Sector Long Island Sound News

Freehill Hogan & Mahar LLP Partner Daniel Fitzgerald retired from the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve in a ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington D.C., this summer.Rear Admiral Melissa Bert presided over the ceremony, which was attended by family, friends and Coast Guard colleagues who worked with Fitzgerald over the past 28 years. Fitzgerald retired from his last duty assignment in Washington D.C. where he served as the Senior Reserve Judge Advocate (RJAG) for the entire Coast Guard Reserve.

In recent years the U.S. Coast Guard has identified an increasing trend in the use of cellular phones by the maritime public when communicating distress. In 2018, leadership in the Office of Search and Rescue (SAR) at Coast Guard Headquarters asked the Research and Development Center (RDC) to investigate available technologies that could assist Coast Guard responders in adapting to this trend by leveraging the cellphone’s internal GPS. The RDC, located in New London, Conn., has been serving the Coast Guard for nearly 50 years through research…

First Coast Guard District command center crews, from Maine to Northern New Jersey, have a new tool to help distressed mariners come home to their families after being out to sea.The i911 program allows for watchstanders to use a mariner’s cellphone number to assist in finding their location for Coast Guard rescue crews to locate them faster. Once the number is entered, the mariner receives a text message authorizing them to share their location with the U.S. Coast Guard. Once shared…

Operations to recover oil from a World War II-era shipwreck are nearing completion after commencing on May 11, 2019 off the coast of Long Island, N.Y., the U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday.The sunken vessel, Coimbra, was a supply ship owned by Great Britain that was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Long Island during World War II. Initial dive operations in May 2019 confirmed the tanker was leaking small amounts of oil, the Coast Guard discovered.A unified command…

The U.S. Coast Guard has contracted Resolve Marine Group to conduct a full assessment of oil remaining on the Coimbra wreck, located approximately 30 miles southeast of Shinnecock, N.Y. If substantial oil still remains, and if feasible, the Coast Guard will work with Resolve Marine Group to remove oil from the wreck in order to reduce pollution risks to the environment.The operation is scheduled to take place from April 28th to May 30th. The initial evaluation will assess the condition of the tanker and what potential environmental impact still exists. Based on the assessment, possible oil removal operations will take place.During the operation…

Crewmembers from U.S. Coast Guard Station New London rescued two people after they abandoned their sinking fishing vessel near Fishers Island, N.Y., Sunday morning.At approximately 7:30 a.m., watchstanders at Sector Long Island Sound received a radio call from the crew of a 55-foot commercial fishing vessel stating their boat was taking on water in one of their fish holds.The command center issued an urgent marine information broadcast and launched a Coast Guard Station Montauk…

Crew members from Coast Guard Station New London rescued two people after they abandoned their sinking fishing vessel near Fishers Island, New York, Sunday morning.At approximately 7:30 a.m., watch standers at Sector Long Island Sound received a radio call from the crew of a 55-foot commercial fishing vessel stating their boat was taking on water in one of their fish holds.The command center issued an urgent marine information broadcast and launched a Coast Guard Station Montauk…

Capt. Andrew Tucci was temporarily removed from command of Sector Long Island Sound, in New Haven, Connecticut, Monday, by Rear Adm. Steven Poulin, First Coast Guard District commander due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command.   Poulin appointed Cmdr. Kevin Reed, deputy commander of Sector Long Island Sound, to assume command of the Sector.    Tucci is being reassigned to the Coast Guard's Research and Development Center in New London, Connecticut until further notice. No other details were provided.   "The change in leadership will not impact Sector Long Island Sound's operational readiness," said Poulin. "We will remain always ready to perform all Coast Guard missions."

A U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevaced a 51-year-old man, early Thursday morning from a fishing vessel approximately 45-miles south of Montauk. Watchstanders at Sector Long Island Sound command center received notification at approximately 2 a.m., on VHF-FM channel 16 from the master of the vessel who was suffering severe stomach pains. The watchstanders notified the Coast Guard flight surgeon who recommended a medevac for the man to receive medical care within four hours. The crew safely transported him to T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island, where emergency medical service personnel transferred him to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence. The man is reported to be in stable condition.

Over the past two months the world has been rocked by three major hacking events that have garnered international notice. These included the EQIFAX event in which 140 million individuals were reported to be possibly compromised, the WannaCry attack and the NotPeyta event. In the past two years the emphasis on the cyber security of the Marine Transportation System, a vital economic cog to the world has come under increasing scrutiny. In August, trade journals and major international…

Coast Guard Station New London crewmembers rescued three mariners after their vessel caught on fire at 6:45 A.M., Sunday, near Cerberus Shoal. A father of one of the mariners notified Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound that the 50-foot long liner Long Shot was burning near Fisher’s Island. The crewmembers had abandoned ship and boarded a life raft. Watchstanders at Sector Long Island Sound launched boat crews from Coast Guard Station Montauk and Coast Guard Station New London. A helicopter crew from Air Station Cape Cod also responded. Station New London crewmembers in a 45-foot Response Boat Medium arrived on scene at 7:15 A.M. and recovered the mariners and life raft. The mariners were all wearing survival gear, including lifejackets, and no injuries or medical concerns were reported.

U.S. Coast Guard crewmembers assisted in towing a 58-foot commercial fishing vessel after it became disabled Saturday about 50 nautical miles south of Shinnecock Inlet. Watchstanders at Sector Long Island Sound command center received notification at approximately 7 p.m. Saturday night that the fishing vessel Bookie was disabled and adrift with four mariners aboard. The vessel became disabled due to an engine casualty but still had power via an on-board generator. Commercial Salvage was initially contacted to tow vessel, but was unable to respond that far offshore.

U.S. Coast Guard Station Jones Beach crewmembers swam to shore after their rescue boat capsized in rough waters near East Rockaway Inlet, today. At approximately 2 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound Command Center received an urgent distress call from the 76-foot scallop fishing vessel, Carolina Queen III, that had been taking on water with seven mariners aboard. Shortly after, the master reported the vessel was under control and had run aground near the East Rockaway Inlet. Coast Guard Station Jones Beach launched a 25-foot Response Boat Small to assist. The inlet water produced 10- to 12-foot waves and the vessel capsized. The five crewmembers aboard swam safely to shore. The Coast Guard vessel ran aground and is currently secured on the beach.

Dave Anderson is the President of the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA). He also serves as General Manager/Director of Operations of Fire Island Ferries, Inc., Bay Shore, N.Y. on Long Island. The company has provided passenger service, freight service and water taxi service to Fire Island communities since 1948. The firm operates 23 subchapter T and K vessels ranging from six to 400 passengers. Anderson, an honors graduate from CW Post Long Island University where he earned his BA in Communication Arts in 1984, also holds a 100 ton Masters license which he earned in 1983.

U.S. Crewmembers of U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Station Montauk held a change of command and retirement ceremony in Montauk, N.Y., Thursday. Capt. Edward J. Cubanski, commander, Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound, presided over the ceremony to transfer command of Station Montauk from Senior Chief Petty Officer Jason Walter to Senior Chief Petty Officer Eric Best. Best comes to Montauk after recently serving as the executive petty officer of Station Gulfport, Miss. Walter retired after serving 20 years in the USCG.

Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound Command Center was notified at approximately 5:20 p.m., via VHF Channel 16, that a 38-foot pleasure craft was tipped over with the motor still running and six mariners in the water just south of the Greenport Ferry North Terminal. Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick O’Halloran, 27, a boatswain’s mate at Station Chatham, was nearby on a private vessel and was the first on scene just 4 minutes later, to assist the mariners out of the water. “I’ve been in the Coast Guard for three years and it was unreal watching this happen in front of me,” said O’Halloran, a Shelter Island, N.Y., native. “I realized I needed to make sure they were safe and that the boat was away.

Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit (MSU) Savannah informs it has held a change of command ceremony to formally recognize transfer of command of the unit from Cmdr. Joseph Loring to Cmdr. Amy Beach. Cmdr. Loring served as commander of MSU Savannah for the past three years and is departing to continue his service at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Loring said Savannah has an excellent and strong maritime community and provides unparalleled military support, and the MSU does great work so it is hard for him to leave. “I’ve had a great tour,” he added. Cmdr. Amy Beach  who previously served as chief of the prevention department at Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound in New Haven…

Senior leaders at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington formally recognized the service’s top enlisted and civilian members during the 2013 Coast Guard Persons of the Year Awards Ceremony. Vice Adm. Petty Officer 1st Class Travis Cutler, the 2013 Coast Guard Enlisted Person of the Year. Martin is a recreation assistant serving at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. Slate is an education services specialist serving at Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound in New Haven, Conn. Mundy is a maritime enforcement specialist assigned to Coast Guard Special Missions Training Center’s Deployment Training Detachment Portsmouth, Va. “Mr. Martin, Ms. Slate, Petty Officer Cutler and Petty Officer Mundy, you should be very proud of your accomplishments,” said Neffenger.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it rescued three people from the water after their boat caught fire near Shinnecock, N.Y., Sunday. A good samaritan contacted the communications center at Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound reporting a vessel on fire near the Shinnecock Inlet. A rescue boatcrew from Coast Guard Station Shinnecock and the South Hampton Bay Constables responded. The fire engulfed the 36-foot cabin cruiser and the three people abandoned the vessel into the water to swim to their deployed life raft.

Company agrees to pay $1.2 million penalty; $300,000, will fund Long Island Sound projects. Singapore-based Odfjell Asia II Pte Ltd and one of its senior crew members pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Hartford, Conn., for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), announced Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division Robert G. Dreher, United States Attorney Deirdre M. Daly and Rear Admiral Daniel B. Abel, Commander of the First Coast Guard District in Boston.

The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to a disabled vessel approximately 86 miles south east of Montauk, N.Y., today. Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound communication watchstanders, in New Haven, Conn., received notification from a good samaritan vessel relaying communications for the disabled vessel Endorphin, a 58-foot commercial fishing homeported in Montauk, N.Y., that the disabled vessel reported they were adrift and without power, nearly 86 miles offshore with three crewmembers aboard.

On September 17, McAllister Towing and Reinauer Transportation will be partnering with the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound and Sector New York in a major simulated marine accident and pollution incident on the waters of Long Island Sound. Responders will be faced with a simulated grounding and subsequent oil spill impacting the waters and shoreline of Connecticut and New York. The exercise is part of the National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP), a voluntary program bringing together industry and government to meet the exercise and preparedness requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, legislation enacted following the Exxon Valdez.

The US Coast Guard implements a new non-lethal signaling, warning device in Long Island Sound. The Coast Guard is implementing the use of a non-lethal signaling and warning device to support the service’s ports, waterways, and coastal security mission in Long Island Sound. The LA51 signal and warning device is considered a safer alternative to the current warning devices used by Coast Guard personnel. It is a shorter range round, and the flash and noise produced by the device are more prominent than a splash in the water caused by the M16 tracer round. Additionally, the Department of Defense’s joint non-lethal weapons program has determined through their testing that the LA51 has a low risk of significant injury.