News Briefs – Page 4 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

MARAD Designates New Marine Highway Routes in Alaska

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has designated two new Marine Highway routes, one including seasonal barge routes in Alaska, in an effort to speed up movement of goods, strengthen supply chains and support local economies in Alaska. Buttigieg made the announcement in Juneau on Aug. 16, on the last day of a three-day whirlwind tour of Alaska, where he met with residents of the city Kotzebue, toured the Port of Alaska and traveled aboard an Alaska Marine Highway System ferry to visit Southeast Alaska towns. “By expanding our marine highway system, we can strengthen our supply chains, improve port operations…

Vigor Alaska Begins Maintenance, Repair Work on Coast Guard Cutter

The U.S Coast Guard has awarded Vigor Alaska, a Titan Acquisition Holdings company, a contract to perform maintenance and repairs on U.S. Coast Guard cutter John McCormick at Vigor’s Ketchikan shipyard. CGC John McCormick is the first Coast Guard maintenance solicitation awarded to Vigor’s Ketchikan shipyard since 2011. The Fast Response Cutter is stationed at Coast Guard Base Ketchikan, just 3.5 miles from Ketchikan Shipyard, ensuring work on this locally-based vessel supports jobs in Ketchikan’s local economy. Work on the vessel began in mid-September. “Having a strong partnership with the Coast Guard supports family wage jobs in Ketchikan and helps…

Port of Vancouver USA Settles Pollution Lawsuit

The Port of Vancouver USA and environmental group Columbia Riverkeeper on Sept. 12 announced that they have reached an agreement to settle a Clean Water Act lawsuit over years of alleged unlawful water pollution from the public port. In the settlement, the port committed to make significant changes to reduce the amount of water pollution that flows off the 1,643-acre property into the Columbia River. However, before the proposed settlement can go into effect, it must undergo a 45-day review period by the U.S. Department of Justice and be approved by a federal district court judge. As part of the…

EPA Seeks Ideas About Zero-Emission Port Projects

In May, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a request for information (RFI) about how the agency can best develop funding programs to support the build-out of zero-emission energy and transportation infrastructure at ports. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides $4 billion to the EPA to develop grant and rebate funding programs to reduce greenhouse gases and improve air quality. There are two focuses: a $1 billion Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Program and the $3 billion Grants to Reduce Air Pollution at Ports. Funds go to eligible recipients, with the money not dependent on annual federal budget cycles. The EPA’s…

Safety in Shipping Report Highlights Developing Risks, Changing Landscape

New risks are emerging in the shipping industry—from excess capacity, economic factors, decarbonization and increased fire perils driven by changing cargo trends—countering the upsides of a continued long-term drop in vessel losses due to improvements in safety and ship design. These developing trends, detailed in a new report from global insurer Allianz, are worth watching for West Coast shippers as part of various changes that promise to reshape the global shipping landscape. The upside of this year’s Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Safety and Shipping Review, an annual look at losses and safety trends in shipping, is the continuation of…

Coast Guard Cutter Munro Visits Japan, South Korea

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Munro visited Yokosuka, Japan and the Republic of Korea during international port visits conducted in July and August. In Japan, the Munro conducted training and engagements with the Japan Coast Guard; in Gwangyang, South Korea, the cutter conducted several days of engagements and exchanges with the Korea Coast Guard. The Munro arrived Aug. 6 while deployed in the Indo-Pacific and hosted several members of the Japan Coast Guard for professional exchanges, including showcasing the Munro’s small boat and aerial capabilities and search-and-rescue operations. The visit allowed members of both services to discuss their dual mission…

Coast Guard Cutter Returns After 57-Day Arctic Ocean-Bering Sea Patrol

The Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley returned to its homeport of Kodiak, Alaska on Labor Day following a 57-day patrol in the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea. The Alex Haley is a 282-foot Medium Endurance Cutter that performs search and rescue, fisheries law enforcement and vessel safety inspections across Alaska and has been homeported in Kodiak since 1999. Nicknamed the “Bulldog of the Bering,” the vessel supported multiple strategic-level objectives for the Seventeenth Coast Guard District and the U.S. Northern Command during its 57-day mission, including providing presence along the U.S. Maritime Boundary Line and supporting U.S. Navy assets during…

Coast Guard Medevacs Fisherman 93 Miles Off San Diego Coast

A Coast Guard helicopter aircrew medically evacuated a 50-year-old male from the sport fishing vessel Spirit of Adventure about 93 miles west of Point Loma, on Aug. 16. Crew aboard the Spirit of Adventure contacted Coast Guard Sector San Diego Joint Harbor Operations Center at about 1:40 p.m. requesting assistance for a passenger who was displaying symptoms of a heart attack. Watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Sector San Diego MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew, including a San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR) Team paramedic, to assist. Once on the scene, the helicopter crew recovered the patient and transported…

Coast Guard Cutter Healy Embarks on Arctic Ocean Mission

The Coast Guard cutter Healy and a team of researchers have embarked on a months-long mission to gain insight on how warmer water from the Atlantic Ocean is being introduced into the Arctic at the shelf water level, deep basin interior and upper ocean. The mission was announced by the U.S. Coast Guard on Aug. 26. According to the USCG, researchers from the National Science Foundation and International Arctic Research Center will service the Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observational System (NABOS), in hopes of developing an understanding of water circulation in the region and will sample the water column in…

U.S. Coast Guard Alaska Responds to Multiple Fishing Vessel Medevacs

On Aug. 25, Coast Guard District 17 command center personnel received a medevac request from the fishing vessel Northern Eagle at 6:20 a.m. for a 26-year-old crewmember experiencing abdominal pain. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter air crew launched from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak and hoisted the crewmember at 8:15 p.m. about 23 miles northwest of St Paul Island. The man was then flown to St. Paul where he was transferred to commercial emergency medical services at 9 p.m. for further care in Anchorage. Also on Aug. 25, Coast Guard District 17 command center personnel received a medevac request from…