Marine Link
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Sector North Carolina News

14 Aug 2023

US Coast Guard, Navy Rescue Four Missing Divers off North Carolina

A Coast Guard Station Oak Island 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew arrives at Station Oak Island, North Carolina on Aug. 14, 2023 after rescuing four missing divers 46 miles southeast of Cape Fear River, N.C. (Photo: Eric Tucker / U.S. Coast Guard)

Four divers that went missing off the U.S. East Coast on Sunday were rescued Monday 46 miles southeast of Cape Fear River, N.C.The U.S. Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector North Carolina initially received a notification Sunday from Coast Guard Sector Charleston stating four men were diving from the pleasure craft Big Bill’s, approximately 63 miles east of Myrtle Beach, S.C. near noon, and had not resurfaced. Sectors Charleston and North Carolina coordinated a multi-asset…

21 Jun 2023

USCG Relieves Commanding Officer of Sector North Carolina

© Jenny Thompson / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Coast Guard said it has temporarily relieved Capt. Matthew Baer from command of Coast Guard Sector North Carolina, Tuesday, June 20, 2023.Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath, Fifth Coast Guard District commander, temporarily relieved Baer due to a loss of confidence in his ability to effectively command the sector, pending an administrative investigation and final determination.The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to MarineLink's request for comment.Cmdr. Courtney Sergent…

08 Dec 2020

US Coast Guard Upgrades First Lighthouse to LED

The Coast Guard lit a first of its kind LED-based rotating beacon at Oak Island
Lighthouse on Caswell Beach, N.C., December 7, 2020. (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

The U.S. Coast Guard said it lit a first-of-its-kind LED-based rotating beacon at Oak Island Lighthouse on Caswell Beach, N.C., Monday.This upgrade is the Coast Guard’s first LED-based rotating beacon for an active aid to navigation and will provide a permanent, cost-effective and energy-efficient solution for the lighthouse. Necessary renovations of the lighthouse to prepare for the new beacon began in October."Lighthouses have navigational and historic significance here in North Carolina," said Lt. Brittany Akers, chief of waterways management at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina.

03 Dec 2020

Shipowner Fined $12 Mln for US Pollution Violations

Pacific Carriers Limited (PCL), a Singapore-based company that owns subsidiaries engaged in international shipping, was sentenced today in federal court before U.S. District Court Judge Louise Flanagan in New Bern, N.C., after pleading guilty to violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, obstruction of justice, and for a failure to notify the U.S. Coast Guard of a hazardous condition on the cargo vessel Pac Antares.PCL pleaded guilty to a total of eight felony offenses across three judicial districts – the Eastern District of North Carolina, the Southern District of Texas, and the Eastern District of Louisiana. PCL was sentenced to pay a fine of $12 million…

12 Dec 2019

Unified Command Established for Grounded F/V

Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Isaac Cross, 
U.S. Coast Guard District 5 North

A Unified Command was established on Wednesday afternoon to oversee the safe removal of fishing vessel Sea Angels, which ran aground in the vicinity of Browns Inlet, North Carolina.On Dec. 9, 2019, fishing vessel Sea Angels ran aground near a restricted navigation area in Browns Inlet, where the potential of unexploded military ordnance exists due to active live fire training in the area dating back to World War II.There is an estimated 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel onboard the fishing vessel…

19 Nov 2019

Semi-submerged Tug Leaking Diesel after Bridge Allision

The semi-submerged tugboat Miss Bonnie sits in the water after alliding with the Old Bonner Bridge in Oregon Inlet, North Carolina. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Coast Guard Station Oregon Inlet)

A tugboat is partially sunk and leaking diesel after alliding with a bridge in North Carolina's Oregon Inlet, the U.S. Coast Guard said.All eight people aboard the tug Miss Bonnie reached shore safely without injury after the vessel struck the Old Bonner Bridge at 11:09 a.m. on Sunday.The Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina received report from a local Coast Guard 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew at approximately 10:00 a.m. on Monday that a sheen was coming from the semi-submerged tug.The maximum potential for the discharge is 6…

31 Dec 2018

Coast Guard Assists Sailing Vessel 50 Miles off NC

U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Coast Guard Cutter Richard Snyder

The Coast Guard saved three mariners aboard a disabled sailing vessel more than 50 miles east southeast of Cape Lookout, Saturday evening.At 9:45 a.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina received notification of the 36-foot disabled sailing vessel Cloud from Sea Tow. All persons aboard the sailing vessel had donned their life jackets and there were no injuries or medical concerns aboard.The Coast Guard launched Coast Guard Cutter Richard Snyder to assist, and diverted…

20 Sep 2018

In Florence’s Wake, Flooding Still a Big Concern in the Carolinas

Flooding is expected to worsen in the coming days as the Coast Guard continues its relief efforts.The emergency is by no means over in North Carolina. As flooding is expected worsen across the Carolinas later this week in the choppy wake of Hurricane Florence, Coast Guard units across North Carolina are continuing to assess damage, and respond over a wide geographic area. Florence, responsible for 36 deaths in three states, continues to impact the Carolinas. Major waterways across the tri-state area of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia remain well above flood stages, and were expected to rise through the weekend before cresting, according to the National Weather Service said.

11 May 2018

US Fines Shipping Company $1 Mln for Pollution Crimes

A Japanese shipping company will have to pay $1 million after being convicted and sentenced for obstruction of justice and falsification of an Oil Record Book to cover-up intentional pollution from bulk carrier M/V Atlantic Oasis.The company Nitta Kisen Kaisha Ltd., owner and operater of the Atlantic Oasis, admitted that its engineers failed to document the illegal discharge of oily wastes from the vessel’s fuel and lubrication oil purifier systems, as well as discharges of oily bilge waste from the bilge holding tank and from the vessel’s bilges when delivering steel products to Wilmington, N.C. in 2017.During a U.S. Coast Guard inspection of the vessel on May 17…

04 May 2018

USCG Restores Radio Communications Along NC Coast

U.S. Coast Guard Sector North Carolina has restored radio communication capability Friday.Repairs were completed at approximately 4 a.m. after communications went down Thursday evening, leaving the Coast Guard unable to monitor radio traffic offshoreThe Coast Guard said HC-130 Hercules airplane had been launched Thursday night to monitor communications in the area on a temporary basis.

12 Mar 2018

Responders Tracking Containers Lost off North Carolina

(File photo: Maersk Line)

The U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA and Environmental Protection Agency are monitoring the tracking and assessment of more than six dozen stray cargo containers lost due to high winds and heavy seas about 17 miles off Oregon Inlet, N.C. On Sunday, March 4, the cargo ship Maersk Shanghai alerted watchstanders at Sector North Carolina’s command center that they lost about 70 cargo containers during a heavy roll. Maersk later confirmed the total number of containers lost overboard was 76 as well as their contents. A. P.

05 Mar 2018

East Coast Storm Sweeps 70 Containers Overboard

As many as 73 stray cargo containers pose threat to mariners off North Carolina.   The Coast Guard is warning mariners of navigation hazards after about 70 cargo containers fell off of a cargo ship Saturday night, about 17 miles off Oregon Inlet, North Carolina.   The cargo ship Maersk Shanghai contacted watchstanders at Sector North Carolina’s command center via VHF-FM marine radio channel 16, notifying them that they lost approximately 70 to 73 cargo containers due to high winds and heavy seas.   The Coast Guard urges all mariners to transit this area with caution.

09 May 2017

New Commanding Officer at USCG Sector North Carolina

Coast Guard Capt. Jerry Barnes assumed command of Coast Guard Sector North Carolina in Wilmington, N.C., Tuesday. Barnes reported to Sector North Carolina after serving as the 5th Coast Guard District's chief of prevention. Barnes, a specialist in marine safety, security, environmental protection and marine transportation system management, previously served at the Marine Safety Center in Washington, D.C., Sector Hampton Roads, in Portsmouth, Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville, Fla., various staff positions at the 5th Coast Guard District, and aboard a 210-foot medium endurance cutter home ported in St. Petersburg, Fla. Barnes, a native of Raleigh, N.C., is a licensed professional engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia. He graduated from the U.S.

13 Jan 2017

US Sentences Greek Shippers for Obstruction, Pollution

Two Greek shipping companies were sentenced to pay corporate penalties totaling $2.7 million after being convicted for obstructing justice, violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), tampering with witnesses and conspiracy. Each company was ordered to pay part of its penalty to Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary in recognition of the threat posed by illegal discharges of oily waste to the marine environment. The case stems from an inspection of the M/V Ocean Hope, a large cargo ship, conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard at the Port of Wilmington, N.C. in July 2015. During that inspection, senior engineers for the companies tried to hide that the vessel had been dumping oily wastes into the ocean for months.

08 Dec 2016

Ship Engineers Receive Prison Sentences for Pollution Crimes

Cassius Samson, 52, and Rustico Ignacio, 66, both of the Philippines, were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard for the Eastern District of North Carolina to serve jail time for obstructing a U.S. Coast Guard inspection that took place in July 2015 aboard the cargo ship Ocean Hope at the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina. Samson was sentenced to a term of 12 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release and Ignacio to a term of nine months followed by a year of supervised release. Ignacio was the chief engineer and Samson the second engineer of the Ocean Hope. In September 2016, both were convicted of conspiracy, violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, obstruction of justice and witness tampering, by a federal jury in Greenville, North Carolina.

17 Nov 2016

Cargo Ship Runs Aground off US East Coast

North Carolina’s Beaufort Inlet Channel has been temporarily closed Thursday after a 590-foot cargo ship ran aground between buoys 16 and 17 in the channel. Watchstanders at U.S. Coast Guard Sector North Carolina received a call via landline at 1:15 p.m. that the bulk carrier Pola Palekh ran aground. The Malta-flagged vessel is carrying 35,800 metric tons of fertilizer and holds approximately 27,000 gallons of fuel oil. No injuries, pollution or damage to the ship have been reported. Sector North Carolina watchstanders issued a safety marine information broadcast and launched a 29-foot Response Boat-Small crew from Coast Guard Station Fort Macon to assess the cargo ship and the channel. The acting Captain of the Port for Sector North Carolina, Cmdr.

13 Nov 2016

Five Rescued from Capsized Boat off Carolina Beach, NC

Coast Guard and partner agencies rescued five people Saturday from a capsized vessel about three miles off the coast of Carolina Beach. Sector North Carolina watchstanders in Wilmington received a mayday call at approximately 7:30 a.m. requesting help. -A C-130 Hercules aircraft crew and MH-60 Jayhawk Helicopter crew from Air Station Elizabeth City. -A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium (RBM) crew from Station Wrightsville Beach. -A 29-foot Response Boat-Small (RBS) crew from Station Oak Island. -16-foot skiff from Kure Beach Fire and Rescue. -A vehicle and jet ski from Carolina Beach Fire Department. The helicopter crew discovered a capsized 20-foot boat about three miles offshore at approximately 9:50 a.m.

24 Dec 2015

Significant Shoaling in Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway

The U.S. Coast Guard is urging mariners to exercise caution while transiting the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW) due to shoaling conditions. Several portions of the AICW show significant shoaling, specifically those areas near mile markers 237, 271, 280 and 321 in North Carolina. There have been and continue to be groundings in these areas, the Coast Guard said. These areas are subject to continual and sometimes rapid environmental changes. Some aids to navigation on the AICW may not be charted and may be marking best water outside of the federal channel due to continually shifting shoals.

14 Dec 2015

Ship Officers Charged in Oil Discharge Cover Up

A federal grand jury in Greenville, North Carolina, has returned a nine-count indictment charging two engineering officers employed by Oceanfleet Shipping Limited with crimes relating to the illegal discharge of oily wastes directly into the sea, announced Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Oceanfleet Shipping Limited is a Greek shipping company that operates the cargo carrier M/V Ocean Hope. The two engineering officers indicted are the vessel’s Chief Engineer, Rustico Yabut Ignacio; and Second Engineer, Cassius Flores Samson, bolth of the Philippines.

09 Dec 2015

Two Saved South of Emerald Isle, NC

The Coast Guard rescued two people from a boat Wednesday taking on water south of Bogue Inlet. Coast Guard Sector North Carolina in Wilmington received a mayday call from two people aboard the 23-foot skiff, Southern Yankee, 12 miles southeast of Bogue Inlet, stating the skiff was taking on water at approximately 9:40 a.m. A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium (RBM) crew from Coast Guard Station Emerald Isle launched at 9:51 a.m. and arrived on scene at 10:17 a.m. The two people aboard the flooded skiff were taken aboard the RBM, and the Coast Guard worked with pumps to keep up with the flooding while towing the skiff to Casper’s Marina in Swansboro. The source of the leak was found to be a hole in the hull. A Tow Boat U.S.

18 Oct 2015

Man Rescued from Sailboat near Ocracoke Inlet, NC

The Coast Guard rescued a man Friday from a grounded sailboat near Ocracoke Inlet. Sector North Carolina watchstanders were notified at 7:21 p.m. Friday that the 30-foot sailing vessel Lydamay was aground and taking on water near Ocracoke Inlet. A 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew launched from Station Hatteras Inlet and arrived on scene but were unable to reach the man due to shallow water. A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew launched from Air Station Elizabeth City, arrived on scene at 9:02 p.m. and hoisted the man. The man was transferred to Red Cross personnel waiting at the Elizabeth City boat ramp. The sailboat has been removed.

01 Oct 2015

CG Sets Port Condition Whiskey in Preparation for Hurricane Joaquin

The Coast Guard set Port Condition Whiskey Wednesday for all navigable waters in the North Carolina Captain of the Port Zone in preparation for the anticipated weather impact of Hurricane Joaquin. Gale-force winds of 39 mph are predicted to reach Frying Pan Shoals Lighted Buoy 16 (LLNR 8355) within 72 hours, and pleasure craft are advised to seek safe harbor. To enter, transit or remain within this Captain of the Port Zone, vessels must comply with the following requirements. All self-propelled, oceangoing vessels more than 500 tons, all oceangoing barges and their supporting tugs, and all tank barges more than 200 tons desiring to remain in port must arrange safe mooring and shall complete and submit in writing…

27 Sep 2015

USCG Transfer Man, Medevacs Woman in NC

The Coast Guard transferred a male patient on Saturday from Morehead City, then medevaced an 80-year-old woman from a cruise ship approximately 50 miles south of Cape Lookout. Coast Guard 5th District watchstanders received a request Saturday morning to transfer a male patient suffering head trauma from Carteret General Urgent Care in Morehead City to Duke University Hospital in Durham. A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew launched from Air Station Elizabeth City at 9:15 a.m. The helicopter crew arrived at Carteret General Urgent Care and transferred the patient to Duke University Hospital in stable condition. After the transfer, Sector North Carolina watchstanders received a report at 1:50 p.m.

Subscribe for
Maritime Reporter E-News

Maritime Reporter E-News is the maritime industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email five times per week