Shell Rig Departs for Arctic Despite Protest
U.S. Coast Guard and police boats cleared a way through protesters in kayaks at a Seattle-area port on Tuesday so a drilling ship could head for the Arctic on behalf of Royal Dutch Shell. The Noble Discover is the second drilling ship Shell has sent to the area in recent days. The activists, who have staged frequent demonstrations during the past two months against Royal Dutch Shell's oil exploration in the Chukchi Sea off mainland Alaska, said 21 protesters in kayaks took to the waters just beyond the Port of Everett north of Seattle where the oil rig launched for sea. The activists had entered the safety zone around the Noble Discover and were intercepted by small boats of the U.S.
USCG Seeks Prankster who Made Fake Distress Calls
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is working to track down a prankster who called in fake distress calls in Washington state that led agency officials to launch two rescue efforts that cost over $200,000, an official said on Thursday. The suspect made his first call over VHF radio on May 31, reporting he was on a burning fishing vessel in Puget Sound and that he and four other people were grabbing life jackets and jumping off, the Coast Guard said in a statement. Two Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews, the team of a 45-foot Coast Guard rescue boat and the crew of a local Sheriff's Office vessel searched for the fishing boat said to be on fire, but found nothing.
Japanese Fishing Boat Derelict Approaching Alaska
A derelict Japanese ship dislodged by last year’s massive tsunami is drifting toward Alaska, the Coast Guard said. The shrimping vessel was floating slowly northwest in the Gulf of Alaska about 125 miles west of the nearest point of land — Forrester Island outside the Dixon Entrance, a maritime transportation corridor separating U.S. and Canada jurisdictions. The ship is heading in the direction of the south-east Alaska town of Sitka 170 miles to the north, traveling at about one mile per hour, Coast Guard spokesman David Mosley said. “Our main concern is maritime traffic,” he said.
USCG Photo: Russian Anchorage Meeting
Rear Adm. Christopher Colvin, commander 17th Coast Guard District, Russian Lt. Gen. Raphael Alexeseevich Daerbaev, the chief of the Northeast Border Directorate of the Federal Security Service of Russia, shake hands after signing letters of understanding towards continued communication and cooperation in combating illegal fishing in the Northern Pacific and the Bering Sea, Apr. 20, 2011. The Coast Guard hosted the annual visit from the NBD to strengthen relations and discuss best practices for fisheries enforcement and search and rescue on the high seas. U.S.
Photo: CG & DHS Visit the Port of Valdez
Coast Guard Vice Adm. Sally Brice-O'Hara, Coast Guard vice commandant and Alice Hill, senior counselor to the secretary of Homeland Security, tour the port of Valdez aboard a Coast Guard Station Valdez response boat small Sept. 3, 2010. Brice-O'Hara and Hill visited Valdez as part of a Department of Homeland Security familiarization visit to Alaska. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class David Mosley
