Point Loma News

In Memoriam: Captain Charles Robert MacVean, USN, (Ret.), PhDMarch 22, 1937 – September 10, 2025The book, Blind Man’s Bluff, describes the secret USN submarine operations known as “The Projects.” It begins with the opening line, “There was something about Commander Charles R. MacVean that had a way of inspiring legend.” Authors Sontag and Drew narrowed that “something” down to “his sense of humor and humanity.”  Even in the toughest of situations, MacVean radiated calm assurance and situational command.

Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Terrell Horne (WPC 1131), with support from the USS Spruance (DDG 111) and Department of Homeland Security partners interdicted a suspected maritime smuggling vessel carrying eight Mexican nationals approximately 27 miles west of San Diego, on Saturday.At approximately 11 p.m. Friday, a CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO) aircraft detected an estimated 40-foot cuddy cabin-style vessel traveling northwest about 37 miles south of Point Loma.The AMO aircraft coordinated a handoff with a Navy SH-60 Seahawk helicopter launched from the USS Spruance…

Austal USA has officially launched the construction of the U.S. Navy’s final Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF), the future USNS Lansing (EPF 16), with a keel laying ceremony at its Mobile, Ala. shipyard. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who is serving as the ship’s sponsor, and Emija Coleman, a seasoned welder with nine years of experience at Austal USA, played key roles in the ceremony. Governor Whitmer, along with Coleman, authenticated the keel by welding her initials into a keel plate that will be permanently affixed to the hull of the USNS Lansing.At Austal USA…

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA launched USNS Point Loma (EPF 15), the U.S. Navy’s 15th Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF).The ship was christened in the beginning of August and is now docked pier side for final outfitting and system activation in preparation for sea trials later this year.During the launch process, self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) lifted the ship almost three feet and moved it approximately 400 feet onto a deck barge moored adjacent to the final assembly bay.

A ceremony was held on Saturday to mark the christening of the future USNS Point Loma (EPF 15), one of 16 expeditionary fast transports (EPF) the U.S. Navy has contracted Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA to build.EPF Flight II provides a Role 2E (enhanced) medical capability which includes, among other capabilities, basic secondary health care built around primary surgery; intensive care unit; ward beds; and limited x-ray, laboratory and dental support. The EPF’s catamaran…

Austal USA celebrated the official start of construction of the future USNS Point Loma (EPF 15) with a keel laying ceremony in its Mobile, Ala. shipyard. Ship sponsor Mrs. Elizabeth Asher, with the assistance of Perry Sullivan, a 17-year Austal USA veteran A-class welder, authenticated the keel by welding her initials into a keel plate that will be welded to the hull of the ship.The future USNS Point Loma was named after the San Diego seaside community which has a long-standing naval presence and is home to Naval Base Point Loma…

A Coast Guard helicopter aircrew medically evacuated a 57-year-old woman from the cruise ship Carnival Radiance approximately 35 miles southwest of Point Loma, Saturday. Carnival Radiance crewmembers contacted Coast Guard Sector San Diego Joint Harbor Operations Center watchstanders at approximately 4:30 p.m. requesting assistance for a passenger displaying stroke symptoms.Watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Sector San Diego MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew with a San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR) Team paramedic aboard to assist.Once on the scene, the helicopter crew lowered the rescue swimmer, recovered the patient and transported her to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. The patient was reported to be in stable condition.

REMEMBERING MY SHIPMATE JOHN MICHELWe met in January 1959 when I became the first Officer in Charge of the Navy’s newly acquired Bathyscaph Trieste and John was the first USN enlisted man to be assigned to the project. We were based at the Naval Electronics Laboratory in San Diego. Trieste was unique as there were only two deep diving manned submersibles in the world. The French Navy had the other. Our team learned about the bathyscaph more by ‘apprenticeship’ than through any sort of formal learning process.

Austal Limited announced that the future USNS Apalachicola (EPF-13) has successfully completed acceptance trials for the U.S. Navy.Constructed at Austal USA’s Mobile, Ala. shipyard, EPF-13 is the first Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) ship with capabilities for V-22 Osprey flight operations and enhanced medical support. It is also the U.S. Navy’s largest ship with the capability to operate as an unmanned surface vessel (USV).Austal Limited Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said the completion of acceptance trials for EPF-13 was a significant milestone…

UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography today announced that naval architecture and marine engineering company Glosten has been selected as the naval architect for the university’s new California coastal research vessel. The new vessel will feature a first-of-its-kind hydrogen-hybrid propulsion system.Selected after participating in the university's request for proposal process, Glosten will provide the preliminary design, contract design and detailed design for the research vessel to be operated by Scripps Oceanography.“This vessel will be the first of its kind…

U.S. Navy has relieved of duty a commander of a submarine training facility in San Diego citing a loss of confidence in his abilities."Capt. Steve Antcliff, commanding officer, Submarine Learning Center (SLC), relieved Cmdr. Jared Severson, commanding officer, Submarine Training Facility (STF) San Diego, of command on April 28.The relief is due to a loss of confidence in Severson’s ability to command based on the findings of a command investigation. Severson has been reassigned to Submarine Squadron 11," the U.S. Navy said in a brief statement.Lt. Cmdr.

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.

The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday called off its search for more survivors from a boat that capsized off a rocky shoal near San Diego in what authorities said was an ill-fated migrant-smuggling operation that left three dead and five hospitalized.The 40-foot trawler-style vessel with 32 people aboard overturned and broke apart on Sunday near the Point Loma Tide Pools, part of a federal marine national monument about 20 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities said.Officials on Sunday said four people aboard the boat had perished…

Four people were killed and more than two dozen injured on Sunday when a boat suspected of attempting to smuggle migrants into California broke apart off Cabrillo National Monument at San Diego's rugged Point Loma, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The initial call arrived just before 10 a.m. (1700 GMT) and prompted a large emergency response, including the U.S. Coast Guard and state and local agencies, as the magnitude of the incident became clear.The 40-foot (12-m) cabin cruiser had been pummeled to pieces by the surf by the time rescue boats arrived…

All populated coastlines share a variety of pollution-related challenges. Those municipalities in the USA who engage in the discharge of waste water through ocean outfalls are subject to state and federal regulations requiring them to monitor the quality of the water near those structures and the marine environment beyond them. The City of San Diego in southern California is one such municipality. With two vessels and a wide array of oceanographic sensors, they continually inspect and report on two waste water outfalls; Point Loma Ocean Outfall (PLOO) near the mouth of San Diego Bay and South Bay Ocean Outfall (SBOO) near the US/Mexico border.

Smoke bellows out the ventilation ducts. The glow of the blazing fire emanates down the passageway. Firefighters move with precision and purpose, pausing to unleash a torrent of water towards the fire as they kneel before it. Such was the scene at the Navy’s first submarine firefighting trainer, located at Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI) Oct. 29. Commander, Navy Installation Command (CNIC) approached Kidde Fire Trainers almost one year ago in response to the incident on the USS Miami, in which a fire caused over $400 million of damage to the submarine.

Virginia-class attack submarine USS New Mexico (SSN 779) and Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Hampton (SSN 767) have commenced Ice Exercise 2014 (ICEX 2014) in the Arctic Ocean, says Commander,  US Submarine Forces. "In keeping with the Department of Defense's Arctic Objectives, the Submarine Force uses Ice Exercises to prepare for a wide range of challenges and contingencies," said Capt. Paul Whitescarver, the camp's officer in tactical command and operations officer at Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic.

Smoke bellows out the ventilation ducts. The glow of the blazing fire emanates down the passageway. Firefighters move with precision and purpose, pausing to unleash a torrent of water towards the fire as they kneel before it. Such was the scene at the Navy's first submarine firefighting trainer, located at Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI) Oct. 29. Commander, Navy Installation Command (CNIC) approached Kidde Fire Trainers almost one year ago in response to the incident on the USS Miami, in which a fire caused over $400 million of damage to the submarine.

U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said the nation’s newest research vessel will be named R/V Sally Ride, in honor of the former UC San Diego faculty member who was the first American female astronaut and the youngest American to fly in space. The ship is owned by the U.S. Navy, will be operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, and will have its home port at the Scripps Nimitz Marine Facility in Point Loma on San Diego Bay. “Scripps has a century-long history of seagoing excellence that is vital to the well-being of our planet and its pressing environmental challenges…

U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the nation's newest research vessel will be named R/V Sally Ride, in honor of the former UC San Diego faculty member who was the first American female astronaut and the youngest American to fly in space. The ship is owned by the U.S. Navy, will be operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, and will have its home port at the Scripps Nimitz Marine Facility in Point Loma on San Diego Bay. "Sally Ride's career was one of firsts and will inspire generations to come," said Mabus. Dr.

Navy names new Scripps Research Vessel to honor the legacy of space explorer and UC San Diego Professor Sally Ride. U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the nation's newest research vessel will be named R/V Sally Ride, in honor of the former UC San Diego faculty member who was the first American female astronaut and the youngest American to fly in space. Dr. Ride was selected for NASA's astronaut corps in 1978 and became the first American woman in space aboard Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983.

The U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) announced the shipyard responsible for constructing the next chapter in ocean exploration for Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. The new research vessel will be owned by ONR for the Department of the Navy and operated by Scripps under charter party agreement. Dakota Creek Industries Inc. (DCI) of Anacortes, Wash., will build AGOR 28, a new “Ocean Class” research vessel that will advance Scripps’ pursuits of the planet’s most vital environmental and scientific challenges. Specifically designed to operate globally, this vessel will support both U.S. Navy and national oceanographic research objectives.

U.S. Navy's Self Defense Test Ship successfully transits on alternative fuel blend. The U.S. Navy successfully has concluded its largest demonstration of shipboard alternative fuel use with the successful arrival of the Self Defense Test Ship (SDTS) to Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme. The SDTS is a decommissioned Spruance-class destroyer ex-Paul F. Foster (EDD 964) reconfigured to provide the Navy an at-sea, remotely controlled, engineering test and evaluation platform without the risk to personnel or operational assets.