Several Coast Guard News

The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a man overboard from the Hong-Kong-registered bulk carrier Shandong Fu Xin approximately 97 miles southeast of Southwest Pass channel in Louisiana.The search is for a 5-foot 31-year-old Vietnamese male.Watchstanders with Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a radio call at approximately 6:35 p.m. Thursday on VHF-FM channel 16 from the crew of the Shandong Fu Xin stating a crewmember reportedly failed to show up to watch that afternoon. The crew reported they were unable to find the missing crewmember after a search of the vessel.The watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and coordinated the launch of several Coast Guard assets to aid in the vessel's search.

Built to guide mariners through safe waters, the Valiant Rock Lighted Whistle Buoy 11 was dangerously adrift in the Long Island Sound.When ferry operators traveling between Orient Point and Fishers Island, New York, first reported the buoy off station on Jan. 17, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oak (WLB-211) was already underway but foul weather kept the cutter from removing it.This was the beginning of a two-week saga that would involve several Coast Guard units. Like the Loch Ness monster of the Long Island Sound, the 35-foot-tall green buoy was occasionally seen but hard to catch.

Revised Comment Period: Draft Merchant Mariner Medical Manual, Notification of Availability and Request for Comments.The Coast Guard is seeking public comment regarding the draft Merchant Mariner Medical Manual. The guidance in this manual should assist medical practitioners, the maritime industry, individual mariners, and Coast Guard personnel in evaluating mariner applicants’ physical and medical statuses to meet the requirements of the merchant mariner medical certificate. This draft commandant instruction manual incorporates and consolidates prior guidance on the medical evaluation of merchant mariners contained in several Coast Guard documents.

Coast Guard search and rescue crews were relieved by Republic of Korea assets on Saturday in their search for 26 crewmembers from the fishing vessel 501 Oryong that capsized Nov. 30, 2014, near Chukotka, Russia, in the Bering Sea. The Coast Guard completed more than 24 searches covering more than 4,576 square miles utilizing two cutters, two helicopters, and multiple airplanes. Coast Guard crews will continue to partner with the Republic of Korea to provide search and rescue planning support. "The sympathies of the Coast Guard go out to those impacted by this tragic maritime loss," said Rear Adm. Dan Abel, commander, Coast Guard 17th District. "To the families of those known to have perished, we grieve with you.

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) search and rescue crews were relieved by Republic of Korea assets on Saturday in their search for 26 crewmembers from the fishing vessel 501 Oryong that capsized Nov. 30, 2014, near Chukotka, Russia, in the Bering Sea. The USCG completed more than 24 searches covering more than 4,576 square miles utilizing two cutters, two helicopters, and multiple airplanes. Coast Guard crews will continue to partner with the Republic of Korea to provide search and rescue planning support. Two Republic of Korea Navy P-3 Orion aircraft joined the search for survivors on Dec. 6, 2014.

The Coast Guard and a good Samaritan found and rescued a man Saturday morning, who had been missing since Friday afternoon on lower Lake Michigan. The Coast Guard is not releasing the man’s name and there is no imagery of video available. At 6:25 p.m., Friday, a watchstander at Coast Guard Station Calumet Harbor in Chicago received notification from a woman reporting her husband missing in Lake Michigan. The wife reported that he was to sail in his 24-foot boat from Diversey Harbor in Chicago and arrive in New Buffalo, Michigan, at 4 p.m., but had not arrived or contacted her. The man did not have his cell phone or a marine radio aboard the boat, but did have a life jacket and emergency flares.

At least 10,000 people are feared dead after Typhoon Haiyan bombarded the Philippines last Friday, November 8, with death toll figures expected to continue rising. The storm, recorded as one of the most powerful in history to hit land, produced wind gusts of more than 200 miles per hour, 15-meter waves and seven-meter storm surges, and has destroyed roughly 70-80% of structures in its path, according to estimations by the United Nations. Philippines president Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III has declared the nation in a state of national calamity.

The U.S. Coast Guard completed Arctic Shield 2013 after a successful summer season of sustained operations and outreach efforts in the Arctic region Friday. Arctic Shield focused on Western Alaska and the Bering Strait and consisted of a three-pronged approach of operations, outreach and an assessment of the Coast Guard's capabilities in the Arctic. This regional operation aligns with the Coast Guard Arctic Strategy and its three key objectives: improving awareness, modernizing governance and broadening partnerships.

Coast Guard Station Charlevoix, Michigan, accept delivery of the station’s new 45-foot Response Boat-Medium, built by Marinette Marine, of Manitowoc, Wis. The RB-M can respond faster than previous boats of similar size with a top speed in excess of 40 knots and has advanced search capability with an installed forward-looking infrared search technology. Additionally, with twin jet propulsion, the vessel is able to respond in shallower water. The boat has a deep-V, double-chine hull, which provides a balance of performance and stability.

The tanker Cape Brasilia is escorted by a Coast Guard vessel and tug after touching the bottom of the channel in San Pablo Bay, north of the San Francisco Bay. The tanker scraped the bottom of the channel, and immediately moved back into deeper water without incident. The vessel is currently being moved to anchorage nine, where investigators will examine the vessel to ensure there is no structural damage or pollution potential. Several Coast Guard assets, including boats, and a helicopter verified that no pollution resulted from this incident. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

Inspectors with several federal and State of Hawaii agencies joined forces to enforce hazardous materials shipping requirements and standards in several key Hawaii ports. The U.S. Coast Guard helped organized the 2008 Multi Agency Strike Force Operation (MASFO 2008) on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island, Nov. 12-14. The MASFO focused attention on the enforcement of hazardous materials shipping requirements and shipping container material condition safety standards. The operation also helped foster partner agency interoperability…

The U.S. Coast Guard announced the beginning of a program aimed at facilitating the installation of experimental shipboard ballast water treatment systems. Foreign and domestic vessel owners that participate in the program may be granted equivalencies to U.S. ballast water regulations for participating vessels. The Shipboard Technology Evaluation Program (STEP) is one of several Coast Guard initiatives aimed at reducing the introduction of nonindigenous species (NIS) to U.S. waters through ballast water. The impacts of NIS on our environment, food supply, economy, health and overall biodiversity of our waterways are significant and increasing. "This is one of the many things we are doing to protect our waters," said Capt.