Sector Los Angeles News

The U.S. Coast Guard last week called off its active search for a crewmember that reportedly fell from a bulk carrier off the coast of Califronia.The crewmember is said to have gone overboard from the Panamanian-flagged African Cardinal, 14 miles southwest of Point Conception, Calif. while transiting the Santa Barbara Channel Traffic Separation Scheme en route to the Port of Long Beach.At approximately 5 a.m. on June 20, Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles – Long Beach Command Center watchstanders received the man overboard report and immediately issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast (UMIB) via VHF channel 16, stating the nature of the situation.

It was an unusually slow day on the docks back on April 21, 2021 when crewmembers onboard a Brusco tugboat sprang into action from the Port of Hueneme to assist a vessel in distress. A 17-year-old containership named the President Eisenhower was headed from Los Angeles to San Francisco when it suffered an engine room fire that disabled command of the vessel.A vessel named Teresa Brusco and her crew pushed the Eisenhower vessel away from shore while other tugboats and salvage companies came to assist. The vessel was disabled in the shipping lane while fully loaded and drifting to shore.

An increased number of oil tankers sit at anchor near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as the volume of oil products held in floating storage around the globe has skyrocketed in the past month amid what analysts are saying is the biggest oil glut in history.There were 27 tanker vessels off the coast of Southern California Thursday afternoon, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, who is monitoring the situation to help manage the surge.Oil traders are struggling to find enough…

None of a dive boat's 34 passengers survived a fast-moving fire that sunk it off California's Santa Cruz Island, officials said on Tuesday, as recovery workers prepared to try to retrieve 14 bodies still believed to be on the vessel or in the ocean.Emergency workers planned to use DNA analysis to identify the badly-burned remains of the 20 people so far removed from the 75-foot (23 m) Conception ship, which was lying upside down under more than 60 feet (18 meters) of water following…

Coast Guard and partner agencies are responding to a vessel fire near Santa Cruz Island Monday.At approximately 3:15 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach watchstanders overheard a mayday call via channel 16 of an engulfed 75-foot commercial diving vessel with 38 people aboard.Crews from the Coast Guard, Santa Barbara Fire Department, Ventura County Fire Department and Vessel Assist responded. The fire department crews were fighting the fire when the vessel sank 20 yards off shore in 64 feet of water.Five people were evacuated aboard a good Samaritan pleasure craft Great Escape.Currently, 33 people aboard the vessel are unaccounted for.Watchstanders launched two Coast Guard Station Channel Islands Harbor 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crews…

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating a report of an oil spill in the Los Angeles Harbor, Thursday morning. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach command center received a report at 10:48 a.m. of an unknown quantity of oily-water mixture coming from a holding tank residing on the Vopak Terminal. Coast Guard investigators from Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach are currently investigating the report. A majority of the oil released has been reported as being contained on the pier, however, some of the oil water mixture entered the water. Oil spill response organizations including the National Response Corporation, Ocean Blue, and Patriot Environmental are conducting clean-up operations using oil skimmers and absorbent pads.

The Coast Guard and California Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response are continuing their investigation of an oil spill that occurred on Sunday in the Los Angeles Harbor. A unified command has been established that includes the Coast Guard, California Fish and Wildlife, and the responsible party. Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach command center received a report at 6:30 p.m., Sunday, of an unknown quantity of oil in the vicinity of the 577-foot cargo ship, Istra Ace. The ship was reported to have been leaking heavy fuel in the Cerritos channel at Berth 198. Oil was also observed throughout portions of Cerritos Channel, where booming strategies have been employed.

atchstanders at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach operations center, received a report Thursday night from the 45-foot motor lifeboat crew at Coast Guard Station Channel Islands that four of the members were struck twice with a laser while transiting near the Channel Islands Harbor entrance. Crewmembers reported that the laser came from shore and once they energized their blue law-enforcement light, the laser desisted. After a medical evaluation, there were no reported injuries associated with the incident. The Coast Guard said that pointing handheld lasers at Coast Guard vessels and aircrews is dangerous and illegal. Pointing a laser at an aircraft is a federal crime and a felony offense under Title 18, United States Code, Section 39A.

The Coast Guard medically evacuated a 46-year-old man from a 738-foot container ship approximately 6 miles south of Santa Rosa Island, Sunday. At 10:01 a.m., Sunday, watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach command center received a report from the crew of the container ship Isla Bella that a crewmember aboard received severe burns from his knees down to his feet, after cooking oil spilled, covering his legs. The Coast Guard District 11 flight surgeon recommended that the patient be medically evacuated and taken to a hospital for care within eight hours. A MH-65D Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Los Angeles that was launched, arrived on scene and safely hoisted the patient.

U.S. Coast Guard Vice Adm. Peter Neffenger relieved Vice Adm. John Currier as Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard during a change of watch ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, D.C., Tuesday. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp presided over the ceremony and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson attended. “It has been my honor to serve our nation as the vice commandant,” said Currier. The change-of-watch ceremony is a time-honored event preserved by rich heritage of naval tradition.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) reported that a multiagency response lead to the rescue of two men after their boat capsized outside Marina Del Rey Harbor, Feb. 17, 2014. Search and rescue watchstanders from Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach received two reports of red distress flares near Marina Del Rey Harbor from a Good Samaritan and a sailing vessel returning to Marina Del Rey from Catalina Island at approximately 6 p.m. Using the information provided by the good Samaritans, such as elevation of the flare and angle of observation, watchstanders determined a likely location of origin and then issued an urgent marine information broadcast to which Marina Del Rey Harbor Patrol and Bay Watch responded.

Most people who encounter the Coast Guard near shore will get a good look at a Response Boat-Small (RB-S). With more than 400 boats in operation, the RB-S is the largest vessel class in the Coast Guard’s fleet. The boats are in constant use, from life-saving to law enforcement and homeland security missions. But the redoubtable RB-S is approaching the end of its service life and the the Coast Guard’s Acquisition Directorate has launched an ambitious project to replace this important asset. The RB-S II will be one of the largest boat buys of its kind.

Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach and California Fish and Game personnel are investigating the cause of an unintentional discharge of 710 gallons of diesel fuel oil from the Motor Tanker Aljalaa, during an internal transfer of diesel at Tesoro’s Terminal at Berth 84A in the Port of Long Beach, Feb. 21 at approximately 7:30 p.m. The USCG, DFG, and the vessel's emergency response management company, O’Brien’s Response Management, immediately established a Unified Command at the Tesoro Long Beach Terminal to provide an aggressive and timely response to the incident and to answer any media and general public calls. Several oil spill response organizations responded to contain and to recover discharged product, and to minimize environmental impacts.

At approximately 11:30 p.m., July 21, 2009, the 57-ft car ferry, Captain, went aground at Balboa Island, Newport, Calif. with no passengers aboard. At the time of the incident, the ferry operators reported a 2-foot hole in the vessel's hull, but there were no reports of flooding. When the ferry grounded, there was an estimated 50 gallons of gasoline onboard. The fuel has been removed and there have been no reports of pollution to the Coast Guard at this time. The ferry has been refloated and has been taken to a nearby shipyard for repairs. Coast Guard inspectors and investigators from Sector Los Angeles - Long Beach will continue the investigation and oversee the repairs.

The Coast Guard is investigating a report of a commercial fishing vessel that crossed in front of the Motor Vessel Bosse, a large commercial freight ship transiting outbound from the Port of Long Beach on Feb. The Marine Exchange of Southern California and Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service, who jointly monitor vessel traffic in San Pedro Bay, were first alerted of the situation by the Motor Vessel Bosse, after the crew was unable to make radio contact with the approaching, unresponsive fishing vessel. Motor Vessel Bosse was within 400 yards of the fishing vessel when it was forced to take evasive action and turned hard to starboard to prevent a collision. The Vessel Traffic Service then actively tracked the fishing vessel into port using radar and other sensors.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) signed a memorandum of agreement on Monday, May 12, 2008. The agreement delineates the specific responsibilities of each agency when responding to maritime incidents in Orange County, Calif. "The purpose of this mutual assistance agreement is to formally solidify the work we already do together in Orange County waters," said Capt. Paul E. Wiedenhoeft, Commander of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach who also serves as the Captain of the Port.

The U.S. Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Game, Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) are conducting a joint investigation to determine the cause of an estimated 210 gallon diesel fuel spill into Los Angeles Harbor late Thursday night . Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach received the report of a diesel sheen at berth 240 in the Port of Los Angeles. The Coast Guard immediately responded to the location to conduct an investigation and locate the source of the discharge. The initial investigation did not reveal a source or responsible party. The Coast Guard accessed the Federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and hired Patriot Environmental Services to conduct the $50,000 clean up operation.

NCL America made U.S. maritime history by christening Pride of Hawai'i, the largest and most expensive U.S.-flagged cruise ship in history. The historic presentation of this new U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed passenger ship continues NCL America's dynamic revival of the U.S.-flagged cruise industry that had seemingly been extinguished in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. At the official christening ceremony at the Port of Los Angeles, Star Cruises Chairman Tan Sri KT LIM and NCL Corporation's President and CEO Colin Veitch were joined by the Honorable Daniel K. Inouye, senior United States Senator from Hawai'i, who sponsored and named the vessel at the pier side event.