Joint Search News

A fire that broke out Thursday aboard the cargo ship Ken off the Philippines has been extinguished, the Philippine Coast Guard said.The vessel, owned by Pherwin Shipping Corp., reportedly caught fire near Castilla Anchorage Area in Sorsogon at around 11 a.m. local time.The Coast Guard said it coordinated with the Philippine Navy and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) for joint search and rescue and firefighting operations.According to the eight crewmembers on board, the fire started in the vessel's mess hall. No injuries were reported.

Search and rescue teams are looking for a person still missing after hundreds were rescued from a passenger ferry that caught fire in Indonesia's Molucca Sea, local officials said on Sunday.Passenger ferry KM Karya Indah was travelling in a remote part of the Indonesian archipelago, from Ternate in the province of North Maluku towards Sanana on the island of Sulabes, when the fire broke out early on Saturday morning.Dramatic footage from Indonesia’s search and rescue agency showed…

Fourteen people believed to have traveled from Venezuela to Trinidad and Tobago were found dead in waters near the South American nation's coast, Venezuelan authorities said on Sunday, hours after Trinidad and Tobago confirmed the first bodies being found.At least 40,000 Venezuelans live in Trinidad and Tobago, the majority fleeing their country's economic crisis, unemployment, and lack of basic public services, often traveling in small rickety boats above their capacity, with limited supplies of fuel and food.Last year…

The Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) teamed up with Coast Guard Cutter Campbell’s crew this summer to evaluate five technologies as part of the RDC’s annual Arctic Technology Evaluation. The Campbell crew conducted the evaluations during their two-month deployment supporting joint Arctic operations off Greenland’s western coast, returning to their Kittery, Maine, homeport on Sept. 29, 2020.“Testing various technologies by cutter crews for operation in cold and Arctic environments provides highlights on what works and what may need improvement…

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Washington Island (WPB 1331), a 110-foot Island Class patrol boat, was decommissioned after nearly 30 years of service as part of recapitalization efforts during a ceremony at Naval Base Guam, Wednesday.Rear Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, commander, Coast Guard 14th District presided over the ceremony. Washington's years of service included numerous law enforcement cases, safety and security enforcement patrols, dignitary and Naval security operations, and a…

Container shipper Maersk Line has signed an agreement of intent with global aluminum producer RUSAL to cooperate within cargo transportation for the long term. Under the agreement, RUSAL and Maersk Line will cooperate with regards to transport of RUSAL’s products, particularly aluminum and alloys. The estimated cargo volume of the agreement may reach 10,000 containers (TEU) per year. The agreement is valid for three years and includes options for further extension. “The signing of this agreement is a confirmation of the mutual intentions to build a long-term strategic partnership between RUSAL and Maersk Line. The aim of the agreement is the joint search for the most optimal logistic solutions aimed at optimizing costs for both parties,” said Vladislav Soloviev, RUSAL CEO.

The surge of piracy in South-East Asia waters continues as ships passing the Straits of Malacca and Singapore are falling victim to acts of piracy, says Clyde & Co. Whilst Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia operate anti-piracy patrols in the area, it has limited resources. The sheltered coast and islands also makes it easier for robbers to operate. As piracy rampages on, Indonesia and Malaysia has taken efforts to jointly increase security. By far, the most significant incident suggests activities going beyond the usual act of armed robbery or theft on board ship. On 11 June 2015, eight men armed with pistols and machetes boarded the Orkim Harmony a Malaysian registered tanker whilst it was nearing the end of her voyage.

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) conducted a port visit and naval exercise with the People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) in Zhanjiang, China during the period 31 October to 2 November. The port visit by HMA Ships Stuart and Arunta to Zhanjiang included a combined planning session for the exercise, official functions with local dignitaries, sporting activities, discussions on the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, and other mariner skills training. The visit concluded today (2 November) with a combined exercise involving joint search and rescue training, tactical evolutions, communications drills, and a live fire activity. Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Tim Barrett…

The crew of Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City is hosting an international joint search-and-rescue exercise with members of the Royal Canadian Air Force beginning Tuesday in and around the Traverse City area. The Royal Canadian Air Force's 424th Transport and Rescue Squadron based at CFB Trenton, Ontario, will be flying a CC-130 Hercules aircraft and a CH-146 Griffon helicopter during the search-and-rescue exercises taking place from October 13 to October 15th. U.S. Coast Guard units participating include MH-65D Dolphin helicopters from Air Station Traverse City and vessels from Coast Guard Stations Charlevoix, Michigan, and Manistee, Michigan. Training operations will start Tuesday when Canadian and U.S. Coast Guard rescue crews will begin classroom and ground-rescue briefings.

Taiwan's coastguard wants to improve cooperation with the Philippines and conduct joint search and rescue exercises despite tense standoffs in disputed waters in recent months, a senior coastguard official said on Thursday. The two sides have agreed to work toward joint exercises and have already held discussions on how to conduct rescue operations, Cheng Chang-hsiung, deputy minister of Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration, told Reuters in an interview. "Now we are moving toward exercises. This is the direction of our efforts. Both sides are making the effort," Cheng said. In late May and early June, Philippine and Taiwan coastguard ships faced off in disputed waters south of Taiwan to protect their fishing vessels and try to assert territorial rights.

A new sea rescue operation is to be launched in May to try to reduce the number of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers killed making the treacherous crossing from Africa to Europe, medical charity Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) and Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) said on Thursday. Last year was the deadliest on record when more than 3,400 people died trying to cross the Mediterranean, MSF said. This year, the death toll is expected to be even higher, MSF added. There is less help available for boats in distress since the Italian navy's search and rescue operation, Mare Nostrum, closed down in November last year because of a lack of funds.

Both sides of the Taiwan Strait carried out joint marine search and rescue on August 7. It is the third large-scale cross-strait joint search-and-rescue drill since the direct shipping links between the two sides of the Strait was officially launched in 2008. The drill was jointly-held by China Maritime Search and Rescue Center (CMSRC), Chinese Rescue Association, Fuzhou Municipal government, Matsu Lienchiang county government and the relevant search and rescue departments from both sides of the Strait. The theme of the drill is “launch joint maritime emergency response and build peace Strait”. This drill focused on mass evacuation after marine incident, which included 8 sectors such as organizing and presenting rescue force and so on.

The Coast Guard and Alaska State Troopers rescued a 25-year-old female ATV rider near Kodiak Wednesday. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak found the woman in the vicinity of Saltery Cove approximately 23 miles south of Kodiak after she was separated from the group she was riding with and became lost for seven hours. Coast Guard watchstanders at the 17th District command center in Juneau ordered the launch of the MH-60 helicopter crew after receiving a request for support from Alaska State Troopers who were searching for the woman. The helicopter crew located the woman after finding her abandoned ATV and landed in a clearing before taking her safely aboard.

Chinese Maritime Safety Administration ship 'Haixun 31' to be hosted by US 14th Coast Guard District in Honolulu Harbor. The Haixun 31 will be escorted into Aloha Tower is to be met 4, September 2012,  by a parade of ships that will include the Coast Guard Cutter Galveston Island and the Honolulu Fire Department fireboat Moku Ahi. The Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Safety Administration are scheduled to conduct a joint search and rescue table top exercise and on water exercise in Honolulu.

Russia and Norway signed an accord on Friday committing them immediately to alert their neighbor of any sea accidents such as the underwater explosion that sank a Russian submarine last month. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and his Norwegian counterpart Jens Stoltenberg signed a memorandum in Oslo, which also included a plan to start joint search and rescue exercises. "We agree that we will expand, tighten and strengthen the duty to give the alert about accidents at sea," Stoltenberg was reported as saying at a joint news conference in Oslo after meetings with Kasyanov. Norwegian divers helped Russia in its rescue work after the Kursk submarine sank in the Arctic Barents Sea about 150 miles from NATO-member Norway, killing all 118 onboard.

After searching more than 1,700 square miles, the Coast Guard suspended its search for three individuals from the fishing vessel Big Valley late Monday night. The Big Valley sank Saturday morning casting the six crewmen into the frigid Bering Sea 70 miles west of St. Paul Island. The joint search operation included searches by the Alaska State Trooper (AST) vessel Stimson, Good Samaritans, a Coast Guard C-130 airplane crew, the Coast Guard cutter Sherman with an embarked Dolphin helicopter and a Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crew. Searchers aboard the Jayhawk aircraft recovered Cache Seel, a Kodiak resident, the only survivor of the incident the same morning. They also recovered a deceased crewman later in the day. The AST vessel Stimson's crew recovered one additional deceased crewman.