Sector Seattle News

Washington State Ferries (WSF) is exploring an option to use liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a source of fuel for the Issaquah Class ferries. LNG is used worldwide and provides an opportunity to reduce fuel costs, and better the environment by decreasing emissions. Fuel is WSF's fastest growing operating expense; it burns more than 17 million gallons each year. Its fuel budget is over 30 percent of the FY11-13 operating budget, compared to 12 percent in FY00-01. The fuel cost savings moving from diesel to LNG is approximately 40-50 percent at today’s pricing.

The Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) Pacific Northwest Chapter is gathering for a tour of the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Seattle Command Center on August 26, 2011 at 4:00 PM. Following the tour, the group will relocate to Salty’s on Alki Beach, located at 1936 Harbor Avenue SW, for a social hour. Contact Cynthia Powell at [email protected] for more information about this event. WISTA is an international organization committed to promoting women in management positions in maritime transportation businesses and related trades. WISTA focuses on attracting more women to the industry and on providing networking, education and mentoring opportunities. WISTA USA includes over 240 maritime professionals from 20 states.

Ship captains and pleasure boaters can now get free real-time information on water and weather conditions for Cherry Point, Wash., from a newly installed NOAA ocean observing system that makes piloting a ship safer and more efficient. The NOAA Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS) at Cherry Point provides observations of tides, currents, water and air temperature, barometric pressure and winds. Collected from a variety of sensors in and around the port, the data is available online and by phone: 888-817-7794 (toll-free).

The Coast Guard Captain of the Port for Seattle has ordered the immediate closure, until further notice, of the Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma, Wash., to all large, oceangoing vessels and restrictions through this waterway for tug, barge and all other boating traffic. The Coast Guard was notified that an abandoned and partially sunken barge named BMC-33 has drifted about 80 feet from shore into the 200 foot wide Hylebos Waterway channel. The barge severely narrows the channel and creates a collision hazard to vessel traffic. The temporary restricted area, known as a safety zone, is from the East 11th Street Bridge to the Hylebos Boat Haven/Lower Turning Basin. All large, oceangoing vessels 300 gross tons or greater are restricted from transiting through this safety zone.

Port workers, longshoremen, truckers and others at the Port of Tacoma, will soon become the first in the region to enroll in the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. The program's goal is to ensure that any individual who has unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels has received a thorough background check and is not a security threat. Thousands of workers are expected to enroll over the coming months at the Port of Tacoma and Port of Seattle which begins enrollment mid-December. Nationwide, more than 1 million workers with unescorted access to secure areas will apply during the rest of 2007 and 2008.

Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Deputy Commissioner Jayson Ahern, U.S. Navy Commander Submarine Group Trident, Rear Admiral Frank Drennan, and other dignitaries will be in attendance Wednesday at 10 a.m. for the Coast Guard Joint Harbor Operation Center (JHOC) ribbon cutting ceremony at Pier 36 here. The ceremony recognizes officially the operation of the JHOC. The JHOC is the home for Sector Seattle's Command Center, Communications Center and Vessel Traffic Center. The JHOC will be the premiere state-of-the-art maritime Command Center for the Pacific Northwest partnering Coast Guard with Navy…

The rescue tug stationed at Neah Bay this weekend is assisting a cargo ship safely into Port Angeles and remains on standby while engine repairs are completed. The Cyprus-based Khorol was headed for the Puget Sound when it reported engine problems to Coast Guard Sector Seattle late Friday evening. The Coast Guard directed the 377-ft. long refrigerated cargo ship to stay offshore until the Gladiator, a rescue tug funded by the Washington Department of Ecology, could reach the ship to escort it into Port Angeles for engine repair. Crews on the Khorol made emergency engine repairs at sea, but about three miles outside Port Angeles, the engine failed. The rescue tug, already escorting the ship, then brought it in to Port Angeles.

The Coast Guard is investigating the captain of the cruise ship Mercury for operating a commercial vessel under the influence of alcohol in violation of Title 46, United States Code, Section 2302. The statute, a Class A misdemeanor which is punishable with up to one year imprisonment, prohibits the operation of a vessel while under the influence of alcohol. Celebrity Cruises, owners of the Mercury, removed the captain and the ship sailed safely with a qualified relief captain. The cruise line fully cooperated with the investigation. A Coast Guard Sector Seattle boarding officer, while performing a safety inspection onboard the Mercury, made contact with the vessel's captain and detected an odor of alcohol on his breath.

Six people are safe after battling an early morning fire today on a 56-ft. commercial fishing boat 1 mile west of Richmond Beach near Edmonds, Wash. The crew of the tugboat Samish reported to Coast Guard Sector Seattle that the fishing vessel Carol M was on fire and was in need of assistance. Coast Guard Station Seattle dispatched a 41-ft. utility boat and Air Station Port Angeles, Wash., launched an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter to assist. The Seattle Fire Department fireboat Chief Seattle and two Seattle Harbor Patrol units also responded to the fire. The crewmembers of the Carol M and the Tug Samish were able to fight the fire until the Chief Seattle arrived and contained the fire at about 11 a.m.

The Coast Guard and Washington Department of Ecology are jointly coordinating the response to a fuel sheen located near Port Gamble, Wash. Coast Guard and Ecology experts are tracking the spill by helicopter to better assess the situation. Pollution investigators from Coast Guard Sector Seattle and the Department of Ecology arrived on-scene earlier this morning and began the investigation into the sheen. The 140-ft. tugboat Magic sank near the entrance to Port Gamble and is the apparent source of the spill. Oil is no longer is flowing from the vessel. The Coast Guard has opened the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to enable clean-up efforts to begin without delay. Contractors are placing boom at pre-identified sensitive areas along northern Hood Canal.