USCG Arctic Satellites aim to Add Margin of Safety
The U.S. Coast Guard’s mission of keeping the seas safe will soon get an additional boost from space with two polar satellites. The two satellites, called “cube satellites” or “cubesats” for their small size of about 60 square centimeters, or a little under 2 feet, will be part of a payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California Nov. 28. Although the Coast Guard has used satellite technology for years, these two are the first to be entirely dedicated to a Coast Guard mission. The initiative is part of the U.S.
Report: FBI, Coast Guard Clashed During Terrorism Drill
During the largest terrorism drill in U.S. history last year, the FBI and U.S. Coast Guard got into a tussle off the shores of Connecticut, fighting over how each agency's tactical assault team would be involved in the boarding of a hijacked ferry, the Hartford Courant reported. The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General released a report on April 3 that detailed the disagreement between agencies during the massive TOPOFF exercise, much of which was run in and around New London. That portion of the report concluded, "In our judgment, unless such differences over roles and authorities are resolved, the response to a maritime incident could be confused and potentially disastrous." It was a year ago that dozens of agencies - federal…
Pirate Attacks at its Lowest Since 1999
According to the Hartford Courant, pirate attacks on ships fell last year to their lowest since 1999 as incidents declined off Indonesia, the world's most dangerous area for piracy. Attacks off Somalia and Iraq surged. Attacks dropped 16 percent, to 276. About 440 crewmembers were taken hostage last year, the highest since data has been compiled in 1992. Indonesia, whose oil-rich Aceh province has been struck by a separatist rebellion, accounted for almost a third of the attacks, with 79 incidents last year, down from 94. The government and a separatist rebel movement known as GAM signed a peace accord in August in their third attempt in four years to end a conflict that has killed more than 12,000 people in the southeastern Asian nation since 1976.
