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Station South Padre Island News

23 Aug 2023

Silver Ships Delivers First Vessel Under NSW SSC Contract

(Photo: Silver Ships)

Silver Ships recently completed the first deliveries under the Naval Sea Systems Command of seven 11-meter Open Center Console (OCC) vessels and two 8-meter Open Center Console (OCC) vessels, under the Naval Special Warfare Surface Support Craft Contract. The U.S. Navy has also conducted Pre-Delivery Inspection and Testing (PDIT) of three vessel variants included in the contract.The Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Surface Support Craft (SSC) contract entails construction of five different vessel variants of the Ambar series rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB).

04 Feb 2021

Tugboat Captain Medevaced in Brownsville, Texas

An ailing tugboat captain was medevaced in Brownsville, Texas, Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi command center received a medevac request at 7:16 a.m. via VHF Channel 16 from the crew of the El Zorro Grande, a tugboat transiting outbound on the Brownsville ship channel, stating the captain had passed out, officials said.A Coast Guard Station South Padre Island 33-foot Special Purpose Craft – Law Enforcement boat crew launched to assist with a duty corpsman aboard.The SPC-LE crew arrived on scene, embarked the 49-year-old tug master, and transported him to awaiting emergency medical services at an oil dock in Port Isabel, Texas, the Coast Guard said.A Brownsville pilot, who was aboard at the time, maneuvered the St.

19 Jun 2015

Catamaran Race Starts with 2 Rescues

An Air Station Corpus Christi rescue swimmer is deployed for two rescues in the Gulf of Mexico and audio of a distress call from one of the mariners on VHF-16. (screenshot from USCG video)

The U.S. Coast Guard brought two men to safety Thursday after a sailboat capsized 3 miles offshore and rescued another man who went overboard 11 miles offshore; all were participating in the first leg of the Great Texas 300. After being postponed due to Tropical Storm Bill, the 100-mile stretch from South Padre Island to Mustang Island of the Great Texas 300 began early Thursday morning. The race ends in Galveston. At approximately 11 a.m., a manmade a distress call on VHF marine band radio channel 16…

04 Jun 2015

Mexican Fishing Boat Seized Following 30-mile Chase

A Mexican lancha sits trailered at Coast Guard Station South Padre Island, Monday, after South Texas Coast Guard crew interdicted the lancha, 30 miles offshore. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

U.S. A Mexican fishing boat, also known as a lancha, was seized by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) in the waters off South Texas, Monday. At 11 p.m. Sunday, an Air Station Corpus Christi aircrew aboard an HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane located a lancha 20 miles north of the U.S./Mexico maritime border and 30 miles offshore. The aircrew vectored in the Coast Guard Cutter Seahawk and a 33-foot law enforcement boat from Station South Padre Island; the lancha was chased for 30 miles before it stopped south of the maritime border.

11 Mar 2015

Mexican Fishing Crew Caught Poaching in US Waters

U.S. Coast Guard interdicted Mexican fishing crew poaching red snapper in U.S. The U.S. Coast Guard informs it has interdicted a Mexican fishing crew in the waters off South Texas with approximately 475 pounds of illegally caught red snapper, Sunday afternoon. While on a routine patrol, a 33-foot law enforcement boatcrew sighted a Mexican fishing boat, also known as a lancha, approximately two miles north of the U.S./Mexico maritime border and 16 miles from shore. The crew of four Mexican nationals admitted to fishing in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. The crew's catch consisted of 133 red snapper. The Coast Guard estimates over 1,100 annual lancha incursions into U.S. regulated waters, taking upwards of 760,000 pounds of red snapper each year.

09 Feb 2015

USCG Rescues 4 Mexican Poachers

Coast Guard crews rescued four Mexican nationals from their sinking boat Saturday, after they were spotted illegally fishing north of the U.S./Mexico maritime border. At approximately 8 p.m. Saturday, a crewmember aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Brant, an 87-foot coastal patrol boat, spotted a Mexican boatcrew poaching fish in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, 30 miles off South Padre Island. Sector Corpus Christi Command Center watchstanders diverted a crew aboard a Station South Padre Island 33-foot law enforcement boat and diverted an Air Station Corpus Christi HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane crew to intercept. The aircrew vectored in the law enforcement boat and cutter. The Brant's crew intercepted and stopped the lancha, but the lancha began to take on water.

15 May 2014

South Texas Coast Guard Receives Response Boat

U.S. Coast Guard crews at Station South Padre Island have completed the qualification and trial run process, Tuesday, for the new 45-foot-Response Boat-Medium that was delivered to the station in late February. The training focused on acclimating the crews to the boat's advanced response capabilities. With twin diesel engines using water-jet propulsion, the RB-M can respond faster than previous boats of similar size and has a top speed in excess of 40 knots. It has advanced search capability with an installed forward-looking infrared search technology. Additionally, with twin jet propulsion, the vessel is extremely maneuverable and is better suited to respond to mariners in distress and law enforcement operations.

14 Apr 2014

Illegal Mexican Fishermen Chased, Rescued

Coast Guard Cutter 'Brant': USCG photo

Four Mexican nationals, who were illegally fishing in U.S. waters off South Texas were rescued, after their lancha began taking on water during a pursuit by the crew of the Cutter 'Brant', informs the US Coast Guard. The Coast Guardsmen spotted a lancha crew recovering long-line fishing gear, 28 miles offshore and 4 miles north of the U.S./Mexico border and pursued the lancha for approximately 6 miles. However, during the pursuit, the lancha’s hull cracked three feet and began taking on water, at which point the cutter crew came alongside and took the four Mexican nationals aboard.

19 Feb 2014

Man Medevaced from Charter in GoM

A Coast Guard rescue swimmer is lowered to the Osprey II and a man suffering from chest pains is hoisted back up Saturday near Port Mansfield, Texas. U.S. Coast Guard video by Air Station Corpus Christi.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) reported that it rescued a 55-year-old man Saturday, who was suffering from chest pains while out on a charter boat approximately 22 miles northeast of Port Mansfield, Texas. According to the USCG report, at approximately 11:20 a.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Station South Padre Island received a VHF radio call from the captain of the 55-foot charter boat, the Osprey II, requesting assistance. The captain stated that there was a gentleman aboard who was suffering from chest pains and he was going in and out of consciousness.

29 Aug 2013

First Multiagency Beach Rescue Exercise off South Padre Island

USCG photo

More than 50 people from three response agencies simulated a joint agency response to an incident involving 12 people off popular South Padre Island beaches, Texas, on Wednesday, August 28. The Coast Guard, City of South Padre Island Beach Rescue and Cameron County Beach Rescue joined together in the Beach Rescue Interagency Team Exercise, or BRITE, to evaluate communication and coordination between the agencies as they managed recovery, triage and transportation for all the victims at one time.

15 Sep 2010

This Day in Coast Guard History – September 15

1944- Coast Guardsmen participated in the invasion of Morotai Island. 1948- After making a night-long high speed run to reach the hurricane-ridden Portuguese schooner Gasper some 300 miles off the southern tip of Newfoundland, USCGC Bibb launched two 20-man rubber lifeboats in heavy rain and seas to rescue 40 survivors and 1 dog from the doomed ship. 1958- A New Jersey Central passenger train plunged into Newark Bay through an open drawbridge, submerging two engines and two coaches. Coast Guard small craft and helicopters assisted in rescuing 43 survivors and recovering 29 bodies. 1995-Hurricane Marilyn made landfall, cutting a path of destruction across the U.S. Virgin Islands. GANTSEC Command Center coordinated the SAR efforts.

15 Sep 2009

This Day in Coast Guard History – Sept. 15

1944- Coast Guardsmen participated in the invasion of Morotai Island. 1948- After making a night-long high speed run to reach the hurricane-ridden Portuguese schooner Gasper some 300 miles off the southern tip of Newfoundland, USCGC Bibb launched two 20-man rubber lifeboats in heavy rain and seas to rescue 40 survivors and 1 dog from the doomed ship. 1958- A New Jersey Central passenger train plunged into Newark Bay through an open drawbridge, submerging two engines and two coaches. Coast Guard small craft and helicopters assisted in rescuing 43 survivors and recovering 29 bodies. 1995-Hurricane Marilyn made landfall, cutting a path of destruction across the U.S. Virgin Islands. GANTSEC Command Center coordinated the SAR efforts.

08 Dec 2006

Coast Guard Assists Tug in Distress

The Coast Guard rescued five people on a disabled tug boat approximately five miles South of the South Padre Island jetties last night. A Coast Guard crew from Station South Padre Island took the boat in tow after the tug boat Kathleen's five crewmembers radioed for help. The tug crew told the Coast Guard that their pilothouse windows had been smashed in by heavy waves, they had lost all engine control and were losing electrical power as well. The Coast Guard Station had two small boat crews underway conducting training when the call came and diverted a 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew to the scene. The rescue crew arrived at the Kathleen and towed the tug to the Banana Docks in Port Isabelle, Texas.

21 Aug 2006

South Padre Island Gets New Law Enforcement Boat

Crewmembers from Coast Guard Station South Padre Island, Texas, glide through the waters of the Gulf of Mexico in a 33-foot high-speed boat here on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2006. The station received three of these new boats in July of this year to increase the unit's law enforcement capabilities. The boat features three engines with 275 hp each. "These boats are changing the way we do interdictions," said Chief Petty Officer Andrea Martynowski, operatons chief at Station South Padre Island. "We have the confidence now that we can catch anything. They can't outrun us anymore." Photo Credit: coast guard