Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service News

A containership lost propulsion in a busy New York City waterway just as it was about to pass under the Bayonne Bridge on Friday night—less than two weeks after a presumed power failure caused similarly sized vessel to allide with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.The U.S. Coast Guard said it received a report that the Malta-registered APL Qingdao lost propulsion about 8:30 p.m. as it traversed the Kill Van Kull, a shipping late between New York's Staten Island and Bayonne…

The St. Marys River has reopened to vessel traffic after a U.S.-flagged Great Lakes freighter struck a channel light in the waterway.At approximately 1 a.m. on Thursday, the 730-foot bulk carrier American Mariner suffered a marine casualty and went bow-first into the Munuscong Junction Light, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The incident occurred in Munuscong Lake, which is a section of the St. Marys River in Michigan state.The American Steamship Company-owned vessel is operated by Grand River Navigation under a bareboat charter.

A portion of the St. Marys River has been closed to vessel traffic after a U.S.-flagged Great Lakes freighter struck a channel light in the waterway.At approximately 1 a.m., the 730-foot bulk carrier American Mariner suffered a marine casualty and struck the Munuscong Junction Light with its bow, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The incident occurred in Munuscong Lake, which is a section of the St. Marys River in Michigan state.The American Steamship Company-owned vessel is currently operated by Grand River Navigation under a bareboat charter.

An offshore supply vessel captain’s assumption and poor communication led to a collision with a U.S. Coast Guard cutter in Sabine Pass, a waterway between Texas and Louisiana, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found.The NTSB on Thursday released its report detailing its investigation into the October 11, 2020, collision between the offshore supply vessel (OSV) Cheramie Bo-Truc No. 33 and the Coast Guard cutter Harry Claiborne. The Cheramie Bo Truc No. 33 was traveling outbound for sea in Sabine Pass when it collided with the Harry Claiborne near Texas Point, Texas.

The U.S. Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have teamed up on a consolidated publication that will help mariners save time and money. The Coast Guard Office of Navigation Systems and NOAA Office of Coast Survey will incorporate the amalgamated International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea (72 COLREGS) and the Inland Navigation Rules into NOAA’s U.S. Coast Pilot publications. The U.S. Coast Pilot publications already include the Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Service regulations.

A safety study recently released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) details 14 conclusions and 21 recommendations aimed at further reducing the risk of collisions, allisions and groundings involving vessels operating within U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) areas. The study, “An Assessment of the Effectiveness of the U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service System” (NTSB/SS-16/01), focused on the performance of the Coast Guard’s VTS system, currently comprised of 12 VTS centers. NTSB said the need for the study was driven by the investigation of six major commercial vessel accidents since the Coast Guard’s…

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew located the body of the missing tug boat crewman from the capsized Ricky J Leboeuf near the location of the tug on the San Jacinto river Tuesday at 9:47 a.m. The Air Station Houston MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew located the man's body and directed rescue boats to his location, which was a few hundred feet downstream. They recovered the unresponsive man's body and transported him to EMS. Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service Houston restricted waterway traffic on the San Jacinto at 8:42 a.m. Traffic is prohibited between the red #2 light and the I-10 bridge.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the Miss Susan, a shallow draft towing vessel with two barges, and the Summer Wind, a deep draft bulk carrier, collided on March 22, 2014, because the towing vessel crossed the Houston Ship Channel, impeding the passage of the bulk carrier that was transiting inbound, which could only transit within the channel. The collision resulted in the release of 168,000 gallons of fuel into the Houston Ship Channel from the…

The Coast Guard has re-opened the Mississippi River above Head of Passes following clusure occasioned by a sunken tugboat. Survey operations are ongoing in an effort to locate the sunken 48-foot tug boat C-Pec between mile marker eight and Head of Passes. Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service Lower Mississippi River will continue to implement vessel traffic management measures to ensure safe navigation. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed two survey passes from mile marker eight to mile marker zero above Head of Passes with no navigation hazards identified.

The Coast Guard continues to investigate a probable hoax distress call that was received June 11, 2012, alleging a yacht explosion off Sandy Hook, N.J. Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service New York received the distress call at approximately 4:20 p.m., reportedly from the master of the yacht Blind Date, stating the vessel suffered an explosion with 21 people aboard. A massive, multi-agency search took place 17 nautical miles east of Sandy Hook, and involved two Coast Guard boat crews, four Coast Guard aircraft crews, response units from New York City Police Department, Fire Department of New York City, New Jersey State Police, and Nassau County Police Department. Good Samaritan boats also participated in the 5 1/2-hour, 638-square nautical mile search.

Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service New York received an apparent distress call Monday, reportedly from the yacht Blind Date, stating the vessel suffered an explosion, seven people were injured and all 21 people aboard the yacht had abandoned ship into liferafts. A later call to the Coast Guard reported that three people aboard the boat had died, and that several people had 2nd and 3rd-degree burns, and that people aboard were abandoning ship into liferafts. Coast Guard search east of Sandy Hook included two Coast Guard boat crews and four Coast Guard helicopter crews, who searched approximately 638 square nautical miles. Response units from New York City Police Department…

The Houston Pilots celebrated their 90th anniversary by inviting community and political leaders, maritime partners and friends to their new facility on Friday, April 1st. Deer Park Mayor Wayne Riddle welcomed the pilots to the neighborhood with a key to the city and presided over the ribbon cutting. During the ceremony, Father Patout gave a blessing to the pilots and their new building, and the United States Coast Guard honored Houston Pilot Captain Bob Webbon with a safety accommodation.

According to a Bloomberg report, Houston Ship Channel pilots halted boarding inbound and outbound vessels overnight after fog reduced visibility on the approach to the largest U.S. petroleum port, citing the Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service. About 12 ships were waiting to enter the port as of 6 a.m. local time after pilots suspended boardings at 8:30 p.m. yesterday, Levi Campbell, a watch supervisor with the service, said in an interview. Some 14 ships were waiting to leave Houston.

The three mile portion of the 52-mile Houston Ship Channel that was closed due to an oil spill Sept. 25 opened at 12:45 p.m. Sept. 28 to vessel traffic.  The channel, which was closed between Old Manchester Dock Three and City Dock 27, is open to all daylight operations and limited night time barge operations. The Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service is managing all vessel movement. The Captain of the Port, Capt. Marcus Woodring, determined the oil is contained along the shoreline, making it safe to resume traffic flow through the affected area at a slow speed. Responders will continue to work to recover the remaining oil in the area. The exact amount of oil recovered is unknown, but as of 2 p.m. 23,418 gallons of an oil and water mixture has been recovered.

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.

On Dec. 10, the U.S. Coast Guard released the results of two investigations. One report outlines the causes of the July 13, 2007 fatal collision between a cargo ship and a small fishing boat which occurred in heavy fog off Pt. Reyes, and the other is an internal review of the service's handling of the incident. The incident involved the 291 ft motor vessel Eva Danielsen, a Bahamian-flagged cargo ship, and a 28 ft wooden fishing vessel, the Buona Madre, home ported in Santa Cruz, California. A collision between the two vessels resulted in the destruction of the fishing boat and the death of Mr. Paul Wade. A Coast Guard Marine Casualty Investigation…

Sen. Barbara Boxer has released two bills in Washington aimed at preventing future oil spills like the one in the San Francisco bay last month. One of the bills would give more authority to the U.S. Coast Guard to control ships entering and exiting ports during emergency or hazardous conditions. The bill would also authorize $20m to upgrade the Coast Guard's vessel traffic service. The other piece of legislation would raise the liability limit for cargo ships. The bills have not yet been formally introduced. The Cosco Busan cargo ship spilled 58,000 gallons of oil into the bay on Nov. 7.

On January 3, the Tug Pacific Avenger, while towing an oil barge loaded with diesel fuel, experienced a reduction in steering while approximately 20 miles west of Cape Alava, Washington. As per established procedure, Tofino Traffic, Canada, who, as part of the Cooperative Vessel Traffic Service manages vessel traffic of the northern Washington Coast, notified the U.S. Coast Guard of the incident. Sea Coast Towing, the owner of the tug, reported that the Pacific Avenger had experienced a problem with its autopilot and rudder angle indicator – a device that shows the position of the rudder. Although propulsion and manual steering were not affected, Sea Coast Towing arranged for a tug escort by the Barbara Foss and return to port as a precaution.

The Houston/Galveston Navigation Safety Advisory Committee (HOGANSAC) has compiled the first-ever Facility Information Guide for the ports of Galveston, Houston and Texas City. The Guide provides specific navigation information for every facility in the three-port area. Information in the Guide was contributed by terminal owners and operators and organized by staff members at Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service Houston/Galveston. Copies of the Guide are currently available and may be purchased from the Marine Exchange of the West Gulf, Inc. The guide's cost is $16.24 per copy, plus shipping and handling. The Guide is intended to enhance the safety of marine operations in the region by providing important data on channel-side facilities.

Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) San Francisco directed three tugboats to help divert a 700-foot dry-dock barge from colliding with the San Francisco Bay Bridge today. At approximately 8 p.m. today a night watchman from Pier 70 in San Francisco noticed that the dry-dock vessel had broken loose and notified the Coast Guard. Upon notification, the Coast Guard directed three tug boats to intercept the adrift vessel. The Coast Guard worked closely with the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to ensure public safety on the Bay Bridge. The tug boats Brynn Foss and Andrew Foss of the Foss Maritime Co. and the Sharon Brusco of the Brusco Tug and Barge Co.