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Neah Bay News

31 Jan 2021

Video: Containership Crew Member Medevaced Off Washington

(Video: Steven Strohmaier / U.S. Coast Guard)

A U.S. Coast Guard said it medevaced a woman from a containership off the Washington coast Saturday after she was having difficulty breathing and experiencing temporary unconsciousness.Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound command center received a call at 11:30 a.m. from the ship’s health insurance provider stating the 65-year-old woman required medical attention.At the time, the 710-foot container ship, Matson Kodiak, was transiting westbound in the Strait of Juan…

11 Jul 2018

Cruise Ship Passenger Dies after Going Overboard

Coast Guard rescue crew members transfer an unresponsive individual to local Emergency Medical Service personnel after recovering him the water near the Strait of Juan de Fuca on July 10, 2018. (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

A cruise ship passenger who went overboard near the Strait of Juan de Fuca has been pronounced dead.The U.S. Coast Guard said the 73-year-old male was unresponsive when he was recovered by a helicopter rescue crew from the water near the west coast Canada/U.S. border.The overboard passenger was transferred to local Emergency Medical Service personnel waiting on shore and then to the Olympic Medical Center where he was later pronounced deceased.Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound Command…

26 Feb 2018

Disabled Bulker Towed to Seattle after Engine Room Blast

Main diesel engine components malfunctioned on board a 653-foot bulk carrier and caused a localized explosion, Thursday, about 120 miles west of the Columbia River entrance. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the Panamanian-flagged Federal Iris was en route from the Port of Changzhou, China, to pick up cargo in Longview, Wash., when the explosion occurred. There were no injuries to the 21 crew members aboard, but the damage rendered the main propulsion system inoperable. The Federal Iris crew enacted emergency salvage operations and contracted the crew of the emergency response towing vessel, the Denise Foss, which is permanently stationed at Neah Bay, Wash.

29 Sep 2015

USCG Icebreaking Tug Returns from Midlife Overhaul

Morro Bay passes the Cleveland West Pierhead Light in June 2013. (USCG photo by Christopher M. Yaw)

Coast Guard Cutter Morro Bay returned to homeport in Cleveland Tuesday following a 14-month service life extension project (SLEP) at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, the U.S. Coast Guard announced. SLEP is a major midlife overhaul which is expected to extend the cutter's service life 15 years. Morro Bay is one of nine 140-foot WTGB icebreaking tugs built between the late 1970s and early 1980s in Tacoma, Wash. Having served on the Great Lakes, mid-Atlantic and New England waterways for more than three decades, the WTGBs were due for a mid-life overhaul.

21 Apr 2014

Coast Guard Concludes Great Lakes Icebreaking

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Randy Beauchamp

The U.S. Coast Guard concluded icebreaking operations on the lower Great Lakes, Monday, more than four months after it started, Dec. 15, 2013. Operation Coal Shovel is a binational domestic icebreaking effort covering the St. Lawrence Seaway, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, the Detroit/St. Clair River System and southern Lake Huron. Crews aboard Coast Guard Cutters Mackinaw, Hollyhock, Bristol Bay, Neah Bay and Morro Bay were joined by crews from Canadian Coast Guard Ships Samuel Risley, Griffon and Des Groseilliers during this year’s operation.

28 Mar 2014

US, Canadian Icebreakers Escort Great Lakes Bulker

U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of CSL Laurentien

U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard crews helped to keep commerce moving on the Great Lakes by breaking ice for bulk carrier CSL Laurentien in eastern Lake Eerie on March 27. The crews encountered plate ice as thick as 3 feet and ice ridges as tall as 8 feet. The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Neah Bay, homeported in Cleveland, work with Canadian Coast Guard Ship Samuel Risley to escort the CSL Laurentien through the ice. uscgnews.com

21 Mar 2014

USCG Breaks Ice to Reduce Flooding Risk

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) reported that Coast Guard Cutter Neah Bay broke ice Friday afternoon in the Port of Lorain, Ohio, in an attempt to prevent ice jams from forming and causing flooding of the surrounding areas. The cutter responded to a request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the lead federal agency for flood mitigation and response, who determined that the area would benefit from ice-breaking operations. The cutter, Neah Bay, a 140-foot ice-breaking tug homeported in Cleveland, arrived in Lorain Friday morning after transiting from Monroe, Mich., where the crew battled ice in the River Raisin to relieve flooding there.

31 Dec 2013

Steamship Mutual: US Vessel Response Plans – Contingency Plans

Washington State – Alaska – Non tank final rule & Washington State – Contingency Plan requirements. We refer to our circular no. B.613. As stated in that circular, every tank vessel and every other vessel over 300 GT is required under State law to file a contingency plan prior to entry into the waters of Washington State but that instead of filing his own plan an owner can subscribe to an umbrella oil spill contingency plan. Since publishing the abovementioned circular, Washington State Maritime Co-operative (WSMC) has changed its enrolment agreement and the version with footer “WSMC Enrolment Agreement – December 2013” conforms with the International Group’s guidelines on vessel response plans.

13 May 2013

Great Lakes Shipyard Contracted for USCG Cutter Repairs

Coast Guard Cutter Neah Bay (photo: Great Lakes Shipyard)

Great Lakes Shipyard hauled out the United States Coast Guard Cutter Neah Bay (WTGB-105) using its 770-ton capacity Travelift. The repair contract, awarded to the Shipyard in early March, includes routine drydocking and underwater hull maintenance such as inspection and testing of propulsion systems; overhaul of sea valves and shaft seal assemblies; and other various cleaning, inspections, and repairs. This is the first of the USCG’s nine 140-foot Bay Class ice breaking tugs to be drydocked using Great Lakes Shipyard’s new Marine Travelift.

19 Mar 2013

Great Lakes Shipyard Awarded Coast Guard Contract

USCG Cutter Neah Bay: Photo credit Great Layes Shipyard

The shipyard has been awarded a drydocking & repair contract for the United States Coast Guard Cutter 'Neah Bay' (WTGB-105). Contracted work includes routine drydocking and underwater hull maintenance, including inspection and testing of propulsion systems; overhaul of sea valves and shaft seal assemblies; and other various cleaning, inspections, and repairs. This will be the first of the USCG’s nine (9) 140-foot Bay Class ice breaking tugs to be drydocked using Great Lakes Shipyard’s new Marine Travelift.

04 Feb 2011

Photo: USCGC Neah Bay Breaking Ice

The Coast Guard Cutter Neah Bay breaks ice in Lake Erie as it heads to its homeport in Cleveland Feb. 1, 2011. Neah Bay is a 140-ft ice breaking tug capable of continuously breaking 20 inches of hard, freshwater ice and can break through ice more than three feet thick by backing up and ramming it. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Lauren Jorgensen)

08 Jul 2010

Avtron Upgrades Icebreakers

The U.S. Coast Guard recently awarded Avtron Industrial Automation a contract to upgrade the main propulsion system on its fleet of 9 WTGB Ice Breaking Tugs with the Avtron ADD-32 DMG Drive System. To date, Avtron has upgraded the electrical propulsion system for the Neah Bay in Cleveland, OH, the Bristol Bay in Detroit, MI, and now the Penobscot Bay in Bayonne, NJ. The WTGBs are 140’ diesel-electric vessels which operate on the Great Lakes and the Northeastern United States. The ice breaking mission of the vessels requires them to be operational at all times.

17 May 2010

This Day in Coast Guard History – May 17

1999-The Coast Guard "kept the peace" when the Makah Indian tribe hunted and killed a gray whale in Neah Bay, Washington.  The Makah were guaranteed the right to hunt whales in their 1855 treaty with the U.S. (Source: USCG Historian’s)

08 Mar 2010

Crowley Tug Assists Disabled Containership

Photo courtesy Crowley

Crowley Maritime Corporation's tugboat Hunter, the state-funded emergency response tug stationed at Neah Bay, Wash., was dispatched this week to assist the 712-ft container vessel, Horizon Tacoma, after the vessel experienced engine problems. The Horizon Tacoma was a few miles north of Neah Bay when it elected to shut down its main engines following the engine problem, though it continued to have full use of its thrusters and directional navigation. After notification by the U.S.

17 Jun 2009

Final Contract to Fund Neah Bay Response Tug

The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) has extended its contract agreement with Crowley Maritime Corp. to station a state-funded emergency response tug at Neah Bay for another full year of service beginning July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010. Under the $3.6m extension agreement, an emergency response tug will remain at Neah Bay to prevent disabled ships and barges from drifting onto rocks and causing oil spills in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Washington's outer coast. The contract marks the final year the state will pay for the emergency response tug service. On March 24, 2009, Gov.

28 Jan 2009

Sequim Eyes Tugboat for Oil Spills

According to a Jan. 27 report from the Peninsula Daily News, oil, cargo and cruise industries would pay for a tugboat at Neah Bay under a proposed bill in the Washington state Legislature. House Bill 1409 -- which was introduced on Tuesday by 24th District Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim -- also would extend the tugboat's mission beyond rescue to also include responding to oil spills and save the state about $3.65 million a year, the Representative said. (Source: Peninsula Daily News)

02 Jul 2008

Crowley Emergency Response … Year Round

Crowley emergency response tug began its first day of year-round service today in Neah Bay, Wash. The emergency response tug will provide assistance to disabled ships and protect the coastline in an unprecedented tour in Washington - providing 365 continuous days of service in an effort to help prevent oil spills in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and along Washington's pristine coastlines. The contract extension agreement between the Washington Department of Ecology and Crowley Maritime Corporation marks the first time that a response tug will be stationed at Neah Bay for a full year of service.

24 Oct 2003

NRC to Acquire Foss Environmental Services

National Response Corporation (NRC), a wholly owned subsidiary of SEACOR SMIT Inc., and SaltChuk Resources, Inc. (SaltChuk), a private company based in Seattle, Wash., announced that they had signed a definitive agreement for NRC to acquire Foss Environmental Services (FES), a wholly owned subsidiary of SaltChuk. FES will be renamed NRC Environmental Services and will operate as an independent wholly owned NRC subsidiary Through its acquisition of FES, NRC will acquire additional spill response resources, existing contracts, and employ more than 175 people throughout the West Coast of the U.S. Its personnel and equipment in California will more than exceed the requirements of new California regulations, which are currently being phased in.

15 Oct 2003

USCG Monitors Retrieval of Empty Oil Barge

The U.S. Coast Guard issued a Press Release stating that it monitored the retrieval of an empty oil barge after the towing line connecting it to a tug separated. The barge was inbound in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The tow was re-established after about 2 and one-half hours. The rescue tug located at Neah Bay was activated and escorted the tug and barge into port. Source: HK Law

19 Dec 2007

Tug Assists Vessel Towing Fuel

Crowley Maritime Corporation's tugboat Gladiator, the state-funded seasonal emergency response tug stationed at Neah Bay, Wash., was dispatched last week to assist a tug towing a loaded oil barge after the vessel temporarily lost its primary electrical power and steering. The Na Hoku was headed down Washington's outer coast when its primary electrical generator engine failed about 12.5 miles west of Cape Flattery. The 105-foot tug was towing a fuel barge containing more than two million gallons of diesel fuel and about a half million gallons of gasoline. Jensen noted the state has contracted to station a standby emergency response tug at Neah Bay since spring 1999.

08 Feb 2008

Emergency Response Tug Helping Escort Container Ship

The Gladiator, the state-funded seasonal emergency response tug stationed at Neah Bay, will help escort the 918-ft. container vessel APL Australia part way through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The container ship lost its secondary hydraulic steering system, but its primary steering system is functional. Due to high winds and other unfavorable sea and weather conditions, the Coast Guard today issued a Captain of the Port order requiring a tug escort for the container ship all the way to its destination in Seattle. The Gladiator will meet the APL Australia near the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and provide escort halfway to Port Angeles. A different tug will escort the ship into Seattle. The APL Australia left Hong Kong on Jan.

15 Apr 2008

Year-round Response Tug for Neah Bay

A state-funded emergency response tug will be stationed at Neah Bay, ready to prevent oil spills 365 days a year under a contract extension agreement signed today between the Department of Ecology (Ecology) and Crowley Maritime Corporation (Crowley).The extension agreement marks the first time that a response tug will be stationed at Neah Bay for a full year of service. During the 2008 legislative session, Gov. Chris Gregoire and lawmakers provided $3.7m for emergency response tug service. Under the contract, Crowley will station a high-horsepower, ocean-going tug at Neah Bay from July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009. “Every year, thousands of vessels carrying billions of gallons of oil make transits through the Strait of Juan de Fuca,” said Gov. Gregoire.

01 Jul 2008

Neah Bay Response Tug Starts First full Year of Service

Beginning July 1, the emergency response tug will begin an unprecedented tour of duty for – providing 365 continuous days of service to help prevent oil spills in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and along coastlines. Since 1999, state-funded response tugs stationed at have kept disabled ships from drifting onto rocks and causing major oil spills during the stormy winter months. The tugs have stood by or assisted 40 ships that were disabled or had reduced maneuvering or propulsion. During the 2008 legislative session, Gov. Gregoire and state lawmakers earmarked $3.7 million for the tug and directed the Department of Ecology (Ecology) to contract for year-round emergency response tug service starting July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009. In April, Ecology and Crowley Maritime Corp.