Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command News

A Coast Guard lieutenant commander and graduate of Hastings High School in Houston, took command of Maritime Safety and Security Team Galveston during a ceremony in Galveston Thursday. Lt. Cmdr. Steve Morris and his wife are both from Houston and he enlisted in the Coast Guard through the recruiting station here. "When it came time last year for me to make known the units that I desired, there's no doubt that MSST Galveston rose right at the top of the list," said Morris. Prior to taking command of MSST Galveston…

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today named Rear Admiral James A. Watson IV as the Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). BSEE was one of the two agencies to succeed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) on Oct. 1, 2011. Admiral Watson will begin as BSEE Director on December 1, 2011, and will succeed Michael R. Bromwich. Admiral Watson is currently the U.S. Coast Guard’s Director of Prevention Policy for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship in Washington, D.C.

Rear Admiral James Watson, the United States Coast Guard’s Deputy Commander for the Atlantic Area, will kick off the membership year of the Propeller Club Chapter of New York/New Jersey on February 3rd with a presentation designed to inform the attendees about changes and initiatives on the horizon for the region. The meeting will run from 5-7PM at the Harvard Club (27 W. 44th St., NY, NY) and will include a reception. The cost to attend is only $25 for members and $50 for non-members.

The Coast Guard remains at its highest state of alert and readiness since World War II, following the president?s authorized military action against the terrorist regime in Afghanistan. "Coast Guard air and sea patrols are keeping a watchful eye on all vessel movements around the clock in many of the more than 300 ports and 88,000 miles of U.S. coast and shoreline," said Lt. Cmdr. Brendan McPherson, a spokesman for the Coast Guard Atlantic Area command in Portsmouth. Ports from Boston to Texas are under tighter security than they have been in more than fifty years. The Coast Guard has stepped up both the frequency and vigilance of its armed patrols, which were significantly increased just hours after the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks Sept. 11.

Admiral Robert Natter, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and Vice Adm. Thad Allen, Commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, jointly announced the assignment of four Cyclone-Class Navy Patrol Coastal (PC) ships in support of the nation’s homeland security Operation Noble Eagle. Two additional PCs will be assigned to the Pacific Coast. For the first time, U.S. Navy ships will be employed jointly with the U.S. Coast Guard to help protect our nation’s coastline, ports and waterways from terrorist attack. “The Atlantic Fleet is working closely with the Coast Guard to ensure the security of our Gulf and east coast ports,” said Admiral Natter. “These ships will be used for coastal patrol and interdiction efforts with the Coast Guard.

As increasing attention is paid to ensuring the nation is secure from attacks - whether direct or covert - via the waterways, companies that supply vessels and equipment to the Coast Guard and Navy are quickly planning for an expected upturn in business. Last month Admiral Robert Natter, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and Vice Adm. Thad Allen, Commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, announced the assignment of four Cyclone-Class Navy Patrol Coastal (PC) ships in support of the nation's homeland security Operation Noble Eagle. Two additional PCs will be assigned to the Pacific Coast. For the first time, U.S. Navy ships will be employed jointly with the U.S. Coast Guard to help protect the nation's coastline, ports and waterways from terrorist attack.

Fourteen Senegal nationals arrived in Brooklyn today aboard a merchant ship after being plucked from their 60-foot catamaran about 800 miles east of Cape Cod, Mass., Saturday afternoon. All 14 rescued, reportedly in good physical condition, were placed in the care of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command Center received a distress report and diverted the "AMVER"-participating merchant ship OOCL Melbourne to render assistance. The merchant ship OOCL Melbourne was transiting from Barcelona, Spain to Brooklyn. A joint-agency boarding team of Coast Guard Sector New York and Customs and Border Protection officers met the merchant ship OOCL Melbourne at Ambrose Light Anchorage, about 12 miles outside the Port of New York and New Jersey.

Coast Guard Atlantic Area Chief of Staff, Captain Christopher C. Colvin, was promoted to the rank of rear admiral lower half today at a ceremony held at the Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command. Rear Adm. Colvin is currently assigned as the Chief of Staff for the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, which encompasses the eastern half of the world from the Rocky Mountains to the Persian Gulf. He will report Nov. 8, to the United States Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base located in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he will serve as Deputy Director of Operations. Rear Adm. Colvin has served afloat on ten Coast Guard cutters and has been the commanding officer of the Dallas home ported in Charleston…

The Coast Guard is alerting mariners along the Gulf coast from Tampa, Fla., to Galveston, Tx., to be on alert and report any sightings of debris possibly related to the tragic loss of the space shuttle Columbia to the Coast Guard. There are no confirmed reports of debris in the Gulf of Mexico as of 5 p.m. An Urgent Marine Information Broadcast (UMIB) was transmitted to mariners via marine radio channel 16 (VHF-FM). The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been designated as the lead federal agency for the search, find, and secure efforts in response to the loss of space shuttle Columbia. Coast Guard ships, aircraft and personnel along the Gulf coast are standing by ready to assist and support FEMA as necessary. As of 3 p.m.