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Air Station San Francisco News

24 Mar 2023

San Francisco Area Storms Wreak Havoc on Marine Navigation

(Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

Recent storms that crossed the San Francisco Bay Area earlier this week left multiple vessels, docks, and barges adrift, causing navigational safety issues around the areaThree 60-foot deck barges were adrift, causing an allision with the 3rd Street Bridge at McCovey Cove leading to Mission Creek. U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco's Prevention Department was made aware of the situation and broadcasted a Notice to Mariners, noting that the area was closed to navigation. A finalized assessment of the bridge is pending the completion of an inspection by engineers.

21 Feb 2021

Video: Injured Containership Crewman Medevaced off California Coast

(Photo: Richard Brahm / U.S. Coast Guard)

An injured crew member was medevaced from a U.K.-flagged containership more than 46 miles west of San Luis Obispo, Calif., on Friday.The captain of the 1,060-foot Hyundai Jupiter contacted 11th U.S. Coast Guard District command center watchstanders requesting assistance for the ailing mariner who reportedly suffered injuries from a 16-foot fall.Watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento C-27J Spartan aircraft and a Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco Forward Operating Base Mugu MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew to assist.Once on the scene…

06 Apr 2020

Containership Crewman Medevaced

A Coast Guard helicopter crew approaches the Yang Ming Unanimity containership to conduct a medevac near the San Francisco Bay in San Francisco, Calif., April 4, 2020. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)

An injured crewmember aboard a Taiwanese flagged containership was medevaced approximately six miles from the San Francisco Bay, Friday evening, the U.S. Coast Guard said.San Francisco Vessel Traffic Service personnel contacted Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders, reporting a crewmember of the 1,092-foot containership Yang Ming Unanimity had fallen and struck his head on the ship’s radar mast creating a laceration on his forehead as the ship was making its way toward…

02 Sep 2019

Coast Guard, Local Agencies Respond to Boat Fire near Santa Cruz Island

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…

08 Jun 2015

New Captain for USCG Air Station Cape Cod

Capt. Timothy Tobiasz assumed the duties and responsibilities as commanding officer of Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, Massachusetts, from Capt. Stephen H. Torpey during a change of command ceremony at the air station in Bourne, Massachusetts, Saturday. Rear Adm. Linda L. Fagan, commander of the 1st Coast Guard District, presided over the ceremony. The change-of-command ceremony is a time-honored tradition which formally restates the continuity of authority vested in the commanding officer to the officers and crew in attendance. This unique military ritual represents a total transfer of responsibility, authority, and accountability from one leader to the next. Tobiasz reports to Air Station Cape Cod after serving as the senior U.S. Coast Guard advisor to the combatant commander of U.S.

01 Feb 2015

5 Rescued from Sinking Vessel off Monterey Coast

Coast Guard rescued five people from a sinking 65-foot sailing vessel approximately 120 miles off the Monterey coast, Saturday. At approximately 8 a.m. Saturday, the 11th Coast Guard District Command Center received a distress signal from a personal locator beacon. A C17 transport aircraft under Oakland Center Control, flying at approximately 5,000 feet, visually identified the sailing vessel in the vicinity of the alert location and confirmed that the sailing vessel Flyin’ Hawaiian was taking on water. The Coast Guard responded with one Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento HC-130H Hercules aircrew. The crew was able to contact and divert the Aqualeader, a tank ship that was 24 miles from the sailing vessel's location.

22 Sep 2014

San Francisco Bay Fuel Spill Under Investigation

The U.S. Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel continue to respond to a fuel spill that occurred near Pier 45 at Fishman's Wharf in the San Francisco Bay Saturday. At 10:56 a.m., Saturday, Coast Guard Sector San Francisco personnel received a report that an undetermined amount of fuel oil was discharged into the water from the SS Jeremiah O'Brien. Coast Guard Incident Management Division personnel immediately dispatched a pollution response Federal On-scene Coordinator's Representative to confirm the report and assess on-scene conditions. Once on scene, the FOSCR confirmed the source of the fuel spill had been secured…

22 Sep 2014

WWll Liberty Ship Spills Oil

The Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel are investigating a fuel spill that occurred near Pier 45 at Fishman’s Wharf in the San Francisco Bay, from the functioning Liberty Ship 'SS Jeremiah O'Brien'. At approximately 10:56 a.m., Saturday, Coast Guard Sector San Francisco personnel received a report that an undetermined amount of fuel oil was discharged into the water from the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, a fully functional World War II Liberty Ship. Coast Guard Incident Management Division personnel immediately dispatched a pollution response Federal On-scene Coordinator’s Representative (FOSCR) to confirm the report and assess on-scene conditions.

21 Sep 2014

USCG Crew Rescues Three in Tomales Bay

The Coast Guard rescued three individuals from the water in Tomales Bay, Sunday morning. At approximately 8:30 a.m., Coast Guard Sector San Francisco Command Center personnel received notification that three individuals went into the water just off Lawson's Landing when their raft deflated. Watchstanders coordinated with Coast Guard Station Bodega Bay, who launched a rescue boatcrew and notified Inverness Fire Department of the incident. Sector San Francisco issued a Urgent Marine Information Broadcast for anyone in the area to assist, and launched an aircrew from Air Station San Francisco. Once on scene, the Station Bodega Bay rescue…

16 Jul 2014

USCG Responds to Disabled Duck Boat

Coast Guard watchstanders coordinated a tow of a disabled tour boat near McCovey Cove in the San Francisco Bay, Tuesday afternoon. At approximately 12:30 p.m., Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders received a report from a *local tour boat, Ride the Duck, of steam coming from the engine compartment. Coast Guard Station San Francisco launched a 45-foot rescue boat crew, and Air Station San Francisco diverted a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew to assist. Once on scene, the boat crew coordinated a tow with Tug Wild Cat, who then towed the disabled vessel to Pier 54 in San Francisco. All 36 passengers aboard the duck boat safely disembarked. The Coast Guard urges all boaters to remain vigilant on the water and familiarize themselves with all safety equipment and procedures onboard.

19 Feb 2014

Coast Guard Rescues 3 Near Big Sur

A U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew from Air Station San Francisco rescued two boaters and a 12-year-old from their disabled and sinking 32-foot vessel approximately two miles off Big Sur, Calif., Tuesday afternoon. USCG Sector San Francisco command center received a distress call from the vessel's passengers stating they had become disabled and were taking on water from the 10- to 15-foot seas. The rescue aircrew was immediately deployed, but once on scene difficulties in the rescue arose due to the vessel's rigging and snag hazards. To successfully conduct the rescue, the aircrew lowered their rescue swimmer attached to the aircraft's hoist cable and directed the survivors to enter the water one at a time. The aircrew then recovered each person into the aircraft.

26 Nov 2013

IMO Honors Acts of Bravery

USCG aviation survival technicians Randy Haba and Daniel Todd were awarded for the rescue of 14 crew members aboard HMS Bounty during Hurricane Sandy.

American rescuers and a Chinese seafarer have been presented with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea 2013, during a special ceremony held on November 25, 2013 at IMO Headquarters in London. Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Randy J. Haba and Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Daniel J. Todd of the United States Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, were nominated by the Government of the United States…

15 Apr 2013

USCG Rescues Four from Tug off California Coast

The Coast Guard rescued four people from a liferaft after their tugboat sank. The Coast Guard received a distress called from the tug Delta Captain at 2:55 p.m. Saturday and immediately launched rescue crews; a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Coast Guard Station Monterey, the Coast Guard Cutter Sockeye — an 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat homeported in Bodega Bay — and an HH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco. The rescue helicopter crew located the survivors of the Delta Captain and deployed a rescue swimmer to hoist them aboard. All four were transported to shore in Monterey and transferred to awaiting emergency medical technicians. There were no reports of injuries. The tug Delta Captain sank and may still be attached via towline to the barge.

15 Apr 2013

Tugboat Sinks, Tow Afloat Off California Coast

The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued four people from a life raft after their tugboat sank in a towing operation off California near Big Sur. The Coast Guard state that they received a distress called from the tug Delta Captain at 2:55 p.m. Saturday and immediately launched rescue crews; a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Coast Guard Station Monterey, the Coast Guard Cutter Sockeye — an 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat homeported in Bodega Bay — and an HH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco. The rescue helicopter crew located the survivors of the Delta Captain and deployed a rescue swimmer to hoist them aboard. All four were transported to shore in Monterey, and transferred to awaiting emergency medical technicians. There were no reports of injuries.

20 Apr 2010

Starlight Marine Trains with USCG

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Pamela J. Manns

Starlight Marine Services, a full service marine transportation provider and subsidiary of Harley Marine Services, has collaborated with the United States Coast Guard to conduct on the water rescue training. The first training was conducted on January 15 and the more recent was on April 1. This training marked the first time the air station trained with members from the tug and barge industry. During the April training, two Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin class helicopters were on scene from Air Station San Francisco to conduct hoist training with the crew from Starlight Marine’s Millennium Falcon.

29 Jan 2009

USCG, Commercial Tugs Respond to Tanker

The Coast Guard, along with commercial tug vessels, and the California Department of Fish and Game responded to a vessel, which lost propulsion on Jan. 27, just outside the Golden Gate Bridge. At 5:24 p.m., the Petroleum Oil Tank Ship Overseas Cleliamar lost power shortly after transiting under the Golden Gate Bridge while outbound from San Francisco enroute to its next port of call in Ecuador. Within ten minutes, the crew was able to drop the starboard anchor to stabilize the vessel's position, restored power and backed down under its own power. The vessel had previously discharged its cargo during its port call at Martinez and was carrying no cargo at the time of the incident.

26 Dec 2008

Tank Vessel Touches Bottom, San Pablo Bay

The Coast Guard responded to a report of a tank vessel which grazed the bottom of the channel on Dec. 19. No pollution was reported or sighted by response personnel. At 5 a.m., Coast Guard Sector San Francisco received a report that the Marshall Islands-flagged Tank Vessel Cape Brasilia had touched the muddy bottom of the Pinole Shoal Channel. The 577-foot tanker immediately moved back into deeper water without incident, assisted by two tugs. The Coast Guard immediately launched vessels from Coast Guard Station Vallejo and Coast Guard Station San Francisco to search the area for signs of pollution. At first light, an HH-65 Dolphin Helicopter from Air Station San Francisco conducted a thorough overflight of San Pablo Bay, with negative sightings of pollution.

12 Feb 2003

Coast Guard Searches For Suspicious Boater

The Coast Guard and other local law enforcement agencies are investigating the report of a suspicious boater seen near the entrance of the Oakland, Ca., estuary. The captain of a tugboat reported a near collision with a gray, ten-foot inflatable boat operating without navigational lights. The Coast Guard dispatched a small boat from Coast Guard Station San Francisco, a helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco, the Coast Guard Cutter Hawksbill and requested assistance from the California Highway Patrol, San Francisco Police Department and Oakland Fire Department to help conduct the search. Units are searching the bay and waterfront facilities for the boat and the operator. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Coast Guard Group San Francisco at 415-556-2103

10 Dec 2007

Coast Guard Responds to Ferry Allision

The Coast Guard Sector San Francisco responded to the Ferry Vessel Royal Prince of the Red & White Fleet after the vessel allided with some rocks south west of Alcatraz a little after 3pm. The vessel operator reported some damage to the forward left side but the vessel was not taking on water and there were no injuries. A Coast Guard small boat from Station San Francisco and a helicopter from Air Station San Francisco responded to the scene and reported no pollution. The ferry was taken out of service and conducted soundings on their tanks to ensure no oil was released into the environment. Alcohol testing was administered to the entire crew and the results were negative. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of this incident.