Sector St Petersburg News

The U.S. Coast Guard commissioned the 48th Sentinel-class fast response cutter (FRC) Pablo Valent (WPC 1148) into service at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, Fla., Wednesday.Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Seventh District, presided over the ceremony. Cecilia Guillot, Valent’s great-niece, is the ship's sponsor.The cutter’s namesake Pablo Valent was originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, and joined the United States Life-Saving Service in 1912.

Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg is getting its first 154-foot fast response cutter "Pablo Valent", a Sentinel-class vessel, where the crew will begin training to become certified in law enforcement and rescue operations.Pablo Valent is scheduled to be officially commissioned on May 11, 2022. It will operate throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Keys. There are 12 other FRCs in Florida, which operate throughout the  Caribbean Sea.Fast response cutters are multi-mission ships designed to conduct: drug and migrant interdictions…

An ailing crewmember was medevaced from the cruise ship Serenade of the Seas, 80 miles west of Tampa, Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.A Serenade crewmember reported to Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg watchstanders the man was suffering from abdominal pain, and a Coast Guard flight surgeon recommended the man be brought ashore.An Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew medevaced the 34-year-old man and flew him to Tampa General Hospital in stable…

Emergency responders extinguished a fire aboard a commercial crane barge near Egmont Key, Fla. Sunday.The U.S. Coast Guard, West Manatee County Fire Department, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and commercial salvage crew responded after Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg watchstanders were made aware of the blaze by a good Samaritan via VHF-FM Channel 16.The Coast Guard directed the launch of Coast Guard Station Cortez and Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg 45-foot Response Boat—Medium boat crews to create a safety zone around the burning vessel…

A crewman injured from a fall on board a Cyprus-fagged bulk carrier was medevaced in the Gulf of Mexico, 13 miles west of Fort de Soto, Fla., Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard said its watchstanders in Sector St. Petersburg received a VHF marine radio call on channel 16 at approximately 4:30 p.m. from the 600-foot vessel Mottler stating the crew member had fallen and was in need of medical care.A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew responded to the call…

The Coast Guard assisted four people whose boat was taking on water Sunday approximately 12 miles west of Bean Point.The Coast Guard arrived on scene, removed three people and dewatered the vessel.Coast Guard watchstanders received a report from a man aboard the 21-foot center console at 2:36 p.m., stating they were taking on water and were in need of immediate assistance.Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg watchstanders dispatched a Coast Guard Station Cortez 29-foot Response Boat— Medium crew to respond.The crew arrived on scene…

The Coast Guard rescued a 57-year-old man Thursday 170 miles west of St. Petersburg.Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg command center watchstanders received a call via satellite phone at 1:24 p.m. from the master of the Mariya Moran, a 120-foot tug, stating a crew member was suffering from chest pains and was in need of medical attention.A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew launched to assist and arrived at 4 p.m.The…

The Coast Guard medevaced a 52-year-old man Thursday approximately 110 miles west of Clearwater.Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg command center watchstanders received a call via VHF-FM marine band radio channel 16 at 10:15 p.m. Wednesday from a crew member aboard the 43-foot fishing boat Tobo stating a passenger was suffering from stomach pains and was in need of medical attention.A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter crew launched to assist and…

The U.S. Coast Guard has issued its very first certificate of inspection (COI) under the Subchapter M requirements, which set new rules for the inspection, standards and safety policies of towing vessels.The COI issued to Marine Towing of Tampa's 90-foot tug Endeavor was signed Wednesday by Capt. Holly Najarian, commander of Sector St. Petersburg, Fla., and was presented Thursday morning at the company’s corporate office in Tampa, Fla.The 4,200-horsepower Endeavor, built in 2000 in Lockport…

The Coast Guard rescued a 76-year-old man after his sailboat ran aground in Crystal River, Monday. Rescued was Jack Baird, 76, from Dunnellon. At 11:32 a.m. Sector St. Petersburg watchstanders received a report of a disabled and aground 45-foot sailboat near the Crystal River navigational marker 2A. Baird reported he was unable to communicate with a local commercial salvage company and needed assistance. A Station Yankeetown 24-foot Special Purpose Craft - Shallow Water boatcrew was launched with Nature Coast Emergency Medical Services aboard. Baird reported suffering a hand injury and seasickness symptoms. The boatcrew transferred Baird to River Haven Marina, Homosassa. Baird was met by his wife at the marina. "Mr. Baird did the right thing," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason R.

Five mariners rescued April 15 by the U.S. Coast Guard reunited with their rescuers Thursday in Clearwater, Fla. Various members from Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, Station Yankeetown and Air Station Clearwater attended the reunion, shook hands with the mariners and swapped stories about the rescue. “It’s not that often that we get to meet the folks that we were able to render assistance to,” said Cmdr. Randall Brown, the search-and-rescue mission coordinator for the April 15 rescue. At 11:04 p.m. April 14, watch standers from Sector St.

U.S. Coast Guard Captain Matthew Lake assumed command of the U.S. Coast Guard Yard on July 1, 2016. He is the 42nd Commanding Officer in the 117-year history of the yard, the only shipbuilding and major ship repair facility of the U.S. Coast Guard. Captain Lake took charge from Captain George Lesher who served as Yard Commanding Officer from June 2013 to July 2016. Captain Lesher departed the yard to assume duties as the Ship Design Manager at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Coast Guard Station St. The Coast Guard held a ceremony to recognize the 174th and final delivery of the Coast Guard’s 45-foot Response Boat-Medium at Sector St. Petersburg, Tuesday. The 174th RBM was delivered for use at Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg Feb. 26, 2015. Vice Adm. Peter V. Neffenger, Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, members involved in the Coast Guard’s acquisition program, members from Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg and maritime industry personnel attended the ceremony to recognize the final delivery milestone.

U.S. Carbofin S.p.A., an Italian domiciled company that owned and operated the M/T Marigola was sentenced to pay an overall criminal penalty of $2.75 million for knowingly falsifying the vessel’s oil record book in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), announced the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. During 2013 and 2014, on numerous international voyages, senior members of the crew of the M/T Marigola directed the installation and use of a so-called “magic hose” to dispose of sludge, waste oil and oil-contaminated bilge water directly into the sea bypassing required pollution prevention equipment.

The Coast Guard is investigating the grounding of the 575-ft motor vessel Pollux, which ran aground two miles east of Gadsden Point in Hillsborough Bay, Fla., on Jan. 2. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg received a call at 11:15 p.m., from the Cooperative Vessel Traffic Service that the Pollux had run aground and could not move under its own power. The Pollux, a Malta flagged freight vessel carrying a load of fertilizer, was inbound to Tampa Bay from Galveston, Texas. Members from Sector St. Petersburg are investigating the incident and are working with the vessel's crew and representatives to safely remove the vessel. Vessel traffic has not been affected, but all vessel operators are urged to use caution when transiting the area.

Most people who encounter the Coast Guard near shore will get a good look at a Response Boat-Small (RB-S). With more than 400 boats in operation, the RB-S is the largest vessel class in the Coast Guard’s fleet. The boats are in constant use, from life-saving to law enforcement and homeland security missions. But the redoubtable RB-S is approaching the end of its service life and the the Coast Guard’s Acquisition Directorate has launched an ambitious project to replace this important asset. The RB-S II will be one of the largest boat buys of its kind.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued three people Monday after their 68-foot fishing vessel started to sink 36 miles southwest of Sanibel Island. A member of Sea Tow Marco Island contacted Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg watchstanders reporting they overheard a crewmember aboard the Cheyenne call out “mayday,” declare that they were taking on water and unable to keep up with the flooding. Watchstanders diverted the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Marlin, an 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat homeported in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., to the scene. "Once on scene, the rescue crew determined there was a crack in the hull somewhere on the forward bow," said Kevin Coyne, a search and rescue coordinator at the sector.

Coast Guard members from Sector St. Petersburg, Fla., and the Coast Guard Cutter Joshua Appleby, homeported in St. Petersburg, along with personnel from Port Manatee, conducted a pollution-response exercise at the Port of Manatee in Palmetto on Nov. 13. The exercise was aimed at testing and improving the Coast Guard's ability to assemble, deploy and operate a Vessel of Opportunity Skimming System (VOSS). A VOSS is used to isolate and collect the spilled substance during or after a spill.

A 31-year-old woman was rescued by the Coast Guard Auxiliary after she was spotted clinging to a channel marker near Matanzas Pass, Fla., having been swept out to sea and forced to cling to the navigation channel marker for 7 hours on New Year's Eve. The boatcrew from Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 91 was on a routine patrol when they located the woman, at 7-45 a.m. on New Year's Day, removed her from the marker and brought her aboard. The woman, who showed signs of hypothermia was immediately transferred to hospital…

Boarding team members from Coast Guard Station Yankeetown stopped four unsafe passenger vessels operating on the Crystal River, Fla., and in the vicinity of Homosassa, Fla., Dec. 29, through Dec. 31, 2008. During random safety boardings, crewmembers discovered two commercial vessels operated by Stadt Aquatic Adventures operating with more than their maximum allowable passengers. Additionally, Yankeetown crews discovered that the captain of the second vessel failed to properly report a marine casualty involving one of its main engines. The Coast Guard terminated both voyages for the safety infractions and will seek civil penalties against Stadt Aquatic Adventures. The Coast Guard will also pursue action to suspend the captains’ licenses for failing to comply with proper safety procedures.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) rescued a 54-year-old man, who was suffering from medical issues while aboard a 655-foot freight ship approximately 150 miles southwest of Tampa, Wednesday. At approximately 9:24 a.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, Fla., received notification from the ships agent that the master aboard a freight ship suffered a seizure while transiting to Brazil. Watchstanders launched an aircrew aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater.

A 180-foot barge ran aground on Anna Maria Island after breaking free from a tug boat early Tuesday morning. Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector St. Petersburg received notification at 2 a.m., Tuesday, that the operator of tug Abe H was having difficulty steering due to weather and was unable to control the two barges he was pushing approximately one mile west off of Longboat Key. Watchstanders launched Coast Guard Cutter Hawk, an 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat homeported in St. Petersburg, Fla., and a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boatcrew from Station Cortez to assist.

U.S. Coast Guard crews are responding to a second grounded barge near Long Boat Key, Fla., from a tugboat that was beset by heavy weather Tuesday. Due to deteriorating weather, the barge spuds were unable to keep the 140-foot barge from drifting to the beach. Coast Guard incident management personnel from Sector St. Petersburg, Fla., are on scene overseeing the operation. No pollution has been reported. "We were monitoring the barge throughout the night, said Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric Garza, member of sector's incident management department. "It was anchored about one half mile from shore.