Blogs

Coast Guard seeking public's help in locating owner of adrift kayak 2-1-2014 – Honolulu, HI The Coast Guard is seeking the public's assistance after receiving a report of an unmanned overturned adrift blue kayak offshore approximately three miles northwest of Honolua Bay, Maui, Saturday. The cruise ship Veendam reported the blue kayak adrift at approximately 10 a.m. and the kayak remains adrift. No one has been reported missing or in distress in the area, but the Coast Guard is actively searching with an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Barbers Point to try to rule out anyone in distress. The Coast Guard advises the public to register and label all watercraft and equipment with contact information in order to quickly account for owners and prevent any unnecessary searches. Through the Operation Paddle Smart program, the Coast Guard offers a free "If Found" decal to be placed in a visible location on small, human-powered watercraft. The information on the sticker can allow response entities to quickly identify the vessel's owner and aid search and rescue planners in determining the best course of action. The stickers can be obtained for free at local harbormasters, through the Coast Guard Auxiliary, from Honolulu Sail and Power Squadron offices and at select marine retail and supply stores. Read full story here.  

Man and boy located adrift after being swept out to sea in South Pacific  2/3/14 – Apra Harbor, Guam A man and a young boy are safe after their 14-foot skiff was swept out to sea near an atoll in the South Pacific Sunday.  At 9:41 a.m. Monday, watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Guam Command Center received a report from Pan-Pacific Education and Communication Experiments by Satellite of a skiff that had been swept out to sea due to high tide and poor weather near Namoluk Atoll, Chuuk. They reportedly had paddles, no motor and minimal food aboard the vessel.  Sector Guam made notifications to Federated States of Micronesia Maritime Surveillance Advisor, FSM National Search and Rescue Coordinator, Chuuk Search and Rescue Liaison, U.S. Embassy in Pohnpei and the 14th Coast Guard District Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Honolulu.   Sector Guam identified and diverted two Automated-Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System vessels in the area.   A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Air Station Barbers Point on Oahu and a Navy P-8A Poseidon fixed-wing aircraft from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, were also launched to assist in the search.  The Ocean Pegasus, a 656-foot freight ship, and the 575-foot freight ship Verdant Island responded to the call for help and diverted at the request of the Coast Guard to assist in the search.   Tuesday morning the Ocean Pegasus located and safely rescued the 44-year-old man and nine-year-old boy. They remain aboard the Ocean Pagasus.  AMVER, sponsored by the United States Coast Guard, is a unique, computer-based, and voluntary global ship reporting system used worldwide by search and rescue authorities to arrange for assistance to persons in distress at sea.   The 14th Coast Guard District encompasses an area of 12.2 million square miles of the Central and South Pacific. Coast Guard aircraft based in Hawaii frequently travel thousands of miles in response to search and rescue and other calls for assistance. The Hercules is scheduled to be replaced by the HC-130J, which will bring increased. Read full story here.  

Naples woman injured when boat runs aground 1/29/14-- Naples, FL - Imagine driving 30 miles per hour and suddenly you slam into a wall. That's the type of impact tow boat captain Mike Hebert said a couple on a boat felt in Collier County yesterday.  The crash happened at channel marker 27A around 4 p.m. First responders say the Naples couple ran aground without notice.  The victim's husband tells us that impact sent his 71-year-old wife flying forward into a table.  "The initial information was that the patient had suffered potentially very serious injuries," said Deputy Chief Chris Byrne, Marco Island Fire Department.  Captain Hebert says that part of the channel is an accident waiting to happen.  "Since I've been on this job, 100 or so have been pulled off that bar," he said. "That's just myself. We do have numerous boats on the water here."  It's high tide right now and even so if I stick this pole in the water, it's only about a foot and a half deep.  Fortunately for the victim, the Marco Island Fire Department was able to use its brand new rescue boat, which is designed to allow them to provide advanced life support immediately.  According to her husband, the injured woman is expected to be OK. Read full story here. 

Boat catches fire while docked on Galveston Bay 2/1/14 – Galveston, TX An engine room or cabin fire damaged a roughly 25-foot pleasure craft docked at a Galveston Bay marina on Friday.  Firefighters reported no injuries in the blaze shortly after 11 a.m. at Payco Marina, 501 Blume Dr., Elizabeth Rogers, a spokeswoman for the city of Galveston, said. Read full story here.