Lifesaving Service News

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…

The disembarkation of more than 1,200 passengers from the cruise ships Zaandam and Rotterdam in Port Everglades, Fla. on Friday, combined with one remaining disembarkation being coordinated, add to the U.S. Coast Guard's processing of more than 120 vessels in the last three weeks to remove 250,000 passengers from cruise ships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The Coast Guard, under guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and working with Department of Homeland Security partners Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)…

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division has launched its eight National Security Cutter (NSC) built for the U.S. Coast Guard. NSC Midgett (WMSL 757) was launched on November 22, 2017, and will be christened during a ceremony on December 9. The ship is named to honor John Allen Midgett, who was awarded the Silver Cup by the U.K. Board of Trade in 1918 for the rescue of 42 British sailors aboard the British tanker Mirlo after it was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of North Carolina. He was also awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal by the U.S.

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (NYSE:HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division today authenticated the keel of the eighth U.S. Coast Guard National Security Cutter, Midgett (WMSL 757). “The National Security Cutter Program is vital to our Coast Guard, our country and to Ingalls Shipbuilding,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. “Today, we lay the foundation upon which this great ship will be built. The ship is named to honor John Allen Midgett, who was awarded the silver cup by the U.K. Board of Trade in 1918 for the renowned rescue of 42 British sailors aboard the British tanker Mirlo after it was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of North Carolina. He was also awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1924.

The Coast Guard presented the crew of the cargo ship Joseph L. Block with a lifesaving award in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, Saturday. Capt. Amy Cocanour, the Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan commander, presented the Capt. David P. Dobbins Award to Raymond Sheldon, Thomas Garvey, David Schwarz, Keith Breyfogle, Basil Friend, Joyce Greenisen, Aaron Vonsprechen, Stephen Kowalski, Michelle Fetterly, Betty Benish, Guy Curtis, Roger Long, Carlos Ledezma, Kyle Long, Jeffrey Thompson, David Morrow, Nicholas McCall, Larry Noirot, Glenn Woodford, Ronald Fey, David Deverin, Shawn Bowman, and Gary Warner for their role in saving the life of a boater in Lake Michigan, August 2015. The Capt. David P.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) formally recognized the crew of an education vessel at a ceremony Wednesday at Coast Guard Air Station Detroit, located at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich., for saving two people when they responded to a mayday call in the Detroit River on Aug. 11, 2013. During the ceremony, Capt. Jeff Ogden, commander of Coast Guard Sector Detroit, presented Norman Raymond, Stephen Stewart and Elizabeth Nebei with the Captain David P. Dobbins Award for excellence in search and rescue.

A tugboat that has plied the waters of New York's Canals for nearly eight decades years turns 110 today, according to the New York State Canal Corporation. The tug Urger is the oldest state vessel operating on New York's waterways. Originally christened the Henry J. Dornbos, the vessel was operated by the Verduin family on Lake Michigan for 20 years. Due to her unparalleled seaworthiness, the vessel was occasionally used by the U.S. Lifesaving Service (a forerunner of the U.S. Coast Guard) for rescues on the lake.

1882-An Act of Congress (22 Stat. 1932- Northern Pacific Halibut Act re-enacted Act of 7 June 1924, after Convention with Canada and made it unlawful to catch halibut between 1st November and 15th February each year in territorial waters of United States and Canada and on high seas, extending westerly from them, including the Bering Sea. Coast Guard enforced this Act. 1942-Coast Guard plane V-167 rescued two from a torpedoed freighter. 1942-Coast Guard prewar search and rescue procedure discontinued for security reasons. 1943-CG-58012 exploded and sank off Manomet Point, Massachusetts. No lives lost. 1995-Part of the Upper Mississippi and Missouri Rivers rose above the flood stage, flooding areas in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky.

1808-Secretary of Treasury Gallatin requested 12 new cutters at a cost of $120,000 to enforce "laws which prohibit exportation and restrain importations" to support the embargo ordered by President Thomas Jefferson. President Jefferson had ordered an embargo against most European imports and exports to protest the harassment of U.S. sailors by warring European powers. The embargo did not work. The United States went to war with England in 1812 but Revenue Cutter Service got the ships. 1877-The first annual report of the U.S. Lifesaving Service was submitted in published form to the Secretary of the Treasury. 1969-The German freighter Nordmeer ran aground on the Thunder Bay Shoal in Lake Huron.

From its genesis as the Revenue Marine, the Coast Guard has evolved to become the world’s premier multi-mission, maritime service, conducting operations around the globe to execute its 11 missions. “Coast Guardsmen are agile, adaptable and multi-missioned,” said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert J. Papp, Jr. “Born as revenue cuttermen, lighthouse keepers, steamboat inspectors and surfmen, we have expanded to meet the maritime needs of our nation. The Coast Guard began its service to America in 1790 within the Treasury Department as the Revenue Marine, later renamed the Revenue Cutter Service.

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families, and a partner of the National Coast Guard Museum Association, announced the appointment of Jerry Ostermiller as the president of the National Coast Guard Museum. An accomplished museum administrator with over 25 years experience, Mr. Ostermiller will establish museum programming, develop internal infrastructure and lead capital campaign fund raising efforts for the construction of the country's newest national museum in New London, Connecticut. The United States Coast Guard is the only military service that does not currently have a national museum, which recounts the institution's history, service and missions. Mr.

A commissioning ceremony for the Pacific Northwest’s third and newest Marine Protector Class Cutter is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday, at Coast Guard Group Port Angeles, in Port Angeles, Wash. The Coast Guard Cutter Wahoo, an 87-ft. patrol boat, will assume the primary missions of search and rescue, law enforcement, and homeland security in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound. It is equipped with advanced state-of-the-art navigational technology, a fast small boat rear-launch system, and 25-knot capacity. U.S. Senator Patty Murray, who was instrumental in bringing the cutter Wahoo to Puget Sound, will be the keynote speaker. Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Thomas J. Johnson is assuming the position of Officer in Charge of the Wahoo.

The following is a statement, in its entirety, from Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen regarding his nomination to be commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, given before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Washington - Good afternoon Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the Committee. I am honored to be before you today and look forward to listening to your views and answering your questions. I am grateful for the confidence of President Bush in nominating me to be the 23rd Commandant of the United States Coast Guard. I can think of no greater honor and no better way to continue serving our Nation than through our Coast Guard, a Service whose embedded responsibilities impact every American.

A dramatic video of a horrifically overloaded Haitian migrant sailboat pitching 100 of its passengers into the water as the vessel capsizes en route to the U.S. depicts what the USCG has determined to be its top rescue of the century. For more than 210 years the USCG has been saving lives at sea around the world. The USCG released the video on a compilation tape that shows highlights of the service's top 10 rescues of the century. The rescue of the Haitian migrants thrown overboard is representative of the 255,937 migrants USCG has rescued from overcrowded, unseaworthy craft just since 1980. Many would have undoubtedly have lost their lives during these highly risky crossings had they not been intercepted by the USCG while trying to illegally reach U.S. shores.