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Ninth District News

05 Apr 2017

Coast Guard Begins Operation Spring Restore

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Nick Gould.

Coast Guard aids to navigation teams throughout the Ninth Coast Guard District has begun restoring the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway aids to navigation system. Slightly more than 11 percent of the operation has been completed so far. Operation Spring Restore involves placing approximately 1,216 navigational aids, including lighted and unlighted buoys and beacons. Roughly half of the aids in the region are taken out of service during the winter months due to decreased vessel traffic and to minimize damage from ice and inclement weather. This is known as Operation Fall Retrieve.

24 Mar 2016

US, Canadian Coast Guards Leaders Discuss Partnership

Julie Gascon, Assistant Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard’s Central and Arctic Region and Rear Adm. June Ryan, the commander of the USCG 9th District met with their employees aboard Coast Guard ships and a CCG helicopter in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario and Sault Ste. Marie Michigan March 21 2016. (Photo credit: USCG)

Rear Adm. June E. Ryan, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Ninth District, was welcomed aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Samuel Risley by Assistant Commissioner Julie Gascon and Captain Signe Gotfredsen of the Canadian Coast Guard, Central and Arctic Region Monday. After a relatively mild winter on the Great Lakes escorting ships through ice and preventing ice jams, the Samuel Risley was upbound through the Soo Locks and the St. Marys River to Lake Superior for further icebreaking at the Port of Thunder Bay and buoy-tending duties.

25 Mar 2015

Getting Onboard the Regulatory Train

Rail transport activists, analysts and environmentalists get a real taste of what the waterfront has endured for decades. They’ll just have to get in line with the rest of us. This week finds the collective domestic oil industry wringing its hands about the latest in a series of serious oil transport train casualties. This time, on Monday, the news involved a crude-carrying train that derailed in West Virginia, complete with more than one dozen tank cars afire and necessitating the evacuation of nearby towns. Just before that, another train in Canada consisting of about 100 tank cars carrying crude oil derailed in remote Ontario and suffered a similar fate. Both events naturally caught the attention of environmental and safety activists and oil industry analysts.

24 Nov 2014

USCG Medevacs 80 Yr-Old Near Lake Michigan

A Coast Guard aircrew medically evacuated an 80-year-old man off Beaver Island in Lake Michigan Sunday night. The man’s name is not being released. At 5:40 p.m., emergency medical personnel on Beaver Island contacted a search and rescue coordinator at the Coast Guard Ninth District command center to request assistance with transporting an 80-year-old man, who was suffering from signs of a stroke, to a hospital in Michigan. A rescue aircrew in an MH-65C Dolphin helicopter launched from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Michigan, to assist. The Coast Guard aircrew met EMTs and the man at the Beaver Island Airport, where he was brought aboard the helicopter for transport to the air station. Once there, local EMTs further transported him to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City.

23 Nov 2014

USCG Assist Duck Hunters Near Harrington Beach Park

The Coast Guard and the Port Washington and Cedar Grove Fire Departments came to the assistance of two duck hunters on Lake Michigan Friday. The names of those involved are not being released. A 911 dispatcher contacted Coast Guard Station Sheboygan  at 11:30 a.m. about two men whose 14-foot boat was taking on water one mile north and about one-quarter mile east of Harrington Beach State Park. The two hunters called 911 when their engine stalled and their boat began taking on water over the sides. Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan Command Center directed Stations Sheboygan and Milwaukee to launch crews aboard their 25-foot and 45-foot response boats respectively.

16 Jun 2014

USCG Completes Operation Spring Restore

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Levi Read

Coast Guard aids to navigation teams throughout the Ninth Coast Guard District completed restoring the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway aids to navigation system, Friday, following a late start to the operation due to the extended ice season. Operation Spring Restore involves restoring approximately 1,222 navigational aids, including lighted and unlighted buoys and beacons. Roughly half of the aids in the region are taken out of service during the winter months due to decreased vessel traffic and to minimize damage from ice and inclement weather. This is known as Operation Fall Retrieve.

28 May 2014

Disabled Freighter Anchored in St. Lawrence Seaway

The US Coast Guard Ninth District has responded to the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship 'Federal Kivalina' which lost its steering while transiting the Seaway in the vicinity of Wellesley Island, New York. The Federal Kivalina, a 656-foot, Hong Kong-flagged freighter carrying 23,000 metric tons of canola seeds, reportedly dropped three anchors to bring the vessel to rest. The Coast Guard notified the New York State Bridge Authority of the situation, which shut down the Thousand Island Bridge for about 10 minutes as a precaution. Response crews from Station Alexandria Bay, New York State Parks Police, New York State Police, New York Department of Environmental Conservation, and inspectors from MSD Massena and the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation are either on scene or en route.

30 Apr 2014

Chicago Electric Fish Barrier Safety Analysed

The US Coast Guard apprises that a study by its Research and Development Center concluded that the current rules governing vessel traffic across Chicago’s electric fish dispersal barrier effectively address the risks posed by the barrier’s electrified waters. The electric fish barrier system in the CSSC was built and is maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to limit the spread of various aquatic invasive species, including Asian carp, between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. Coast Guard regulations prescribe operating rules and guidance for commercial and recreational mariners transiting the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The study found that existing regulations substantially mitigate the risks associated with the barrier.

30 Dec 2013

Damaged Bulker Faces St Lawrence Seaway Closure Deadline

'Orsula' aground: Photo credit US Coast Guard

The loaded grain carrying bulk ship 'Orsula', a 656-foot Marshall Islands-flagged vessel, has been refloated after running aground near Tibbetts Point in the St. Lawrence Seaway, on Boxing Day, but the US Coast Guard report significant damage to her propellor. The 'Orsula' sailed from Duluth, Minn., with 20,000 tons of wheat, and was planning to exit the St. Lawrence Seaway before it closes for the winter on Monday, 30, December 2013. McKeil Marine was hired by the ship’s owners to conduct salvage operations and after lightering cargo and moving ballast, the vessel was refloated.

12 Nov 2012

Annual Great Lakes & Seaway Aids to Navigation Retrieval Starts

The Ninth Coast Guard District begins its annual retrieval of the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway System seasonal aids to navigation before ice forms. In a massive task Operation Fall Retrieve, which includes lighted and unlighted buoys and beacons has begun, with a goal of retrieving 1,282 navigational aids, and should be completed by Dec. 28, 2012. The aids, approximately half in the region, are taken out of service during the winter months due to decreased vessel traffic and to minimize damage from ice and severe weather. The Ninth Coast Guard District’s aids to navigation system facilitates safe and efficient maritime activity in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway region by marking safe passage for domestic, international, commercial and recreational vessel traffic.

22 Jul 2010

This Day in Coast Guard History – July 22

1881- A young man named Joseph Ryan, of Buffalo, New York, while bathing off the lighthouse pier at that place, was seized with cramps and sunk.  One of the surfmen belonging to Station No. 5, Ninth District, about a quarter of a mile distant, was on duty at the pier and saw him disappear. Without a moment’s hesitation, he plunged into the water and succeeded in grasping Ryan by the hair and brought him safely to the shore. (Source: USCG Historian’s Office)

08 Jun 2010

This Day in Coast Guard History – June 8

1882-The sloop-rigged yacht Circe, of Cleveland, was dismasted at 1 o’clock in the afternoon about a mile outside of Cleveland Harbor. The crew of Station No. 8, Ninth District (Cleveland), discovered the accident and towed her safely into the harbor. (Source: USCG Historian’s Office)

05 Mar 2010

This Day in Coast Guard History – March 5

1881- The crew of Life-Saving Station No. 10, Ninth District (Louisville), won acclaim with a dangerous rescue at the wreck of James D. Parker, a well-known river boat lost in the Indiana chute of the Ohio Falls.  She was a stern-wheel steamer of over 500 tons owned by the Cincinnati and Memphis Packet Company and bound from Cincinnati to Memphis.  Her crew numbered 50, including the captain, and she had 55 passengers on board, a number of whom were women and children. (Source: USCG Historian’s Office)

10 Sep 2009

This Day in Coast Guard History – Sept. 11

1883-Shorty after noon, during the prevalence of a strong northeasterly gale and high sea, the lookout at the Cleveland Station (Ninth District) Lake Erie, saw a yawl break adrift from its moorings and commence driving towards the breakwater. The life-saving crew at once put out in their surfboat and after a hard pull succeeded In reaching the yawl just In time to save it from being dashed to pieces. It was towed into the river and delivered to its owner, whom they notified. 2001-Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial U.S. aircraft, crashing two into the World Trade Center in New York and one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The fourth aircraft crashed around Shanksville, Pennsylvania, when passengers on board tried to regain control of the aircraft from the terrorists.

19 Mar 2009

Ballast Water Inspections Improve, GL/Seaway

A new U.S. government report released March 13 showed a notable increase in the number of ballast tank inspections of oceangoing commercial ships entering the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System from outside U.S. or Canadian waters. Ship operators also improved their compliance with ballast water requirements in 2008 compared with 2007, the report says. The 2008 Summary of Great Lakes Seaway Ballast Water Working Group released by the U.S. Coast Guard examined the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Seaway System ballast water ship inspection program. The report finds that 99 percent of all oceangoing ships bound for the Great Lakes Seaway System ports from outside U.S. or Canadian waters in 2008 received a ballast tank exam, compared with 74 percent in 2007.

05 Nov 2008

Detroit River Barge Runs Aground

The U.S. Coast Guard and local salvage companies safely removed a barge that ran aground Sunday, at 6:30 p.m., on the Detroit River. The 115-meter barge, which contains approximately 3.7 million gallons of gasoline, was freed Monday at approximately 2 p.m. The 41-meter tug William J. Moore and the barge were leaving Sarnia, Ontario, bound for Montreal when the barge ran aground approximately 100 yards northwest of the Detroit River Light. U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Detroit launched an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter to assess damages and look for any pollution. Coast Guard Sector Detroit dispatched three prevention dept. inspectors to the William J. Moore to check for damage. No pollution or gasoline sheens have been reported.

22 Oct 2008

TWIC Deadline - Great Lakes

The Coast Guard is set to enforce new security measures at port facilities located on the Oct. 31, 2008, as mandated by the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) and the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act. Regulations require that all personnel needing unescorted access to secure areas of MTSA regulated facilities carry Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) as an additional means of security in 's ports. The TWIC program balances the need for a free flow of commerce with the need to maintain a strong, layered approach to security in our nation's ports. To obtain a TWIC, an individual must provide biographic and biometric information such as fingerprints, sit for a digital photograph, and successfully pass a TSA security threat assessment.

29 Mar 2005

Hearing Scheduled on Barge Explosion

At approximately 4:45 p.m. on January 19, 2005 a tank barge that was owned and operated by Egan Marine Corporation exploded and sank in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal just east of the Cicero Avenue Bridge. One crewmember died as a result of the explosion. Salvage operations are currently underway to remove the barge from the canal. At the direction of the Ninth District Commander, the Coast Guard will convene a formal hearing beginning at 10:00 a.m. on April 4, 2005 to determine the cause of this casualty. The Coast Guard hearing will be open to the public and will be held at the William Tell Holiday Inn in Countryside, IL. Media…

04 Aug 2003

Coast Guard Celebrates Birthday

The U.S. Coast Guard will be celebrating its 213th birthday on Monday, Aug. 4., Coast Guard Day. On the same day in 1790, Congress authorized the building of the first "ten cutters" establishing the Revenue Cutter Service. It was then that the history of the Coast Guard began. Today the Coast Guard has grown to more than 35,000 active-duty personnel and 8,000 reservists. Over 2,000 Coast Guard members serve the needs of the public in the Ninth District. The boundaries of the Ninth Coast Guard District encompass the Great Lakes states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. In an average year on the Great Lakes…

18 Aug 1999

Great Lakes Towing Celebrates 100th Anniversary in Detroit

The Great Lakes Towing Company is celebrating its 100th anniversary providing tugboat services in the port of Detroit. The company's founding shareholders include many of the nation's great industrialists, including John D. Rockefeller and James R. Sinclair. In continuous business for 100 years, it has been a significant marine operations link in one of the major economic lifelines of North America. The company owns and operates more than 50 tugboats. In fact, it is the largest U.S-flag tugboat company engaged in towing on the Great Lakes. Four tugboats - Wyoming, Wisconsin, Vermont and Pennsylvania - are assigned to harbor towing services in Detroit, with additional tugs coming from Toledo available to meet surges and emergency needs.