Station Little Creek News

A 958-foot bulk carrier has refloated after running aground about 2.5 miles east of Virginia Beach, Thursday morning.Crew members aboard the vessel, JSW Salem, contacted U.S. Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads watchstanders in Portsmouth after the Panamanian flagged ship ran aground near Cape Henry Buoy #4.The ship's crew reported there were 120,000 metric tons of coal and 26 people aboard the ship.A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Station Little Creek launched and arrived on scene to assist.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathan Reynolds stood on a wooden Coast Guard pier looking to the water’s edge at an orange and silver boat used for saving lives and assisting mariners in distress, and bears the numbers 45601, as a small smile appeared on his face. “I’d rather have that boat than any other in the fleet,” he said, admiring its functionality and capability. Reynolds, a Boatswain’s Mate at Station Little Creek, is speaking about 45601, the first 45-foot Response Boat – Medium (RB-M) that was delivered to Coast Guard crews. Since 2008, over 170 RB-Ms have been delivered to over 100 boat stations throughout the Coast Guard. Station Little Creek holds the title of being the first unit to conduct missions on RB-M…

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) monitored the salvage of the sunken  Bigbi Thursday, two miles north of Little Creek, Va. The Bigbi sank at approximately 5:40 a.m., Saturday. The four-man crew of the Bigbi activated their emergency personal indicating radio beacon, donned lifejackets and survival suits, abandoned their boat and boarded a 12-foot Boston whaler, where they were assisted by a good Samaritan. A Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Little Creek met with the good Samaritan and transported the four boaters to shore.

The Coast Guard rescued two people Friday after both of their sailboats became disabled approximately five miles west of the Chesapeake Bridge Tunnel near Hampton. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads received a call from Hampton Police dispatch at approximately 3:50 a.m., who informed the Coast Guard of a 911 call from a man aboard one of two disabled sailboats. The watchstanders called the boater via cell phone and were informed that both sailboats were at anchor five miles west of the Chesapeake Bridge Tunnel. Communication was limited to cellphone, for neither of the boats had working marine radios or GPS. A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium (RB-M) crew from Coast Guard Station Little Creek was dispatched to search for the two boats.

The U.S. Coast Guard inform of the medical evacuation of an injured  93-year-old male passenger (with his wife) from the cruise ship 'Grandeur of the Seas' in the Lower Chesapeake Bay. Grandeur of the Seas contacted Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads Command Center watchstanders via VHF-FM to request medical assistance for the elderly passenger who had suffered a head injury. A 45-foot Response Boat - Medium from Coast Guard Station Little Creek was despatched to assist, and in the early hours of Sunday morning the patient and his wife were transferred to the cutter…

Building programs continue, spanning the full range of missions, despite budget concerns. Amidst all the talk of Beltway budget cutbacks and sequestration, the U.S. Coast Guard is quietly investing approximately $30 billion in major acquisition projects to modernize its physical assets. The process of recapitalizing these older and difficult-to-maintain assets has never been an easy task, and the Coast Guard has seen its share of bumps along the way. For example, the initially messy Deepwater debacle initially kicked off what has evolved into today’s more successful recapitalization process, now run by the Coast Guard’s Acquisition Directorate, which stood up in July 2007.

The Coast Guard is responding to a Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter that crashed with five people aboard Wednesday approximately 20 miles east of Cape Henry, Va. A Navy aircrew contacted Coast Guard 5th District Command Center watchstanders at approximately 11 a.m. reporting the Sea Dragon crashed and another Navy aircrew dropped a life raft to the people in the water. Sector watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and dispatched acrew aboard a 25-foot Response Boat - Small from Coast Guard Station Little Creek and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Shearwater…

The Coast Guard cutter 'Block Island' has completed a 150 miles tow over a 32-hour period of the disabled 54-foot yacht 'Zulu' with 3 persons on board during bad weather off the coast of North Carolina. The captain aboard the Zulu initially contacted Coast Guard Sector North Carolina watch-standers via satellite phone to report that the sailboat was disabled and adrift with three people aboard approximately 100 miles east of Oregon Inlet, N.C. In early course the Coast Guard Cutter Block Island arrived on scene…

The USS Fort McHenry arrived in Haiti Jan. 18, six days after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Caribbean nation. The Whidbey Island-class amphibious dock landing ship's Sailors and embarked Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) provided critical medical, distribution, rubble removal and construction assistance during Operation Unified Response. The ship provided over 3,500 pounds of medical aid and the medical team treated 850 patients, both on the ship and ashore…

Members of the media were invited to participate in the launch and get underway on a new law enforcement and search and rescue vessel at Coast Guard Station New York on Staten Island Friday, Dec. 19, 2008 at 10 a.m. The 45-foot Response Boat – Medium (RB-M) was delivered to Coast Guard Station New York on Dec. 11, 2008 and is the third initiative in the Response Boats 2010 strategic vision and transition plan. “If you look at the 41-foot and 45-foot vessels side by side, you can definitely see that our new response boat is much more advanced,” said Lt. Patrick Gallagher, Station New York’s executive officer. “The vessel is much faster and more maneuverable, has integrated communications and easier access to Coast Guard systems.

Coast Guard crews demonstrate the capabilities of the 45-foot Response Boat - Medium from Station Little Creek and the 24-foot Special Purpose Craft - Shallow Water from Station Chincoteague in the Elizabeth River near Portsmouth, Va., Friday, Nov. 21, 2008. The boats will provide Coast Guard crews with enhanced capabilities to fulfill their Homeland Security missions. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo/Petty Officer Mark Jones)

A 25-ft. Defender-class safe boat from Coast Guard Station Little Creek maintains a security zone around the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) as it is towed into the Port of Hampton Roads July 31, 2007. The decommissioned carrier will be moored temporarily at Naval Operating Base Norfolk before being towed to its new permanent home in Philadelphia. A 500-foot security buffer is maintained by Coast Guard vessels around naval vessels as they enter and exit port. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo by PA2 John D. Miller)

USCGC Point Huron, an 82-ft. patrol boat with more than 32 years service in Hampton Roads was decommissioned during a ceremony at USCG Station Little Creek, Va. Point Huron was placed in service Feb. 17, 1967, and arrived at Station Little Creek May 3, 1967. The cutter's primary missions included search and rescue, drug interdiction, fisheries, marine environmental protection, recreational and commercial vessel safety, maintaining security zones, aiding in coastal defense and public affairs. Point Huron's normal operating area included the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, and the Atlantic Ocean from New Jersey to South Carolina. In August 1999, Point Huron will be replaced by USCGC Albacore, an 87-ft. coastal patrol boat.

USCGC Point Huron, an 82-ft. patrol boat with more than 32 years service in Hampton Roads was decommissioned during a ceremony at USCG Station Little Creek, Va. Point Huron was placed in service Feb. 17, 1967, and arrived at Station Little Creek May 3, 1967. The cutter's primary missions included search and rescue, drug interdiction, fisheries, marine environmental protection, recreational and commercial vessel safety, maintaining security zones, aiding in coastal defense and public affairs. Point Huron's normal operating area included the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, and the Atlantic Ocean from New Jersey to South Carolina. In August 1999, Point Huron will be replaced by USCGC Albacore, an 87-ft. coastal patrol boat.