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Florida Coast News

21 Feb 2024

UK's Trident Nuclear-deterrent Missile System Misfires During Test

FILE PHOTO: Nuclear submarine HMS Vanguard at HM Naval Base Clyde, Faslane, Scotland. (Photo: Tam McDonald / U.K. Ministry of Defense)

Britain's Trident nuclear-deterrent system misfired during a test last month, sending a missile crashing into the ocean off the Florida coast near the submarine that launched it, The Sun newspaper reported on Wednesday.The Ministry of Defense confirmed that an "anomaly" had occurred during the test but said Britain's "nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure and effective".With Defense Secretary Grant Shapps on board the HMS Vanguard to witness the test, The Sun said, the first…

01 Jun 2023

U.S. Coast Guard Calls Off Search for 35-Year-Old Who Fell from Carnival Magic Cruise Ship

The U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday suspended the search for a missing 35-year-old man who went overboard from a cruise ship 186 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida.Coast Guard crews searched more than 5,171 square miles and 60 hours. Missing is Ronnie Peale.Carnival Cruise Lines personnel contacted Coast Guard watchstanders at 6:36 p.m., Monday, reporting that a passenger fell off the cruise ship Carnival Magic and entered the water.Coast Guard watchstanders launched air crews and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba (WMEC 907) to conduct search and rescue efforts from the air and on the water. U.S. Navy ships and aircraft in the…

11 Nov 2022

Divers Find Challenger Space Shuttle Wreckage Off Florida Coast

Underwater explorer and marine biologist Mike Barnette and wreck diver Jimmy Gadomski explore a twenty-foot segment of the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger, the team discovered in the waters off the coast of Florida, U.S., during the filming a History Channel documentary called "The Bermuda Triangle: Into Cursed Waters", in this handout picture taken May, 2022. (Photo: The HISTORY® Channel)

Divers from a documentary crew looking for the wreckage of a World War Two aircraft off the coast of Florida found a 20-foot section of the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded and broke apart shortly after its launch in 1986, NASA said on Thursday.The divers contacted NASA after spotting a large, clearly modern object mostly covered in sand at the bottom of the ocean and bearing the shuttle's distinctive tiles, the space agency said in a written statement."This discovery gives us an opportunity to pause once again…

15 Nov 2021

Shipbuilding: EPF-13 Christened for US Navy at Austal USA

The Honorable Kelly Loeffler, ship sponsor of USNS Apalachicola, performed the ceremonial bottle break over the bow of the ship, the 13th EPF designed and constructed by Austal USA and the second U.S. Navy ship to be named after the Florida coast city. Image courtesy Austal USA

Austal USA christened Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF-13) USNS Apalachicola at its shipyard in Mobile over the weekend.Austal has delivered 12 EPFs since December 2012, and USNS Apalachicola is slated for delivery in the summer of 2022.The Honorable Kelly Loeffler, ship sponsor of USNS Apalachicola, performed the ceremonial bottle break over the bow of the ship, the 13th EPF designed and constructed by Austal USA and the second U.S. Navy ship to be named after the Florida coast city.

24 Feb 2021

Navy to Remove Island on Fire-stricken USS Bonhomme Richard

The fire-stricken amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) sits pier side at Naval Base San Diego in July 2020. (Photo: Jason Waite / U.S. Navy)

The U.S. Navy has begun the process to remove the island from the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) as part of an ongoing inactivation availability for the warship that was destroyed by a major fire in 2020.Salvage contractor Smit Americas started the removal process Tuesday, the Navy said. Workers will reduce the island's height down to just above the flight deck to improve the ship’s structural integrity and readiness for tow.The Navy announced at the end of 2020 it would scrap the…

07 Feb 2021

Hallucinating Man Medevaced from US Navy Ship

(File photo: William Jamieson / U.S. Navy)

A man reportedly suffering from hallucinations was medevaced from a U.S. Navy supply vessel off the West Florida coast on Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Watchstanders with Coast Guard Sector Mobile received a report around 3 a.m. Friday from the Navy offshore supply ship NAWC-38 stating a 33-year-old male on board was reportedly having hallucinations and needed further medical care, approximately 200 miles west of Tampa Bay, Fla.The Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless crew was diverted to assist…

24 Sep 2020

Iranian Fuel Seized by US Remains in Tankers at Sea

Tankers carrying Iranian gasoline that was confiscated by the U.S. government and became embroiled in a court ownership battle have struggled to discharge in the United States, shifting course over the last week.The U.S. Department of Justice last month seized over 1 million barrels of Iranian fuel on board four privately-owned tankers bound for Venezuela, part of Washington's efforts to disrupt trade between the two sanctioned nations.The fuel has been at sea ever since, aboard two separate vessels that took the fuel in July and have zig-zagged at sea as they search for a terminal to discharge.The July seizure initially appeared a win for President Donald Trump's efforts to isolate the two nations.

20 Nov 2019

Putting Palatka Back on the Map

SJSB President and Owner, Steven Ganoe

Diverse and conveniently located, St. Johns Ship Building has quickly developed into a reliable partner for its many repeat customers. Today, and as a direct result, a lot more people know exactly where Palatka, Florida is located.On the St Johns River, just 60 miles south of Jacksonville, lies the sleepy town of Palatka, Florida. Founded as a trading post in 1821, its location on the highly navigable river made the area attractive to orange growers and timber men alike.In its heyday between 1875 and 1900…

29 Aug 2019

Hurricane Dorian Builds, Aims for Bahamas, Florida

source: NOAA / National Hurricane Center

Hurricane Dorian took aim at the Bahamas and the Florida coast on Thursday, spurred on by warm Atlantic waters as it threatens to strengthen into a dangerous Category 3 storm.Dorian earlier sideswiped the Caribbean without doing major damage but is expected to strengthen and slam the Bahamas and the southeastern United States with rain, strong winds and life-threatening surf over the next few days, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in an advisory.U.S. President Donald Trump urged Floridians to heed official warnings.

02 Jan 2019

Coast Guard Searching for 2 People East of Jupiter Inlet

Photo: U.S. Coast Guard District 7

The Coast Guard continues to search Tuesday for two missing people 46 miles east of Jupiter Inlet.The two people missing are a Bahamian national, a suspected migrant smuggler, and a 9-year-old Haitian national.

07 Feb 2018

California to Ban Crude from Trump Offshore Drilling Plan

© Don Bright / Adobe Stock

California will block the transport of petroleum from new offshore oil rigs through its state, officials told Reuters, a move meant to hobble the Trump administration’s effort to vastly expand drilling in U.S. federal waters. California's threat to deny pipeline permits for transporting oil from new leases off the Pacific Coast is the latest step by states trying to halt the biggest proposed expansion in decades of federal oil and gas leasing. Officials in Florida, North and South Carolina…

16 Jan 2018

Casino Boat Catches Fire off Florida Coast, 15 Injured

Photo: New Port Richey PD

At least 15 people were injured when a fire engulfed a boat off the coast of Florida on Sunday, causing the 50 people aboard to jump into the Gulf of Mexico and swim to shore, local officials said. A preliminary investigation showed the fire broke out at about 4:17 p.m. EST from an apparent engine issue, said Shawn Whited, division chief with Pasco Fire Rescue. “The captain of the boat said there was an issue with the engine. He said he noticed smoke coming form the engine room and turned the boat around,” Whited said.

06 Sep 2017

Florida Navy Bases Prepare for Irma

Navy installations throughout Florida are preparing for heavy weather as Hurricane Irma approaches South Florida. Commander, Navy Region Southeast, Rear Adm. Bette Bolivar, directed the evacuation of non-essential personnel and family members from Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, Sept. 5. "Their safety and security is a top priority," Bolivar said. Approximately 50-60 mission essential personnel are remaining behind to maintain essential functions on the installation. Naval Air Station Key West personnel have a designated safe haven area of within 300 miles of Atlanta. Personnel and family members need to muster with the installation, their command or through the Navy Family Accountability and Assistance System (NFAAS) website upon arrival to the safe haven area.

07 Oct 2016

Hurricane Matthew batters Florida, Haiti Death Toll Rises

Storm's eye nears Cape Canaveral. The first major hurricane threatening a direct hit on the United States in more than 10 years lashed Florida on Friday with heavy rains and winds after killing at least 339 people in Haiti on its destructive march north through the Caribbean. Hurricane Matthew packed gusts of 100 miles per hour (160 kph) as it tracked north-northwest along Florida's east coast, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. The storm's eye was 25 miles (40 km) east of Cape Canaveral, home to the nation's chief space launch site. "We are seriously ground zero here in Cape Canaveral -- hunkered down, lights flickering, winds are crazy," said resident Sandy Wilk on Twitter.

22 Mar 2016

US, Cuba Open Doors to Marine Science Cooperation

When Barack Obama became the first president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge, his visit highlighted not only a new course in international relations, but showcased on-going scientific collaborations with the country only 90 miles off the Florida coast. "Ocean currents know no boundaries,” said Billy Causey, regional director of NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries' Southeast Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean region. “They’re a conveyor belt, moving important marine life between our countries. Late last year, NOAA, the U.S. National Park Service and Cuba’s National Center for Protected Areas agreed to share research to help the countries work together on some of the Caribbean’s most ecologically significant resources.

21 Jan 2016

This Day In US Naval History - January 21

Nautilus (SSN-571) launching on 21 January 1954, at the Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut. Submarine sponsor Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower, on board the Presidential Train arrives at the ceremonies. (Photo:  National Museum of the U.S. Navy)

1862 - Navy ship USS Ethan Allen, commanded by acting-Lt. William B. Eaton, captures the schooner Olive Branch at sea off the Florida coast. 1943 - Submarines USS Pollack (SS 180) and USS Gato (SS 212) attack and cause the sinking of two Japanese ships. 1945 - TF 38 aircraft attacks Japanese shipping and airfields on Formosa and in the Pescadores, sinking approximately 15 vessels. 1954 - The world's first nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus (SSN-571) is christened and launched at Groton, Conn.

09 Oct 2015

Collision Course with a Hurricane: How Doomed US Ship Met its End

El Faro (File photo: TOTE)

The ill-fated U.S.-flagged El Faro cargo ship sunk by Hurricane Joaquin was sailing at near full speed into the center of the storm before it lost propulsion amid mountainous waves and brutal winds, according to ship tracking data. The data on Thomson Reuters Eikon raises questions about the ship owner's assertion that the vessel's captain had chosen a "sound plan" to pass around Joaquin "with a margin of comfort" but was then thwarted by engineering problems. It shows that even…

06 Oct 2015

USCG Search for Missing Crew of El Faro

Coast Guard search and rescue crews continue searching for possible survivors from the cargo ship El Faro Monday night, covering a total search area of more than 160,574 square nautical miles. While searching in the vicinity of the ship's last known position 35 nautical miles northeast of Crooked Islands, Bahamas, the Coast Guard located a deceased person in a survival suit in the water. A heavily damaged life boat with markings consistent with those on board the El Faro was also located Sunday. Additional items located by Coast Guard aircrews within a 225 square nautical mile search area include a partially submerged life raft, life jackets, life rings, cargo containers and an oil sheen Sunday. Coast Guard Cutter Resolute, a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in St.

25 Aug 2015

USCG Plans to Up Passenger Boat Enforcement

U.S. Coast Guard photo

The U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies are stepping up enforcement of illegally operated passenger boats in the waters along Florida’s coast prior to and during the Labor Day weekend. Over the past several months there has been an increase in the illegal and unsafe operation of passenger boats less than 100 tons, and many passengers are unaware of the safety requirements regulated by the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard reminds the public to check safety requirements before paying for any boating services.

29 Oct 2014

USCG Rescues 33 Cuban Migrants off Florida

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued 33 Cuban migrants from an overloaded boat taking on water off the southeast Florida coast on Wednesday, two days after 11 Cubans were pulled from the waters off the coast of Miami, officials said. Some of the 33 Cubans jumped in the water when they were spotted on Wednesday morning about 7 miles (11 km) east of Boca Raton, Florida, the Coast Guard said in a press release. "Upon our assets arriving on scene, the suspected migrants were taken aboard Coast Guard smallboat and safely transferred to a Coast Guard Cutter for basic medical attention if needed," the Coast Guard said. Two men are still missing from the group found clinging to debris from their wrecked raft on Monday.

30 Jul 2014

Family Finds Sunken Treasure Off Florida Coast

A Florida family scavenging for sunken treasure on a shipwreck has found the missing piece of a 300-year-old gold filigree necklace sacred to Spanish priests, officials said on Tuesday. Eric Schmitt, a professional salvager, was scavenging with his parents when he found the crumpled, square-shaped ornament on a leisure trip to hunt for artifacts in the wreckage of a convoy of 11 ships that sank in 1715 during a hurricane off central Florida's east coast. After the discovery last month, a team of Spanish historians realized the piece fit together with another artifact recovered 25 years ago. It formed an accessory called a pyx, worn on a chain around a high priest's neck to carry the communion host. The dollar value is uncertain.

31 Jul 2014

Hellfire Missile Firing a First for New Navy Helicopters

The Royal Australian Navy’s newest maritime combat helicopter, the MH-60R Seahawk ‘Romeo’, has successfully fired its first ‘Hellfire’ missile in the United States. The AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missile was fired by Navy’s 725 Squadron from aircraft currently deployed to the United States Navy’s Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Centre off the Florida coast. Commander Australian Fleet, Rear Admiral Stuart Mayer, said the Seahawk Romeo’s cutting edge mission systems provided a formidable naval platform. “Navy’s next generation submarine hunter and anti-surface warfare helicopter will be the cornerstone of our working Navy’s aviation combat capability.

28 Oct 2014

Coast Guard Searches off Miami for Missing Cuban Migrants

The U.S. Coast Guard searched on Tuesday for two missing Cuban rafters after the 11 others on their homemade vessel were plucked safely on Monday from the waters off Miami. The most recent man saved was discovered at dusk on Monday about 10 miles (16 km) offshore and transferred to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said Coast Guard spokeswoman Sabrina Laberdesque. The rescued members of the all-male group say they spent more than a week on the water trying to cross the 90-mile-wide (145-km-wide) Florida Straits that separate Cuba from the United States. It remains unclear how many of them will be allowed to remain in the United States and how many will be repatriated to Cuba. Under Washington's "wet-foot, dry-foot policy," Cuban migrants who make it onto U.S.