Personal Floatation Devices News

The owner and skipper of a rowing vessel has received a 12-month prison sentence after a 21-year-old was lost overboard in the middle of the Atlantic.In February 2016, Michael Johnson was swept overboard by a large wave in the North Atlantic Ocean, between the Canary Islands and Barbados, during a world record row attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean in 32 days. The seven remaining crew members on board were unable to save Johnson.Simon Chalk, owner of the rowing boat Toby Wallace…

Unique among the nation’s armed services, the Coast Guard’s missions include national defense, law enforcement, natural disaster incident management, recreational boating safety and environmental protection. This diversity of mission scope presents opportunities for the Coast Guard at the strategic, operational and tactical levels as the service works to make their efforts as effective and efficient as possible.Contributing to the service’s overall execution effort is the Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC), based in New London, Connecticut.

Two more employees of Ripley Entertainment, Inc. – the company that operated duck boat rides in Branson, Missouri – along with the captain of the duck boat that sank at Table Rock Lake last summer, resulting in the deaths of 17 people, have been indicted by a federal grand jury.Curtis P. Lanham, 36, of Galena, Missouri, and Charles V. Baltzell, 76, of Kirbyville, Missouri, were charged in a 47-count superseding indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Thursday, June 13.

United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Christopher A. Hutchinson, 30, of Cushing, Maine was sentenced in U.S. District Court by Judge D. Brock Hornby to four years in prison and three years of supervised release for Seaman’s Manslaughter for causing the death of two crewmen who were then 26 and 15 years old. Hutchinson pleaded guilty on September 25, 2018.According to court records, on November 1, 2014, after smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol, Hutchinson took his lobster boat, the No Limits, out into a predicted storm with two crewmen aboard. After he had ingested oxycodone, the boat capsized. The two crewmen were not wearing personal floatation devices or survival suits. The No Limits’ Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon alerted at about 1:20 p.m.

The crew deployed on the C.S. Dependable, a transoceanic cable ship from TE SubCom, rescued 14 fisherman in the Arabian Sea off the Maharashtra Coast near Mumbai, India. Indian fishing boat FV Datta Sai sank on September 17 with 16 persons aboard, no personal floatation devices and no VHF radio. The C.S. Dependable, in transit between work sites, came across the fisherman clinging to floating debris and treading water, and all hands were called to enact an immediate water rescue. “This was a complicated and dangerous effort that required excellent communication and everyone’s commitment to this rescue, as I had to maneuver the ship to keep the men in the water away from thrusters,” said Captain Yann Durieux, Master, C.S. Dependable, TE SubCom.

Three commercial fishing vessels operating throughout Puget Sound were ordered to return to port Wednesday after U.S. Coast Guard boarding teams discovered multiple safety violations. Following the boardings, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port for Sector Puget Sound sent the three crews back to port to correct deficiencies and complete a satisfactory dockside safety examination with Coast Guard personnel. In the first instance, a boarding team from Coast Guard Cutter Osprey reported several safety discrepancies on the 27-foot commercial fishing vessel Wendy Sue, including insufficient fire extinguishers, no documentation and no sound-producing device.

The Coast Guard, state and local agencies responded to a report of a missing duck hunter in the vicinity of South Pass on the lower Mississippi River, Thursday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report of the missing hunter and directed the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew, and a Coast Guard Station Venice rescue boat crew at 9:17 p.m., Wednesday. First responders searched throughout the evening and into the morning. Plaquemine's Parish Marine Division and Lousiana Wildlife and Fisheries joined the search this morning. Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries located the hunter at 10 a.m. on the western side of South Pass.

Workboat construction now demands that naval architects factor in the physical demands on passengers and crew. As wind farm requirements increase, so too will the need for greater protections. A major challenge for the builders of next generation RHIBs and high speed craft is delivering platforms that balance high performance with the physical demands on crew and passengers. With the arrival of ‘unbreakable boats’ plus a surplus of engine power, ‘man’ is often considered as the weakest link.

Boarding team members from Coast Guard Station Yankeetown stopped four unsafe passenger vessels operating on the Crystal River, Fla., and in the vicinity of Homosassa, Fla., Dec. 29, through Dec. 31, 2008. During random safety boardings, crewmembers discovered two commercial vessels operated by Stadt Aquatic Adventures operating with more than their maximum allowable passengers. Additionally, Yankeetown crews discovered that the captain of the second vessel failed to properly report a marine casualty involving one of its main engines. The Coast Guard terminated both voyages for the safety infractions and will seek civil penalties against Stadt Aquatic Adventures. The Coast Guard will also pursue action to suspend the captains’ licenses for failing to comply with proper safety procedures.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Air Station Savannah rescued two boaters at 1:45 p.m. after they were forced to jump into the water when their vessel caught fire seven miles southeast of Tybee Island, Ga., today. Rescue coordinators from Coast Guard Group Charleston, S.C., diverted the helicopter crew, which was returning from a previous missions in Charleston and also launched a small boat from Station Tybee, Ga., to respond to the vessel fire. Wallace Thomas Jr, and Thomas Wright were located immediately by the Savannah helicopter crew. Both boaters were forced to abandon ship to avoid flames which had completely engulfed their 30 foot recreationaal boat. Each of the survivors were hoisted by the Coast Guard air crew and taken to Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah.

The U.S. Coast Guard issued a Safety Alert stating that the spring clips installed on some USCG-approved lifejacket snap hooks may be defective. The Type I personal floatation devices were manufactured by Cal-June, Inc., aka Jim Buoy. The Safety Alert lists the models and lot numbers of the involved items. The manufacturer has agreed to replace all defective snap hooks. (HK Law).

With its shining reputation besmirched in recent years with a list of transgressions, from illegal dumping to sexual assault, the cruise industry has been under the legislative microscope. The International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) works to ensure that its member lines are kept abreast on current issues dealing with topics related to the environment, safety and legislation, to name a few. In order to examine these issues to the core, MR/EN tapped the expertise of Ted Thompson, a retired U.S. Coast Guard captain, who now serves as ICCL's executive director. The cruise industry because of its high profile is constantly under fire regarding various issues…

The 17-member cruise lines of the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) submitted to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) three new policies addressing onboard safety requirements and procedures. These policies were ratified unanimously at ICCL's biannual board of directors meeting in Miami on March 10. The three policies include: identification of a helicopter pick-up area onboard each of the vessels, for use during a medical emergency (recommended but not required by U.S. or international law); provision and storage of additional lifejackets equivalent to the number of passengers in the cabins of the largest designated safety area onboard each ship (exceeds current U.S.

The 17-member cruise lines of the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) submitted to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) three new policies addressing onboard safety requirements and procedures. These policies were ratified unanimously at ICCL's biannual board of directors meeting in Miami on March 10. The three policies include: identification of a helicopter pick-up area onboard each of the vessels, for use during a medical emergency (recommended but not required by U.S. or international law); provision and storage of additional lifejackets equivalent to the number of passengers in the cabins of the largest designated safety area onboard each ship (exceeds current U.S.