Rescue Station News

The 2023 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea has been presented to Caleb Halle, Aviation Survival Technician Second Class (AST2) of the United States Coast Guard (USCG). He was recognized for the outstanding courage, endurance and determination he showed during the rescue of the seven-strong crew of the tugboat Legacy in January 2023.AST2 Halle, based at the Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, received the award at the annual IMO Awards Ceremony in London. The ceremony…

When it came time to replace their 50-year-old station vessel New York, the Sandy Hook Pilots Association thought long and hard, weighing their options to determine the best possible solution. They traveled the country, to Houston, San Francisco and up to the Columbia River, and even to Europe—the Elbe River in Germany and Rotterdam in the Netherlands—to ride with other pilots in search of an answer.“We looked at everything from SWATH (small-waterplane-area twin hull) boats to helicopters to big boats in Europe…

A vessel that formerly operated as an oil spill response vessel has been converted to a pilot station vessel and delivered to the United New York & New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Association.The conversion work was performed by Feeney Shipyard of Kingston, N.Y., and design and engineering work for the project was led by JMS Naval Architects, of Mystic, Conn. The 208-foot vessel, previously known as Maine Responder, has been renamed New York, and it will go to work for the Sandy Hook pilots…

JMS Naval Architects informs conversion work is nearly completed of the former oil spill response vessel OSRV Maine Responder to a pilot station vessel for Sandy Hook Pilots Association of Staten Island, N.Y. The conversion work contract was competitively awarded to Feeney Shipyard of Kingston, N.Y.The Sandy Hook pilots have been piloting ships in the New York harbor for more than 300 years. They operate a pilot station boat by Ambrose Light year-round and in all weather conditions.

On behalf of the Honorable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Pat Davidson, Member of Parliament for Sarnia-Lambton announced that the Government of Canada will fund work to upgrade the storage tank at the Port Lambton Inshore Rescue Boat Station. This investment will ensure that the search and rescue vessels that rely on this tank will continue to have timely access to fuel. Last year, the Station completed 24 missions. In turn, the Government of Canada ensures that the services that keep Canada’s waters safe and secure are well-maintained. “Providing the hardworking men and women of the Canadian Coast Guard with updated facilities is essential to their work,” Shea said.

One year to the day after surviving an explosive fire which threatened the lives of 32 people on board his vessel, Captain Andreas Kristensen and his crew of the Britannia Seaways have received the 2014 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea, at a ceremony on Monday, November 17, 2014. Accepting the IMO medal and certificate on behalf of his crew, Captain Kristensen said the award should also be shared with the passengers, the Norwegian soldiers who assisted the crew during the firefighting, and the Norwegian rescue teams and firefighters who supported them.

Coast Guard members of the 11th Coast Guard District participated in a joint two-day search and rescue exercise, SAREX, with members of the Mexican navy's Search and Rescue Station in Ensenada, Mexico Wednesday and Thursday. The visit included a flag officer professional exchange, presentations highlighting each country's search and rescue capabilities, and a multiple-scenario tabletop exercise requiring joint coordination and response. "The overall objective of the United States and Mexico Search and Rescue Exercise is to exercise the interoperability of the U.S.

Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) advises union of immediate closure of Kitsilano Search & Rescue (SAR) Station in Vancouver, BC. "I can't understand why the Conservative government is doing everything in its power to put Canadians at risk," said Christine Collins , National President of the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees in response to a phone call from the Canadian Coast Guard. The closure comes as part of a long line of attacks on CCG's ability to do effective search and rescue. To date, the CCG has closed the Marine search and rescue station in St. John's, NL which monitored Canada's longest coastline and now the Search and Rescue Station at Kitsilano, BC which is the busiest port in Canada.

The Canadian Coast Guard's decision to replace Search & Rescue personnel with auxilliary volunteers is a direct insult to mariners in Vancouver says UCTE. Christine Collins , National President of the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees (UCTE) sees the Coast Guard as thumbing its nose at Search & Rescue professionals. As part of its budget saving measures, the CCG had decided to close the search and rescue station in Kitsilano, BC. causing a public outcry. The new Auxilliary station will be located in Stanley Park. "With five auxiliary stations in the Greater Vancouver area, one would think that CCG would want at least one base that would have dedicated, trained professionals with appropriate resources who can deal with any eventuality", said Collins.

Galveston-Texas City pilots have taken delivery of its third pilot boat, a new sister-ship to the 30 knot, 70-ft launch, built by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, less than four years ago. Designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates, the all-aluminum vessel measures 70 ft over-all, with a 21-ft beam and a shallow three ft nine inch draft. The new launch is powered by twin Cummins QSK38-M diesel engines, each producing a conservative 1300 bhp at 1800 rpm and connected to a Hamilton HM 571 waterjet through a remote-mounted Reinjtes WVS 430/1 gearbox.

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding has begun construction of its first water-jet-propelled pilot boat for the Galtex pilots in Galveston, Texas. Delivery is planned for March 2005. The shipyard is applying the experience of building more than 20 ferries with water jets to the new pilot boat. In selecting water jets over a traditional propeller-driven launch the Galtex pilots will avoid costly repairs to propellers and shafts from debris in Galveston harbor, particularly at high speeds…

The First Coast Guard District Commander, Rear Admiral Vivien S. Crea presented the Sumner I. Kimball Award for Operations Proficiency and Boat Readiness to the crew of Coast Guard Station New York on Tuesday at the Staten Island rescue station. A Standardization Team of Coast Guard rescue boat experts from Training Center Yorktown, Va., paced the 65 men and women of Station New York through challenging written examinations, multiple rigorous drills, and thorough inspections during a four-day period last December. The station crew successfully completed this testing with its first ever Sumner I. Kimball Award after achieving a nearly perfect score, with 31 out of a potential 35 points.

The tightening of port security in the United States has impacted practically every vessel that operates in U.S. harbors. That includes the small, often-forgotten pilot boats that transport state licensed pilots to vessels entering a harbor or waterway. With recently imposed security measures mandating large ships wait further outside a harbor or waterway, pilot boats in some cases must travel twice as far before the pilot transfer can take place, according to Winn Willard of C. Raymond Hunt Associates, Boston, Mass., designers of pilot boats with 25 years experience in the field. Gladding Hearn, Somerset, Mass. is one of the busiest shipyards in the nation.