4 Recovered after Boat Collision near James River Bridge
Good Samaritans rescued four people from the water Saturday morning, after a collision between a recreational boat, with six people aboard, and an oyster barge being pushed by a tug which was headed for an oyster bed near the James River Bridge. The two people went missing after a collision took place between a recreational boat, with six people aboard. First responders from multiple agencies are working together by boat and air to search for the two other people that were aboard the 19-foot center console boat when the incident occurred. The waterway is closed between the James River Bridge and the Monitor Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel for safety of life.
USCG, Virgina Police Enter Agreement
PORTSMOUTH, Va. – Rear Adm. Sally Brice O’Hara, Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District and the Commonwealth of Virginia Governor Mark Warner will formalize an important maritime security partnership at a signing ceremony to be held at 10 a.m. Monday at the Renaissance Hotel. The partnership, known as a Memorandum of Agreement, allows Coast Guard law enforcement crews and Virginia Marine Police officers to better work together to ensure the safety and security of Virginia’s waters and waterfront facilities, including those in the Port of Hampton Roads and the National Capitol Region. “We’re working across traditional agency boundaries to make America stronger in the maritime domain,” said Rear Adm. Brice O’Hara.
Coast Guard Integrated Support Command
The Coast Guard and the Virginia Marine Police are combining forces in southeast Virginia to sponsor a search and rescue forum from 8:30a.m.-3:00p.m. at the Coast Guard Integrated Support Command Portsmouth on Tuesday. The forum will include classroom search and rescue training, underway search and rescue techniques, rescue and survival equipment procedures and helicopter familiarity. More than 70 maritime search and rescue first responders will attend the forum. The search and rescue forum is aimed at building upon existing interagency cooperation by providing training and enhanced understanding between coastal and maritime search and rescue agencies.
