Padre Island News

Silver Ships recently completed the first deliveries under the Naval Sea Systems Command of seven 11-meter Open Center Console (OCC) vessels and two 8-meter Open Center Console (OCC) vessels, under the Naval Special Warfare Surface Support Craft Contract. The U.S. Navy has also conducted Pre-Delivery Inspection and Testing (PDIT) of three vessel variants included in the contract.The Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Surface Support Craft (SSC) contract entails construction of five different vessel variants of the Ambar series rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB).

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation this week warned its fourth quarter 2022 revenues and gross profit margins are expected to be lower than previously anticipated.The company said in a press release that its Q4 results were impacted by the earlier than expected retirement of the Terrapin Island hopper dredge, significant weather delays on several projects in the northeast and some project production issues.In addition, unexpected drydocking scope increases resulted in additional costs and delays for the hopper dredges Ellis Island and Padre Island, Great Lakes said.

Houston, Texas-based Kirby Inland Marine agreed to pay $15.3 million in damages and assessment costs to resolve federal and state claims for harm to natural resources resulting from a 2014 oil spill from a Kirby barge in the Houston Ship Channel, the U.S. Justice Department said.In a related enforcement action in 2016, the United States secured a settlement with Kirby for $4.9 million in civil penalties and injunctive relief measures to improve the company's operations to help…

Royal Dutch Shell on Monday began evacuating staff from a U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil platform, and other energy companies began preparing for hurricane-force winds from a second Gulf Coast storm in as many weeks.Tropical Storm Nicholas was about 105 miles (115 km) south of Port O'Connor, Texas, and moving north with winds of 60 miles per hour (97 kph). It could become a hurricane just ahead of landfall on Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.Waves stirred up by Nicholas neared 12 feet (3.7 m) in height were reported outside of Port Aransas…

The Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana was bracing on Monday for the arrival of Tropical Storm Nicholas, which was expected to batter the region with life-threatening storm surge, flash flooding and gusty winds.The storm, carrying winds of 60 mph (97 kph), was moving erratically as it headed northward about 140 miles (225 km) south of the southern coast of Texas, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in a Monday morning bulletin. It was forecast to move ashore along the southern or central coast of Texas late on Monday afternoon or evening.The National Weather Service issued storm surge…

An ailing tugboat captain was medevaced in Brownsville, Texas, Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi command center received a medevac request at 7:16 a.m. via VHF Channel 16 from the crew of the El Zorro Grande, a tugboat transiting outbound on the Brownsville ship channel, stating the captain had passed out, officials said.A Coast Guard Station South Padre Island 33-foot Special Purpose Craft – Law Enforcement boat crew launched to assist with a duty corpsman aboard.The SPC-LE crew arrived on scene, embarked the 49-year-old tug master, and transported him to awaiting emergency medical services at an oil dock in Port Isabel, Texas, the Coast Guard said.A Brownsville pilot, who was aboard at the time, maneuvered the St.

The Coast Guard, Texas General Land Office, and Bouchard Transportation representatives continue to respond Sunday to an oil discharge from a barge that caught fire and was extinguished on Friday three miles off the jetties of Port Aransas, Texas. Response efforts continue to minimize impact to the environment and the maritime community, which has enabled the Coast Guard to reopen the impacted ship channels. Discharge from the barge cargo tanks appears to have stopped following the removal of 2,500 barrels of oil-water mix from the barge through lightering operations. Lightering is currently suspended due to weather, but will resume with improvement in sea conditions. Containment boom remains in place around the vessel, though sheening from the barge and containment boom is present.

In the waning days of 2016, the outlook brightened dramatically for the big U.S. dredging contractors. Just before Congress dispersed for the Holidays, then-President Obama signed a pivotal piece of legislation – the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, S612. Authorized needed investment in America’s ports, channels, locks, dams, and other infrastructure that supports the maritime and waterways transportation system and provides flood protection. Authorized U.S.

A U.S. Coast Guard aircrew medevaced a 34-year-old man from a 600-foot bulk carrier 10 miles offshore in the Brownsville Anchorage, off South Padre Island, Texas on Monday morning. At approximately 9 p.m. Sunday, the vessel shipping agent contacted Sector Corpus Christi watchstanders and reported a crewmember on the Global Andes was experiencing symptoms from a preexisting heart condition. The ship's captain requested a Coast Guard medevac upon arrival to the Brownsville Anchorage the next morning because the ship was still 130 miles at sea.

Weather Channel Forecasters are predicting a “near-average” hurricane season for 2016, but warn that an average season does not mean businesses and residents shouldn’t prepare for the worst. While it is unclear whether the season, which began June 1, will bring about a few mild storms or a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane, one thing is for sure: safety and preparation are on the radars of the owners and operators of brownwater vessels. Although forecasters consider this year’s predicted 12 named storms “average”…

The Brazos-Santiago Pilots handle some 600 ship and vessel transits through the Port of Brownsville each year, but it's not every day that they get the opportunity to guide a venerable and storied U.S. Navy carrier to its final destination. "It's an especially proud honor to be a part of history and to pilot the USS Ranger on the final 15-mile leg of its 16,000 nautical mile voyage to International Shipbreaking of Brownsville," said Captain Grant Wilson, the pilots' presiding officer, who along with Captain Jonathan Willett boarded the carrier. The two pilots, along with Pilot Captain Gene Tuttle, have guided three other warships -- USS Constellation…

The U.S. Coast Guard brought two men to safety Thursday after a sailboat capsized 3 miles offshore and rescued another man who went overboard 11 miles offshore; all were participating in the first leg of the Great Texas 300. After being postponed due to Tropical Storm Bill, the 100-mile stretch from South Padre Island to Mustang Island of the Great Texas 300 began early Thursday morning. The race ends in Galveston. At approximately 11 a.m., a manmade a distress call on VHF marine band radio channel 16…

U.S. A Mexican fishing boat, also known as a lancha, was seized by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) in the waters off South Texas, Monday. At 11 p.m. Sunday, an Air Station Corpus Christi aircrew aboard an HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane located a lancha 20 miles north of the U.S./Mexico maritime border and 30 miles offshore. The aircrew vectored in the Coast Guard Cutter Seahawk and a 33-foot law enforcement boat from Station South Padre Island; the lancha was chased for 30 miles before it stopped south of the maritime border.

U.S. Coast Guard interdicted Mexican fishing crew poaching red snapper in U.S. The U.S. Coast Guard informs it has interdicted a Mexican fishing crew in the waters off South Texas with approximately 475 pounds of illegally caught red snapper, Sunday afternoon. While on a routine patrol, a 33-foot law enforcement boatcrew sighted a Mexican fishing boat, also known as a lancha, approximately two miles north of the U.S./Mexico maritime border and 16 miles from shore. The crew of four Mexican nationals admitted to fishing in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. The crew's catch consisted of 133 red snapper. The Coast Guard estimates over 1,100 annual lancha incursions into U.S. regulated waters, taking upwards of 760,000 pounds of red snapper each year.

Coast Guard crews rescued four Mexican nationals from their sinking boat Saturday, after they were spotted illegally fishing north of the U.S./Mexico maritime border. At approximately 8 p.m. Saturday, a crewmember aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Brant, an 87-foot coastal patrol boat, spotted a Mexican boatcrew poaching fish in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, 30 miles off South Padre Island. Sector Corpus Christi Command Center watchstanders diverted a crew aboard a Station South Padre Island 33-foot law enforcement boat and diverted an Air Station Corpus Christi HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane crew to intercept. The aircrew vectored in the law enforcement boat and cutter. The Brant's crew intercepted and stopped the lancha, but the lancha began to take on water.

US Coastguard Corpus Christi inform that a rescue helicopter has medevaced the crewmember of a container ship approximately 40 miles offshore of South Padre Island. The Coast Guard's 8th District watchstanders notified the Sector Corpus Christi Command Center at around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, that a 24-year-old foreign male crewmember aboard the 892-foot container ship Monte Azul, was experiencing symptoms of appendicitis and requested to be taken off of the ship for treatment. The ship was originally beyond the range of responding helicopters. The watchstanders at the 8th District watchstanders requested the ship head toward South Padre Island and arranged a rendezvous location 40 miles offshore with the ship’s captain.

U.S. Coast Guard crews at Station South Padre Island have completed the qualification and trial run process, Tuesday, for the new 45-foot-Response Boat-Medium that was delivered to the station in late February. The training focused on acclimating the crews to the boat's advanced response capabilities. With twin diesel engines using water-jet propulsion, the RB-M can respond faster than previous boats of similar size and has a top speed in excess of 40 knots. It has advanced search capability with an installed forward-looking infrared search technology. Additionally, with twin jet propulsion, the vessel is extremely maneuverable and is better suited to respond to mariners in distress and law enforcement operations.

Four Mexican nationals, who were illegally fishing in U.S. waters off South Texas were rescued, after their lancha began taking on water during a pursuit by the crew of the Cutter 'Brant', informs the US Coast Guard. The Coast Guardsmen spotted a lancha crew recovering long-line fishing gear, 28 miles offshore and 4 miles north of the U.S./Mexico border and pursued the lancha for approximately 6 miles. However, during the pursuit, the lancha’s hull cracked three feet and began taking on water, at which point the cutter crew came alongside and took the four Mexican nationals aboard.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican Navy held a seminar Tuesday in South Padre Island, to update the MEXUSGULF plan for a future coordinated response to a spill in the Gulf of Mexico that would impact both countries. MEXUSGULF is a joint contingency plan between the United States and Mexico. It provides standard operational procedures with respect to binational coordination in case of pollution incidents that may represent a threat to coastal waters or the marine environment of the border zone of both countries. uscgnews.com

More than 465 response contractors continued work today along the shores of Mustang and South Matagorda Islands and Padre Island National Seashore, employing conventional clean-up methods with rakes, shovels and buckets. A 9-mile stretch of shoreline along Matagorda Island is a primary emphasis of these crews today. “Federal and state wildlife agencies continue to be focused on protecting these sensitive areas for the benefit of wildlife and are working closely to coordinate with our partners in the cleanup operations,” said Nancy Brown, Public Outreach Specialist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife. As of sunset on Wednesday, the Unified Command report that a total of 119…

The US Coast Guard informs that clean-up and response teams from the Matagorda Bay Incident Command Post are responding to sightings of oil near North Padre Island and along sporadic portions of Mustang Island in Corpus Christi. Additional sightings also include tar balls in the area, although it is not clear whether the tar balls are the result of the March 22 spill near Texas City. However, response teams from Miller Environmental, who are engaged in combatting that incident, have mobilized to contain and collect those tar balls and oil in newly impacted areas as well.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) reported that it rescued a 55-year-old man Saturday, who was suffering from chest pains while out on a charter boat approximately 22 miles northeast of Port Mansfield, Texas. According to the USCG report, at approximately 11:20 a.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Station South Padre Island received a VHF radio call from the captain of the 55-foot charter boat, the Osprey II, requesting assistance. The captain stated that there was a gentleman aboard who was suffering from chest pains and he was going in and out of consciousness.

More than 50 people from three response agencies simulated a joint agency response to an incident involving 12 people off popular South Padre Island beaches, Texas, on Wednesday, August 28. The Coast Guard, City of South Padre Island Beach Rescue and Cameron County Beach Rescue joined together in the Beach Rescue Interagency Team Exercise, or BRITE, to evaluate communication and coordination between the agencies as they managed recovery, triage and transportation for all the victims at one time.