Kodiak News

The US Coast Guard is continuing to assess a fire reported on the 410-foot general cargo vessel Genius Star XI off Dutch Harbor, Alaska.The vessel is carrying lithium-ion batteries, and the fire started on Christmas Day in cargo hold No. 1. The crew released carbon dioxide into the hold and sealed it over concerns of an explosion.The Coast Guard then diverted the vessel to Dutch Harbor while an HC-130 airplane from Air Station Kodiak and Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley (WMEC-39) were dispatched to assist.The Coast Guard confirmed there are no injuries to the 19 crewmembers.

During a seven-week Arctic transit aboard the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker USCGC Healy (WAGB 20), researchers from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) will study the impact of the extreme environment on crew performance and potential mitigations, as well as advanced Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies in adverse sea conditions.The studies, which commenced with Healy’s departure from Kodiak, Alaska on Aug. 26, will be led by principal investigator Dr. Nita Shattuck, a professor in the NPS Operations Research (OR) department.

A captain’s decision to navigate close to shore in an area with uncharted rocks led to the grounding and capsizing of a fishing vessel in Alaska last year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said.The Challenger struck a submerged rock while fishing for salmon along the shore of Kodiak Island, Alaska on August 7, 2022. The vessel began taking on more water than the onboard pumps could handle. The captain and three crewmembers abandoned ship and were rescued by a nearby Good Samaritan fishing vessel, and the vessel capsized soon after.

A 77-year-old fish factory vessel with a checkered history is reportedly leaking ammonia in Tacoma, Wash.The U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday it is responding to the incident on board the U.S.-registered Pacific Producer, a 169-foot-long seafood processing vessel with a long string of health, safety and labor violations.Coast Guard and Washington Department of Ecology crews in HAZMAT suits are currently working to locate leak. The vessel poses no immediate threat to the public…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Wednesday announced $20.8 million in grant awards to 27 small shipyards in 20 states through the Small Shipyard Grant Program. The funds will help shipyards modernize, increase productivity, and expand local job opportunities while competing in the global marketplace.“Small shipyards strengthen America’s commercial fleet, bolster our economic security, and generate good jobs,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “We are proud to support these shipyards reinforce their vital role in the U.S.

A commercial fishing vessel that caught fire while moored in Tacoma, Wash. this weekend is now listing heavily to port as responders continue to battle the dayslong blaze.Fire broke out on board the factory trawler Kodiak Enterprise early Saturday morning, progressing throughout the ship while moored at Trident Seafoods in the Hylebos Waterway, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.Most of the fire has subsided and smoke conditions have improved significantly due to firefighting efforts…

A shelter in place order has been lifted as a large fishing vessel fire begins to die down in Tacoma, Wash.Fire broke out on board the factory trawler Kodiak Enterprise early Saturday morning, progressing throughout the ship while moored at Trident Seafoods in the Hylebos Waterway, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.The City of Tacoma Fire Department is issuing a temporary shelter in place order for Northeast Tacoma, Browns Point and Dash Point neighborhoods as flames inched closer toward the vessel’s freon tanks, which could see pressure build from the fire's heat.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley returned to homeport at Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Alaska, on Thursday, following an extended seven-month dry dock maintenance period in Seattle.While in dry dock, the crew and contractors successfully completed more than $6 million worth of repairs.The engineering department oversaw 76 work items including major overhauls on the cutter’s controllable pitch propeller system, speed reducers, rudders, and boilers, along with inspections of fuel, sewage, and water tanks.

An injured mariner was medevaced from a vessel 220 miles south of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Watchstanders at the Coast Guard 17th District command center, in Juneau, received the initial request for the medevac on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. from the crew of the Liberia-registered FPMC 33 after a crewmember on board had reportedly broken his legs.The watchstanders requested the tanker meet a Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak aircrew, forward-deployed to Cold Bay, at a rendezvous point approximately 220 miles south of Dutch Harbor to safely embark the patient.

New Year’s Eve is a time of celebration and remembrance. Three years ago, on December 31, 2019, as the new year was being rung in across the lower 48 states, a tragedy was playing out in icy Alaskan waters. The fishing vessel Scandies Rose, with seven crew members aboard, encountered severe icing conditions and high winds and waves as it transited from Kodiak to fishing grounds in the Bering Sea. The crabber tried to make it to Sutwik Island to shelter from the storm; however…

An injured crewmember was airlifted Tuesday from a Hong Kong- flagged bulk carrier in the north Pacific Ocean, approximately 230 nautical miles southwest of Dutch Harbor, Alaska.Watchstanders from the 17th Coast Guard District received a report from the Xin Li Hia crew at approximately 5:20 p.m. Sunday requesting a medevac of a crewmember who was suffering from severe abdominal pain. The ship was approximately 800 nautical miles southwest of Dutch Harbor at the time of the report. The Xin Li Hia crew was advised to transit towards Dutch Harbor until they were in-range of the helicopter crew for the medevac.Watchstanders diverted Coast Guard Cutter Kimball to the scene…

Eastern Shipbuilding Group hosted the keel laying ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard’s future Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC), USCGC Ingham (WMSM-917), the third vessel in the new Heritage Class built at the Nelson Street facility. The presiding official for the U.S. Coast Guard was Rear Admiral Chad L. Jacoby, Director of Acquisition Programs & Program Executive Officer (CG-93). Congressman Neal Dunn (FL – 2nd District) was the senior official in attendance."Today marks another pivotal…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) today announced the immediate designation of four new Marine Highway Projects as part of the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP). Projects in North Carolina, Alaska, and Puerto Rico will receive these designations. They can now apply for record levels of funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help address supply chain challenges.A Marine Highway Project is a planned service, or expansion of an existing service, on a designated Marine Highway Route.

An ailing mariner was medevaced from a bulk carrier near Cold Bay, Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard said.At approximately 1 p.m. on Wednesday, the 17th District Command Center watchstanders received a call from the Alaska Maritime Agency in Dutch Harbor reporting the 42-year-old crew member was suffering from a possible stroke aboard the bulk carrier Restinga, 140 miles south of Dutch Harbor.At 2:01 p.m., an aircrew aboard a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft launched from Air Station Kodiak to respond to the incident. At 2:54 p.m., a Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew, forward-deployed to Cold Bay, also launched to respond, while the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel made its way closer to Cold Bay.Both Coast Guard assets arrived on scene at approximately 4:30 p.m.

Kodiak is now home to the Pacific Rim Response Center (PRRC), a facility that serves as a hub for a comprehensive suite of maritime resources providing vessel support, marine casualty response, and oil and hazardous spill response. The PRRC was established as a collaboration between Paradigm Marine and strategic partners Alaska Chadux̂ Network (Chadux̂) and Global Diving & Salvage (Global), providing one consolidated location for a range of resources to serve the Western Alaska maritime industry.With personnel and assets staged in Kodiak…

A U.S. Coast Guard said it medevaced a woman from a containership off the Washington coast Saturday after she was having difficulty breathing and experiencing temporary unconsciousness.Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound command center received a call at 11:30 a.m. from the ship’s health insurance provider stating the 65-year-old woman required medical attention.At the time, the 710-foot container ship, Matson Kodiak, was transiting westbound in the Strait of Juan…

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Saturday it was responding to a report of a discharge of hydraulic oil from Coast Guard Cutter SPAR in Womens Bay, Kodiak, Alaska.Coast Guard said it was monitoring the cleanup which has been contracted to Choctaw Defense Services (CDS). Personnel on scene deployed boom systems, absorbent pads, and a skimmer that is pumping to a vac truck.Watchstanders at the Sector Anchorage Command Center received notification from the National Response Center at 9:40 a.m., that the crew of the cutter SPAR reported a hydraulic oil discharge.

Marine salvage and emergence response group Resolve Marine said it repositioned its response tug Makushin Bay from Dutch Harbor, Alaska to Kodiak, Alaska where the growing need for maritime and response services will provide local vessel operators and owners with rapid response and cost efficiencies.Stationing the salvage and emergency response vessel in Kodiak with a 24/7 manned crew will improve response time and marine services along Alaska’s south coast, the company said.

One the U.S. Coast Guard's last remaining 378-foot high endurance cutters recently wrapped up its final patrol before its scheduled decomissioning in August.A 150-person crew on Coast Guard Cutter Mellon (WHEC 717) left Seattle April 17 to conduct missions throughout the Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea and returned to homeport July 7.During the patrol the crew conducted 38 law enforcement boardings, four search and rescue cases and enforced federal regulations governing Alaska’s…

A 67-year-old man adrift for several weeks on board a disabled sailboat was rescued hundreds of miles miles off the coast of Alaska with help from a 984-foot containership and the U.S. Coast Guard.At approximately 9:00 a.m. Thursday, Coast Guard District 17 command center watchstanders received a distress alert from the sailing vessel Miss Lilly, in which the man aboard reported his vessel to be disabled and adrift roughly 500 nautical miles south-southwest of Dutch Harbor, and…

The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced a man Thursday from a U.S.-flagged oil tanker approximately 170 miles southwest of Cold Bay.A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak hoisted the ailing man at about 8 a.m. and flew him to Cold Bay where he was placed in the care of an awaiting LifeMed aircraft crew.Coast Guard watchstanders in the 17th District command center in Juneau received the request at about 1 p.m. Wednesday to hoist the 61-year-old man experiencing abdominal pain from the 905-foot Alaskan Navigator…

Built to guide mariners through safe waters, the Valiant Rock Lighted Whistle Buoy 11 was dangerously adrift in the Long Island Sound.When ferry operators traveling between Orient Point and Fishers Island, New York, first reported the buoy off station on Jan. 17, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oak (WLB-211) was already underway but foul weather kept the cutter from removing it.This was the beginning of a two-week saga that would involve several Coast Guard units. Like the Loch Ness monster of the Long Island Sound, the 35-foot-tall green buoy was occasionally seen but hard to catch.

The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced an injured fisherman Saturday from a boat 170 miles southwest of Kodiak Island, Alaska.A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak hoisted the 49-year-old man from the 58-foot fishing vessel Alaskan Dream at approximately 1:15 p.m. He was transported to Air Station Kodiak and placed in the care of awaiting local EMS.Watchstanders in the Coast Guard 17th District command center in Juneau received the initial call from the Alaskan Dream at about 9 a.m.…