First District News

The Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC), under the command of Capt. Michael Chien, has won the Commodore Viggo C. Bertelsen Jr. and Vice Admiral John P. Currier Auxiliary Integration Award in the category of Applied Innovation. The award was presented by Commander Steven Koch, who leads the Auxiliary (AUX) in New England, at a command all hands. The Auxiliary is the 25,000-member volunteer organization supporting the Coast Guard across 11 missions.Regional Auxiliary Commodore Michael West noted…

Austal USA broke ground on its steel manufacturing line Friday, March 26, 2021, positioning the company to start steel production in April 2022.“This world-class steel manufacturing line is a treasure for the Gulf Coast, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard that will provide a much needed boost to the defense industrial base and our Nation’s defense,” said Jerry Carl, Congressman for Alabama’s first district.“As demand for the greater and larger Navy and Coast Guard fleets grows, Austal USA is investing to meet those changing requirements,” Rusty Murdaugh, interim president said.

Thirty-one fisherman have been rescued from a fishing vessel that caught fire and began to sink off the coast of Eastern Canada.At 7:05 p.m., Tuesday, the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Halifax notified watchstanders at the U.S. Coast Guard First District Command Center that the 143-foot Atlantic Destiny was disabled with a fire on board, and was taking on water in 26-foot seas and 35-mile-per-hour winds.A U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod HC-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing crew…

In recent years the U.S. Coast Guard has identified an increasing trend in the use of cellular phones by the maritime public when communicating distress. In 2018, leadership in the Office of Search and Rescue (SAR) at Coast Guard Headquarters asked the Research and Development Center (RDC) to investigate available technologies that could assist Coast Guard responders in adapting to this trend by leveraging the cellphone’s internal GPS. The RDC, located in New London, Conn., has been serving the Coast Guard for nearly 50 years through research…

Coast Guard Sector Northern New England officially opened a new 24-hour command center Wednesday in South Portland, Maine.Sen. Susan Collins, Atlantic Area Commander Vice Adm. Scott Buschman, and First District Commander Rear Adm. Andrew Tiongson were all on hand for the ribbon cutting ceremony. The command center is the hub for all Coast Guard operations across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and parts of New York. Located at Coast Guard Base South Portland, the command center's exterior remained the same, but the interior is completely new.

The Coast Guard continues coordinating response efforts to ensure the safety of the crew of a container ship approximately 1,015 miles northeast of Bermuda, Monday.Saturday evening, 11 non-essential crew members were evacuated from the Yantian Express to the tugboat Smit Nicobar and Sunday morning all remaining crew were evacuated to the Smit Nicobar.The Coast Guard is currently monitoring the situation. The Smit Nicobar remains on scene providing fire fighting assistance.The commercial tugboat Maersk Mobiliser is also en route and approximately 80 miles northwest of the Yantian Express. Upon arrival, the tug's crew plans to tow the Yantian Express to Halifax…

The Georgia Ports Authority has received a $44 million Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to increase rail capacity at the Port of Savannah. "I would like to thank the Georgia Congressional delegation, including Congressmen Buddy Carter and Rob Woodall, and Senators Johnny Isakson and David Perdue, for their dedicated support of this program," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "As the nation's fourth busiest container port, Savannah's continued rail expansion is a key component to freight mobility in this country. The $44 million award, made possible through the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects (NSFHP) Program…

The 14th Annual California Maritime Leadership Symposium, slated to take place February 19-20 at the Sacramento Convention Center, attracts key members from California’s State Legislature and representatives from California’s ports and the maritime industry. The symposium aims to encourage productive dialogue among maritime industry leaders and communicate port needs to California decision makers. The symposium is hosted by a broad-based coalition of the maritime industry, headed up by the California Association of Port Authorities…

Austal announces that Congressman Jo Bonner (R-AL) commemorated the official start of fabrication for the third Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV 3), one of seven Austal-designed 103-meter U.S. Navy Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV) under contract with the U.S. Department of Defense. “The race is on,” said Austal USA President and Chief Operating Officer, Joe Rella, “the world is about to learn just how much value Austal’s investments in modular ship fabrication offers our Navy and Military Sealift Command customers.

M.E.B.A. Announces Appointment of Captain Lee A. Kincaid as President and James E. Caponiti as Executive Director of the AMC. Together they bring over 60 years of Maritime and Political Experience to the American Maritime Congress. The Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (M.E.B.A.) and the American Maritime Congress (AMC) are pleased to announce the permaent appointment of Captain Lee A. Kincaid as President of the AMC, and James E. Caponiti as Executive Director. “I am very excited to permanently welcome Captain Kincaid as AMC President…

Non-Profit’s Tribute Celebrates the United States Coast Guard’s Finest in Boston. The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that its Inaugural First District Coast Guard Awards Dinner will take place on Thursday, September 15, 2011 in Boston. The evening’s Master of Ceremonies, ADM Thad W. Allen, USCG (Ret.) former commandant and current Coast Guard Foundation board member…

1881-At daylight the crew of Station No. 1, First District (Carrying Point Cove, West Quoddy Head, Maine), sighted a schooner at anchor some four miles east-southeast of the station. She did not appear to be in distress, and as no signal was made it was supposed she had simply anchored to await the abatement of the winds, which at the time was blowing strong from the northwest. The keeper ordered a close watch on the schooner, in case she should signal for assistance. At 11 a .m. the lookout observed a boat leave her side and attempt to reach land, but the gale was too much for it and the effort had to be abandoned. The boat returned to the schooner.

A Liberian-incorporated shipping company pleaded guilty in federal court in Trenton, N.J., to failing to keep accurate oily water discharge records and using falsified records to conceal the discharge at sea of untreated bilge from one of its cargo ships, the Justice Department announced. Dalnave Navigation Inc., a Liberian company with offices in Athens, Greece, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan immediately after the guilty plea to pay a fine of $1m, the maximum fine allowable for the two counts to which the company pleaded guilty. Additionally, the company agreed to pay a $350,000 community service payment to the congressionally-established National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to be used specifically for the protection…

Panagiotis Stamatakis, the chief engineer on the Cyprus-flagged M/V Myron N, and the second engineer, Dimitrios Papadakis, both citizens of Greece, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Trenton, N.J., to using falsified records that concealed improper discharges of untreated bilge waste from the cargo ship, the Justice Department announced. District Court Judge Peter G. Sheridan for the District of New Jersey scheduled sentencing for Sept. 8, 2009. Stamatakis and Papadakis each faces up to six years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The government's investigation began in September 2008, when inspectors from the U.S. Coast Guard conducted an examination of the M/V Myron N, following the ship's arrival in Gravesend Anchorage, N.Y.

Carmelo Oria, a Spanish citizen who was the chief engineer on the Cyprus-flagged M/T Nautilus, was sentenced on May 6th in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts for maintaining inaccurate records that concealed a discharge of oil-contaminated water from the bilges of the M/T Nautilus, the Justice Department announced. Oria was sentenced to one month in prison, to be followed by supervised release for a term of two years and a $3,000 fine. Oria pleaded guilty on March 9, 2009, to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships based on his role in discharging oil-contaminated bilge water directly into the ocean from the M/T Nautilus and then failing to record the discharge in the ship's records. The government's investigation began in March 2008, when inspectors from the U.S.

Consultores De Navegacion, a Spanish company that operates the M/T Nautilus, an ocean-going chemical tanker ship, pleaded guilty on April 6 in U.S. District Court in Boston and has agreed to pay a fine of $2.5m for criminal violations related to the overboard discharge of oil-contaminated bilge waste on the high seas, the Justice Department announced. The company pleaded guilty to conspiracy, falsification of records, false statements, obstruction, and two violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships for failing to maintain an accurate oil record book. The practice of improperly handling and disposing of oil-contaminated waste from the tanker as charged in the indictment took place from at least June 2007 until March 2008.

Coast Guard personnel throughout New England recently launched an operation to ensure that commercial tugs are following rules, regulations and licensing procedures. The intent of the operation, dubbed Big Tow, is to identify areas of Uninspected Towing Vessel concentrations and examine the vessels to verify the operators hold a valid Coast Guard license that is appropriate for the size and route of their vessel. "Historically, we haven't seen many inadequately licensed UTV operators in New England waters," said Lt. Scott White of the Coast Guard First District prevention department. The operation was created in response to a collision on the Mississippi River July 23, 2008, involving a cargo vessel and a loaded oil barge that resulted in more than 282,000 gallons of No.

The General Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship Team (GD LCS Team) christened the LCS 2 Independence October 4, on the waters of the at the Austal USA shipyard. Present at the Christening Ceremony were over 1,000 guests and dignitaries. The Ship Sponsor was Doreen A. Scott, wife of the 10th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, Terry D. Scott. She was joined by her daughter, Maid of Honor, Lauren A. Scott, but her daughter, Matron of Honor Ensign Lindsay Fatz, USN, was out of the country on orders.

The Coast Guard will hold a change of command ceremony at Faneuil Hall, Monday at 10:00 a.m., as Rear Admiral George N. Naccara will step down as commander of the First Coast Guard District, turning over leadership of the service's New England, New York and Northern New Jersey operations to Rear Admiral Vivien S. Crea. A number of VIPs will be in attendance, and senior Coast Guard officers will preside over the ceremony. Admiral Naccara will step down after 33 years of service, most recently as the First District Commander the past two years. Under his leadership, men and women of the First District responded to the worst terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in our nation's history by immediately establishing a security presence in Boston and New York harbors.

Coastal Petroleum Company said Florida's First District Court of Appeal denied motions by the State and certain environmental groups asking for a rehearing of the Court's decision of Oct. 6, 1999. The Court also affirmed that the Florida circuit court was the proper venue to determine the issue of the State's taking of Coastal's property. In its October decision, the Court said, "There is no dispute that (Coastal) has a viable contract with the State of Florida to explore for and extract oil from submerged sovereignty lands. DEP's interpretation and application of the permitting statute, based on its determination that there is a compelling public purpose in not allowing (Coastal) to drill offshore, effectively prevents the appellant from exercising its rights under the contract.

Thomas L. Sansonetti, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Paula D. Silsby, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine, announced that late yesterday two chief engineers for a freighter pled guilty for their role in concealing the overboard dumping of waste oil from the M/V Kent Navigator and using false log books designed to deceive the U.S. Coast Guard. The defendants, Chief Engineers Felipe B. Arcolas and Alfredo D. Lozada, worked aboard the Kent Navigator, which is owned and managed by Petraia Maritime Ltd. The government’s investigation began when the U.S. Coast Guard received an anonymous tip that a vessel bound for Portland was illegally discharging its waste oil and its bilges while at sea.

Two men were sentenced in federal court in Boston on manslaughter charges stemming from the drowning death of a visiting Irish student that occurred in the summer of 2001. United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; Rear Admiral Vivian Crea, Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard First District; Michael D. O'Keefe, Cape & Islands District Attorney; Colonel Thomas G. Robbins, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; John J. Finnegan, Chief of the Barnstable Police Department; and Kenneth W. Kaiser, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today that JOSEPH JAY SHORE, age 65, of 1418 Commonwealth Avenue, West Newton, Massachusetts, and his son, CORD MITCHELL SHORE, age 39, of 180 Scudder Avenue, Hyannis, Massachusetts, were both sentenced by U.S.

Thomas L. Sansonetti, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Paula D. Silsby, United States Attorney for the District of Maine, announced today that two chief engineers of a freighter ship were each sentenced yesterday to two years of probation and a fine of $3000 for their roles in concealing the overboard ocean dumping of waste oil from the M/V Kent Navigator through false log books and statements designed to deceive the U.S. Coast Guard. The defendants, Chief Engineers Alfredo D. Lozada and Felipe B. Arcolas, worked aboard the Kent Navigator, which is owned and operated by Petraia Maritime Ltd. The government’s investigation began when the U.S.