officer of Marine Safety Officer Port Arthur and Captain of the Port. "We have more than 175 responders now on scene working to clean the river. The recovered oil is being taken to a holding tank at the local UNOCAL facility, where it will be recycled. The oiled snare boom and adsorbent pads are being stored in roll-off boxes to be disposed of later. Initial clean up costs are estimated to be $700,000. The costs will rise as clean up continues.

Vice Adm. James Hull, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Commander will present Mark Merchant the Meritorious Public Service Award on Monday, August 5, 2002. Merchant is recognized for his meritorious contributions to the Coast Guard following the attack on the World Trade Center and the Coast Guard Gulf Strike Team’s Anthrax response in Boca Raton, Fla. Merchant volunteered to assist the Coast Guard Information Office on-scene in New York when the Coast Guard’s port security response had piqued the media’s interest, making it the primary news story published and broadcast around the world. Merchant’s “real world” experience as a former…

A Unified Command compromised of federal, state and vessel owner’s representatives are overseeing response operations to the grounding of the 600 foot bulk freight ship Federal Pescadores which was attempting to anchor outside Port Everglades, Fla. The Panamanian-flagged vessel was carrying cement, also has approximately 588 tons of bunker oil and 105 tons of diesel fuel onboard. Titan Maritime, LLC and its subcontractor Resolve Marine Group will focus on refloating the M/V Federal Pescadores at high tide, Sunday afternoon. Commercial salvage engineers began removing fuel oil from the vessel’s double bottom fuel tanks at approximately 11:40 a.m. today to mitigate any pollution risks prior to refloating the vessel. The fuel oil is being transferred to MSRC Barge 452.

-- ASA will work to help the U.S. Coast Guard review its current list of Salvage, Firefighting and Lightering contractors that provide service in response to the requirements of OPA-90. In the ASA’s view, the current list is out of date and does not present a realistic picture of U.S. salvage capabilities. -- ASA’s Salvage Training Program will continue, with the next class scheduled for the U.S. Coast Guard Gulf Strike Team at its facility in Mobile, AL during December 2004. -- ASA Associate Members will have the opportunity to join ASA Committees and attend ad-hoc meetings. Mr. Ken Edgar (Marine Response Consultants) and Capt. Jack Ringleberg (JMS Naval Architects & Salvage Engineers) were approved to act as Chair and Vice Chair of the Associate Membership Committee, respectively.

One member from the Gulf Strike Team and one member from the Atlantic Strike Team deployed today to assist the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at a contaminated facility in Weogufka, Ala. The strike team members will assist as Federal On-Scene Coordinator Representatives, conduct site safety, monitor contractors, provide photo documentation and cost documentation for lead contaminated soil removal work at Performance Advantage Facility, Inc.

The U. S. Coast Guard continues to coordinate the response to the grounding of the 645-ft. cargo ship Clipper Lasco just west of the designated anchorage area off Fort Lauderdale Beach, Fla. The vessel remains aground this evening as members of the unified command work to ensure that planned salvage operations do not cause further disruption to the ocean floor, are conducted as safely as possible, provide adequate resources for any contingencies that could arise and mitigate the risk of damaging the ship. Divers from Resolve Marine Group, the salvor contracted by representatives for the Clipper Lasco, surveyed the ship's hull and the ocean bottom. The survey revealed that the vessel did impact the reef and some coral.

Commemoration of the Sept. We pause at this time to recognize the sacrifice of the victims of the Sept. 11th attacks. Our deepest sympathy goes out to their families, loved ones, and to the survivors. We appreciate the public’s support, understanding and assistance as the Coast Guard works to keep the nation’s ports and waterways safe and secure. We have made changes, refocused our efforts, and developed new tools and policies, but we already had many of the skills, authorities, systems and response plans and brave, dedicated men and women to immediately raise the level of security to protect the American people. As America’s premier multi-mission, military, maritime agency, Homeland Security and Search and Rescue are, and have been, our top priorities.

Eleven members of the Coast Guard National Strike Force are scheduled to return to the United States this week, after deploying to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The 11 members are assigned to the Pacific Strike Team in Novato, Calif.; the Atlantic Strike Team in Ft. Dix, N.J.; the Gulf Strike Team in Mobile, Ala.; and the National Strike Force Coordination Center in Elizabeth City, N.C. Strike Team Members are trained to respond to oil spills and hazardous chemical releases. At the height of Operation Enduring Freedom, twelve members were deployed. During deployment to the Persian Gulf, they utilized their…