Coast Guard Sector Juneau News

Removal operations for a tug partially submerged at the National Guard Dock in Gastineau Channel, near Juneau, Alaska, are scheduled, weather pending, to be conducted this week and into the weekend, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Melino’s Marine Services, the contracted salvage company, plans to remove the vessel utilizing a barge and crane system that are currently enroute from Bellingham, Wash.The operation is expected to take multiple days pending weather conditions. Once the vessel is removed…

A derelict tugboat abandoned near Juneau, Alaska since 2016, has been towed to sea and scuttled in the Gulf of Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The Lumberman had been causing problems for locals since it was abandoned in the Gastineau channel five years ago, and the decision was made to dispose of the vessel at sea after the 107-foot steel hulled tugboat was determined to be derelict and a significant risk to public safety, according to the Coast Guard.The City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ)…

The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to a report of a diesel fuel discharge after a vessel sank near Sitka, Alaska.Sector Juneau personnel received a report, February 26, that the 52-foot fishing vessel Haida Lady sank and was completely submerged between Cobb Island and Silver Point south of Sitka. The vessel reportedly discharged an unknown amount of unrecoverable diesel near Cobb Island.Hanson Marine has been contracted by the Coast Guard to mitigate pollution and recover the vessel. The source of the discharge was secured on February 28.

A suspect has been taken into custody following a bomb scare aboard a passenger car ferry in Juneau, Alaska, Wednesday morning.At 6:49 a.m., U.S. Coast Guard watchstanders received a call from the captain of the LeConte, reporting a bomb threat aboard the ferry scheduled to depart Juneau. Coast Guard law enforcement personnel conducted a security sweep of the vessel and found no credible threats.The suspect, who reportedly drove a vehicle onto the ferry and made the threats, has been apprehended by Juneau Police Department (JPD) and the vehicle was impounded without incident.The Coast Guard, which worked alongside Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) and JPD to ensure passenger safety and restore service…

The U.S. Coast Guard announced Friday Rear Adm. Melissa Bert has been invested as judge advocate general and chief counsel of the Coast Guard. Bert is the service’s first woman to hold that office.Bert was most recently the director of Governmental and Public Affairs for the Coast Guard, where she was responsible for external engagement with Congress, the media and other inter-governmental entities.As judge advocate general and chief counsel, Bert will lead a group of legal professionals who are responsible for the delivery of all legal services in support of the Coast Guard's missions…

The Coast Guard rescued five fishermen from a life raft Tuesday after they were forced to abandon their fishing vessel taking on water southeast of Sitka.A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Sitka hoisted all five people and brought them to Sitka, uninjured.Coast Guard Sector Juneau Command Center watchstanders monitoring Channel 16 heard “Mayday, vessel Masonic going down,” at approximately 2:33 a.m. Watchstanders located the vessel’s last position south…

The Coast Guard is searching for an overdue aircraft with three people aboard about 20 miles west of Kake, Alaska, Tuesday.Coast Guard Sector Juneau watchstanders received notification from Sitka Flight Services that a Guardian King Air 200 medical life flight was expected to land in Kake at 6:19 p.m., however, the aircraft never landed. The aircraft departed from Anchorage.Watchstanders directed the launch of the Coast Guard Cutter Anacapa crew to conduct the search near the last known position of the aircraft. Good Samaritan vessels are also searching the area.“Coast Guard crews are diligently searching for the missing aircraft and individuals,” said Lt j.g. Colin McClelland, Coast Guard Sector Juneau command duty officer.

A crane barge that will be used to hoist a sunken tug in Sitka, Alaska has arrived to the wreck site. The evolution to raise the tug is expected to take up to 10 days, the U.S. Coast Guard said. U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Sitka and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation have been monitoring the out-of-service tug Powhatan, which sank at a pier in Sitka, April 19 and slid approximately 300 yards down a bank ultimately settling in 160 to 180 feet of water. The tug's owner, Samson Tug and Barge Company, contracted Southeast Alaska Petroleum for pollution recovery and Alaska Commercial Divers to plug vents and survey the vessel underwater. Since the sinking, an estimated 400 gallons of mixed product has released from the sunken tug.

Emergency personnel continue their response to the tug boat Samson Mariner which ran aground and spilled fuel while towing a barge in the vicinity of Rosa Reef in north Tongass Narrows, Alaska, Wednesday evening. Approximately 1,100 gallons of diesel spilled from the tug prior to being patched by Alaska Commercial Divers Wednesday night. The Samson Mariner has been refloated and is anchored in Ward Cove alongside the barge it was towing. A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew conducted an overflight with Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Ketchikan personnel aboard to determine the extent of any possible sheen or environmental impacts. A sheen has been reported in the area and SEAPRO has been tasked with fuel containment and recovery using boom and absorbent pads.

The Coast Guard is searching for two men reported overdue from a boating trip near Ketchikan Sunday. Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk crews and Coast Guard Station Ketchikan 45-foot Response Boat - Medium crews are conducting search patterns on the southern end of Gravina Island. An Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk crew located a 16-foot skiff belonging to the missing capsized north of the intended route in Blank Inlet on Gravina Island at approximately 9:45 a.m. Sunday. The crew of the good Samaritan fishing vessel Storm Rage righted the skiff and is towing it back to Ketchikan. Alaska State Troopers have activated the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad to assist with shoreline searches. The Coast Guard Cutter Maple is expected to arrive on scene Monday morning.

A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevaced one injured person, and a Coast Guard Station Juneau response boat – medium crew transported five people from a hard-aground pleasure craft near Cube Cove, approximately 65 miles northeast of Sitka, Alaska, Thursday afternoon. The Jayhawk crew hoisted and transported the injured woman to awaiting medical personnel in Juneau. The remaining five mariners were picked up by good Samaritans, transferred to the Station Juneau RB-M and transported to Juneau. Coast Guard Sector Juneau watchstanders received a request for help over VHF channel 16 reporting the vessel was hard aground, taking on water and one passenger sustained an apparent head injury. The Jayhawk and RB-M crews were dispatched to the scene.

Eighteen people were rescued from a 35-foot whale-watching motor vessel taking on water in Favorite Channel near Juneau, Alaska, Sunday afternoon, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. Watchstanders from Coast Guard Sector Juneau received a call from a crewmember of the whale-watching vessel Big Red reporting they were taking on water in Favorite Channel. An urgent marine information broadcast requesting any vessels in the area to assist was subsequently issued. The rescue was performed by U.S. Coast Guard Sector Juneau, along with multiple Good Samaritan vessels. All 16 passengers and two crewmembers aboard Big Red were recovered and embarked onto motor vessel St.

The U.S. Coast Guard received approval for removal and destruction of tugboat Challenger under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWCPA). An incident command will be established and operations will begin Monday, February 1, to manage the removal of the tugboat that sank in Juneau’s Gastineau Channel September 12, 2015. The operation could take weeks to complete. “Our highest priorities are safety to the environment and safety of operations and responders,” said Capt. Shannan D. Greene, federal on-scene coordinator for the tug Challenger response and the commander of Coast Guard Sector Juneau. The Coast Guard hired divers in September…

Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Natural Resources joined Coast Guard Sector Juneau personnel in responding to the tugboat, Challenger, which sank in Juneau's Gastineau channel September 12, 2015. Global Diving & Salvage and Southeast Alaska Lighterage (SEAL) were contracted and have removed all accessible pollution sources and hazards from the vessel. SEAL replaced the boom around the vessel today. The Coast Guard and DEC will continue monitoring for any further oil seepage and environmental impacts.

Coast Guard Sector Juneau and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation personnel are investigating the spill of approximately of 50-100 gallons of petroleum products at the Auke Bay Harbor, Monday. Southeast Alaska Lighterage has been contracted to contain and mitigate the spill and they have deployed more than 1000-feet of boom and other absorbent materials to contain and mitigate the spread of the spill. Coast Guard Sector Juneau received a report of a petroleum spill in Auke Bay Harbor Sunday evening and dispatched investigators. “Our primary concern is containing the spill and mitigating damage to the environment,” said Lt. Mickey Sanders, with the Coast Guard Sector Juneau Response Department. The cause of the spill is under investigation.

An Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevaced an ailing 50-year-old man from a skiff on a beach 27 miles northwest of Sitka, Thursday. The Jayhawk crew landed on the beach where they met the man who was being transported by a skiff deployed off the 83-foot Canadian flagged passenger ship Nautilus Swell, anchored in a nearby cove. He was safely transported via helicopter to commercial emergency medical services in Sitka. Coast Guard Sector Juneau Command Center watchstanders received the request by VHF radio from the Nautilus Swell that the man was reportedly suffering from cardiac arrest symptoms. The Coast Guard duty flight surgeon recommended the need to medevac the man and deliver him to a higher level of medical care.

The Coast Guard 17th District informs that it has taken off a 56-year-old male patient from the cruise ship 'Carnival Miracle' in Stephens Passage near Juneau, Alaska. A 45-foot response boat-medium crew from Coast Guard Station Juneau safely transported the man to awaiting medical personnel in Juneau after it was reported he was suffering from a diabetes-related episode. Coast Guard Sector Juneau command center personnel received the report from the crew of the Carnival Miracle and launched the response boat crew with Juneau Emergency Medical Associates personnel aboard to rendezvous with the vessel. “A case like this highlights the training and proficiency of our boat crewmembers and interoperability with our local partners,” said Lt. Stacey Tate, Command Duty Officer, Sector Juneau.

A U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevaced an ailing mariner from Deep Bay, 25 miles north of Sitka, Sunday. The Jayhawk crew safely hoisted the 68-year-old man from the Western Profit, a 62-foot charter vessel, and transferred him to Sitka Community Hospital. Coast Guard Sector Juneau command center watchstanders received a report from the crewmembers of the Western Profit that the mariner was suffering from chest pains. “During the summer months there is increased activity on the water, and our crews stand watch around the clock,” said Cmdr.

A Coast Guard boatcrew from Station Ketchikan assisted two boaters after their 15-foot vessel became disabled near Ketchikan, Sunday. The boatcrew safely transferred the boaters to the Coast Guard vessel and took the disabled vessel in tow before transporting them to Knuduson Cove. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Juneau were notified by the Ketchikan Police Department after they received a call from one of the boaters that their vessel had been swamped by waves and became disabled. Station Ketchikan immediately launched a Response Boat – Small crew to assist. “The boaters went out without a radio or GPS, but were fortunate enough to make an emergency call to the Ketchikan Police Department with a weak cell phone signal,” said Lt. j.g.

A Unified Command has been formed to respond to a release of diesel fuel from the Jarvis St. Power Plant, the U.S. Coast Guard reported Monday. Coast Guard Sector Juneau, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation pollution responders from Juneau and members of Marine Safety Detachment Sitka are coordinating clean-up efforts with the City of Sitka, National Park Service and tribal organizations. City of Sitka personnel received a report Saturday of diesel washing ashore in Sitka Sound. City of Sitka notified MSD Sitka personnel who responded and recovered approximately 50 gallons of diesel. The source was identified from the Jarvis St. Power Plant, Sunday, which had released an estimated 30,000 gallons of diesel into the storage tank facility's secondary containment.

A 58-foot fishing vessel ran aground, sunk and spilled oil in Sitka, Alaska, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. No injuries have been reported, and there have been no confirmed reports of impacts to wildlife. The fishing vessel Pacific Venture, a 58-foot seiner, ran aground Tuesday evening and subsequently rolled over around 2 a.m. Wednesday, sinking in approximately 25 feet of water in vicinity of The Twins, roughly half a mile off the mouth of the Indian River in Sitka. The vessel’s owner reports 600 gallons of diesel fuel and 70 gallons of hydraulic and lube oils were on board…

The Coast Guard assisted a 26-year-old woman from Metlakatla, Alaska, who was reported to have fallen out of her canoe and swam to shore near Tongass Narrows, Sunday. A Station Ketchikan 25-foot Response Boat – Small crew picked up the survivor and transferred to her family in Annette Bay. Coast Guard Station Ketchikan watchstanders were notified by Ketchikan Police Department that a woman had fallen out of her canoe near South Pennock Island in Tongass Narrows and was able to make it to shore but was stranded. The watchstanders informed Coast Guard Sector Juneau watchstanders and dispatched the RB-S crew who safely retrieved the woman. “The young lady had her lifejacket on which probably saved her life,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Jacob Rupert, crewmember aboard the RB-S.

U.S. Coast Guard Sector Juneau personnel are responded to the sinking of the 80-foot fishing vessel Eyak approximately 13 miles south of Sitka Harbor, Monday. Sector Juneau personnel will monitor the sunken vessel for signs of pollution until the owner can salvage the vessel. Sector Juneau watchstanders received a call on VHF channel 16 from a crewmember aboard the Eyak stating they had run aground by Calligan Island and were taking on water. Watchstanders requested the launch of an Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew. Alaska State Trooper and Sitka Search and Rescue crews arrived on scene and assisted with dewatering of the vessel.