US Coast Guard Commissions New Unit in Paducah, Ky.

The U.S. Coast Guard commissioned a new station, Coast Guard Station Paducah, during a ceremony held Thursday at the Carson Center in Paducah, Ky.

Presiding over the ceremony was Capt. Amy Beach, commander of Sector Ohio River Valley. Station Paducah’s officer in charge is Chief Petty Officer Michael Sheahan.

The station is responsible for search and rescue, recreational boating safety, ports, waterways, flood response, and coastal security. The station's area of responsibility ranges from mile marker 867 to mile marker 981 on the Ohio River, mile marker 0 to mile marker 80 on the Tennessee River, mile marker 0 to mile marker 80 on the Cumberland River, mile marker 869 to mile marker 953 on the Lower Mississippi River, mile marker 0 to mile marker 109 on the Upper Mississippi River and is deployable to the Gulf of Mexico for hurricane flood response.

The station has eight personnel, more than 20 reserve personnel and is equipped with two 29-foot Response Boat-Small II boats and three flood punt boats.

Station Paducah is the third of five new Coast Guard stations to be commissioned in the Coast Guard 8th District Western Rivers Sectors.