Lifesaving News

On September 22, Birdon completed work on the 12th Motor Lifeboat (MLB) and delivered it to the U.S. Coast Guard. This is the third and final boat to be delivered to Station Umpqua River, located along the Central Oregon Coast.“We’re proud to play a role in equipping the U.S. Coast Guard with state-of-the-art equipment it needs to perform lifesaving rescue missions,” said Patrick Kinser, West Coast MLB Program Manager.The 12th vessel was refurbished in Birdon’s Bellingham, Wash.

Four years after the fire aboard the Conception dive boat claimed 34 lives, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) renewed its call for the U.S. Coast Guard to require safety management systems (SMS) for passenger vessels. The recommendation, which the NTSB reissued following its investigation of the September 2, 2019, fire aboard the Conception, remains open.NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy sent a letter to the Coast Guard Commandant today emphasizing the need to issue the…

Last month, Birdon delivered the ninth and tenth boats for its 47’ Motor Lifeboat (MLB) Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). Since the contract award in 2019, Birdon has established full-rate production facilities on both the East and West coasts to facilitate the delivery process. Birdon said it remains on schedule to complete work for up to 117 47’ MLBs by 2029.On June 9, Birdon delivered the ninth boat for the Coast Guard’s 47’ MLB SLEP. The vessel was completed in Birdon’s Bellingham, Wash.

China's first domestically-built large cruise ship, the Adora Magic City, has departed from Shanghai for sea trials.The 135,500 gross tonne vessel was built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding. It is being classified by Lloyd’s Register and China Classification Society.The vessel has 2,125 guest rooms and can accommodate up to 5,246 passengers. The public entertainment area is over 40,000 square meters (nearly six standard football fields) over 16 floors.

Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the USCGC John Patterson to the U.S. Coast Guard in Key West, Fla. This is the 179th vessel Bollinger has delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard over a 35-year period and the 53rd Fast Response Cutter (FRC) delivered under the current program.The USCGC John Patterson will be the fourth of six FRCs to be homeported in Sector Boston.Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who distinguished themselves in the line of duty. The cutter’s namesake, John C. Patterson, was born in New Jersey in 1834. In 1870, after serving in the U.S.

Nominations have opened for this year’s International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF) annual awards, which looks to recognise volunteer and professional maritime search and rescue (SAR) personnel from around the world.This year’s awards, which will be the eighth to take place, will also focus on those who have dedicated their lives to developing maritime SAR services, as well as those developing innovative technology and equipment, and those encouraging more women to enter a…

A maritime industry safety group is calling for the total reinvention of lifeboats on board cargo vessels amid frequent injuries among seafarers.“Lifeboats are an essential part of crew safety onboard every vessel, but seafarers are way too often getting injured when launching the lifeboat,” the Container Ship Safety Forum e.V. (CSSF) said. “Over the years, many seafarers have been injured – some of them fatally – while launching the lifeboat during evacuations or evacuation drills.

Scottish search and rescue (SAR) technology company Zelim has developed the Guardian class of fast rescue craft, controlled by Sea Machines Robotics’ SM300 maritime autonomy, enabling unmanned operation of the vessel employing Zelim’s casualty detection and recovery process. The 8.5m Guardian includes Sea Machines SM300 remote command and control product, making capable of uncrewed operation. The SM300 hardware integrates with the Guardian’s propulsion system and sensors, enabling…

The US Coast Guard’s Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance has released its U.S. Port State Control Annual Report for 2022, with Latvia noted as having the highest detention ratio, ahead of Bolivia.The report lists highest risk flag administrations based on their 2020-2022 detention ratio as: Latvia (57.14%), Bolivia (31.25%), Togo (7.69%), Curacao (4.88%), Italy (3.39%), Turkey (2.90%) and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2.30%).Medium risk flag administrations were Cyprus…

The US Coast Guard has published Marine Safety Information Bulletin 05-23, Fire Safety on Small Passenger Vessels and announced a concentrated inspection campaign.The Bulletin encourages owners and operators to do a self-assessment of the fire safety of their vessels and provides a checklist evaluating fire safety and emergency preparedness on board.MSIB 05-23 also announces that the concentrated inspection campaign, which will focus on fire safety aboard small passenger vessels…

Survitec has introduced a new, formalized pre-inspection solution as part of its dry dock safety service to help ship owners and managers optimize and expedite dry docking schedules, a pre-inspection service designed to support the servicing and inspection of all onboard safety and lifesaving equipment.As part of the service, Survitec teams review and set out a schedule of works in line with regulatory requirements. This includes collating and reviewing the necessary safety certificates and documentation and liaising with the shipyard and suppliers to expedite parts…

Offshore drilling operator Valaris has extended its service agreement with Survitec, a provider of survival technology solutions, for another three years.The master service and supply contract, originally signed in 2016, covers the annual and five-year inspection, servicing, and maintenance of LSA, including lifeboats, davits, and fast rescue crafts across Valaris’ global fleet of 11 drill ships, 5 semi-submersibles and 36 jack-up rigs.Survitec said:"An extensive network of more…

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter William Chadwick (WPC-1150) was commissioned Thursday at Coast Guard Base Boston, as the first of six Fast Response Cutters to be stationed in the city.Admiral Steven Poulin, Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, and Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander, 1st Coast Guard District, oversaw the ceremony, as Lt. Cmdr. Tyler Kelley assumed command of the 154-foot cutter and its crew. Under Kelly’s command, the 24-person crew will now conduct missions offshore of the Northeast United States.Built by Bollinger Shipyards…

Helicopter services firm Bristow Group said Friday it was embarking on a new 10-year relationship with the Dutch Coastguard, delivering helicopter SAR operations for people and communities across the country through its affiliate, Bristow Netherlands B.V."At 1 p.m. Central European Time on November 4, 2022, two new custom-designed SAR bases officially went on-line at Den Helder and Midden Zeeland Airports, where specialist Bristow teams with SAR-configured helicopters now stand ready to respond to emergency events and critical government taskings in all weather…

Severe winds during a thunderstorm led to a loss of stability and ultimately the capsizing of the liftboat Seacor Power, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday during a public board meeting. Of the 19 people aboard the vessel, six died and seven are missing, presumed dead. Six people were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard and other vessels. The Seacor Power, valued at $25 million, was a total loss.On April 13, 2021, the Seacor Power, a liftboat supporting offshore work on oil-producing platforms, capsized off the coast of Port Fourchon, Louisiana.

Louisiana shipbuilding group Bollinger Shipyards has been humming along building Fast Response Cutters for the U.S. Coat Guard, and this week marked a milestone with its 50th FRC delivery, the USCGC William Chadwick, officially handed over on Thursday in Key West, Fla.“It’s incredibly meaningful that we could deliver the 50th FRC, the USCGC William Chadwick, on the Coast Guard’s 232nd birthday and that she’ll be homeported in Sector Boston, the Birthplace of the Coast Guard,” said Bollinger president and CEO. Ben Bordelon.

A newly refurbished ferry has been delivered to provide additional capacity for operator CalMac Ferries on the west coast of Scotland.Purchased out of Norway in 2021 and renamed Loch Frisa, the vessel departed Dales Marine Services in Leith on May 29 for repositioning to Oban where it is undertaking familiarization and entry-in-to service activities.Starting in mid-June, the double-ended RoPax ferry will be phased into the Oban-Craignure timetable, in tandem with Coruisk. Once Loch Frisa takes over the full Coruisk timetable…

The Coast Guard Foundation announced that its annual Tribute to the U.S. Coast Guard in Washington, D.C., will take place on June 7,2022, at the historic National Building Museum in Washington.The event celebrates the Coast Guard and raises funds for Coast Guard Foundation programs that support service members and their families when and where they are most in need.“We look forward to coming together with policymakers, industry leaders and government officials to highlight the heroism of the U.S.

A containership rescued 11 migrants from a capsized boat approximately 20 nautical miles northwest of Mona Island, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The survivors are 10 adult men and a male minor, who were rescued by the 984-foot Panamanian flagged MSC Gisselle after their inflatable boat took on water and capsized in the Mona Passage between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.The box ship's crew informed watchstanders at U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Juan at 8:20 p.m. Saturday that the vessel was on scene near the capsized boat and people in the water.The Coast Guard diverted a San Juan-stationed 154-foot fast response cutter Donald Horsley and a HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft to the scene.

The U.S. Coast Guard commissioned the 48th Sentinel-class fast response cutter (FRC) Pablo Valent (WPC 1148) into service at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, Fla., Wednesday.Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Seventh District, presided over the ceremony. Cecilia Guillot, Valent’s great-niece, is the ship's sponsor.The cutter’s namesake Pablo Valent was originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, and joined the United States Life-Saving Service in 1912.

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday it is responding to a drillship that reportedly sustained damage as Hurricane Ida ripped through the Gulf of Mexico and into Louisiana as a Category 4 storm.The agency said it was notified during the storm that the ultra-deepwater drillship Noble Globetrotter II had been damaged, and that it had been in touch with both the vessel's master and owner Noble Corporation since Sunday to gauge the extent of any damage and to ensure readiness of onboard lifesaving equipment.The Liberian-flagged drillship and its 100-plus crew are currently located 80 nautical miles south, southeast of Grand Isle, La. The vessel's U.S. licensed master has maintained that the drillship was not in distress and is not actively taking on water, according to the Coast Guard.

Katadyn Desalination, LLC announced it has won a three-year contract to deliver lifesaving, hand-operated desalination devices for the U.S. Navy.Katadyn Desalination is part of the Katadyn Group, provider of reliable, sustainable and simple solutions for safe drinking water treatment. Whether outdoors, at sea, for emergency preparedness, humanitarian or tactical missions or industrial applications, clean water becomes a reality with Katadyn products. The brand’s product line ranges from mobile water filter systems and chemical disinfectants…

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.