uscg – Pacific Maritime Magazine

19 Nov

Additional Training for U.S. Coast Guard Recommended by GAO

Margaret BaumanNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newsgao, training, uscg

A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office recommends updates in training for the U.S. Coast Guard for emerging missions demands, such as Arctic operations, cybersecurity and modernizing its training efforts. Meeting the mission demands requires enhanced skills and training for the Coast Guard workforce, the GAO said in a report published online Oct. 30. The Coast Guard currently carries out varied duties, including Arctic patrols, cybersecurity and trying to stop illegal fishing in the Western Hemisphere. Its training command delivered over 400 unique training courses to more than 23,000 Coast Guard students in fiscal year 2023. While the Coast…

05 Nov

USCG Commissions Fast Response Cutter Florence Finch in Seattle

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newsfrc, ucgc, uscg

On Oct. 24 at U.S. Coast Guard Base Seattle, the Guard commissioned the Florence Finch, the agency’s 57th Fast Response Cutter and the second of three planned FRCs expected to be homeported in Astoria, Ore. Florence Finch crew members are expected to operate mainly in the Pacific Ocean, Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Columbia River. This FRC, made for various missions such as search and rescue, patrolling fisheries and other security activities, is named after Filipino-American Florence Ebersole Smith Finch, who was part of the World War II resistance. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, she…

30 Apr

USCG Cutter Stratton Returns From 111-Day Alaskan Deployment

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newsalaska, stratton, uscg

After 111 days deployed to the Bering Sea, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Stratton returned to her Alameda, Calif. homeport on April 22. Crew members, who left Alameda on Jan. 2, were deployed to support search and rescue activities and guard the nation’s northernmost boundaries. While in the Alaskan region, the Stratton crew supported USCG Air Station Kodiak’s MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters and aircrews and finished 363 helicopter landings with crew members. They assisted in helicopter training and bolstering search and rescue capabilities, including landing shipboard, on-deck fueling and in-flight refueling, the agency said. Stratton crew members also conducted 18 boardings…

27 Feb

USCG Launching New Merchant Mariner Credential Format

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newscredentials, mmc, uscg

Starting March 1, the U.S. Coast Guard plans to issue merchant mariner credentials in a new format that replaces the red passport-style book with related endorsement labels, according to the National Maritime Center. “The complexity and degraded reliability of the custom printers used to print the (credential) books necessitated a change to the credential printing process,” according to USCG, adding that the new credentials are going to be “printed on readily available commercial desktop laser jet printers and will vastly improve print services and availability.” The new format is expected to be on 8.5-inch by 11-inch “waterproof and tear-resistant synthetic…

27 Feb

USCG Sector Puget Sound Launches Effort to Curb Vessel Traffic’s Impact on Whales

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newscargovolumes, pmsa, pugetsound, trade, uscg, vts, whales

The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound is engaging in a four-year pilot program that is expected to help minimize the vessel traffic impact on endangered whales in the Salish Sea, the agency announced Feb. 21. Hosted in the Puget Sound Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), the program allows for the Coast Guard to get whale sighting reports from mariners and give close to real-time information on whale locations to mariners through a whale report alert system, according to the Guard. The Coast Guard said that it plans to work closely with international, federal, tribal and state entities as well as…

13 Feb

Coast Guard Halting Seasonal Sound Signals at Umpqua River South Jetty, Yaquina Bay

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newsnavigation, soundsignals, uscg

The U.S. Coast Guard is planning to discontinue the seasonal Sound Signal audio navigation aids at Umpqua River South Jetty Sound Signal and Yaquina Bay, both in Oregon, at the end of the 2024 spring installation, the agency announced Feb. 7. The Coast Guard is seeking public feedback on the new changes and on the performance and operation of navigation aids. Meanwhile, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Columbia River is expected to continue receiving reports of any discrepancies to this and other navigation aids, the agency said. “The U.S. Coast Guard values the input of the maritime community and remains dedicated…

06 Feb

Port of Long Beach Appoints New Security Chief

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newsnewsmakers, polb, uscg

U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Ryan Manning is expected to helm the Port of Long Beach’s Security Division beginning this spring. The port announced Jan. 22 that its Board of Harbor Commissioners has approved Manning’s appointment to lead the Security Division, which is responsible for providing portwide safety and security and collaborating with various agencies on those efforts. Manning is expected to start in his new role after March, when he retires as the Guard’s captain of the Port of Los Angeles-Long Beach, and Commander of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach. In that role, Manning oversees 550 active duty, reserve…

16 Jan

USCG Cutter Midgett Returns from 129-Day Alaska Deployment

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newscutter, midgett, uscg

After 129 days on patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Midgett has returned to its homeport in Honolulu, the agency announced Jan. 12. During its deployment, the crew of the 418-foot National Security Cutter engaged in readiness training in and near Southern California and a 50-day patrol in the Bering Sea. There, the cutter carried out the agency’s Arctic Strategic Outlook goals within the 17th Coast Guard District area of responsibility and provided fishery law enforcement for the $13.9 billion Alaskan fishing industry, including the completion of 10 federal fisheries boardings. The Midgett is the only U.S. maritime military service…

28 Nov

USCG Cutter Polar Star Heads to Antarctica for Operation Deep Freeze

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newscutter, deepfreeze, polarstar, uscg

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Polar Star has embarked on its 27th year in support of Operation Deep Freeze, the Guard said Nov. 16. The cutter has left its homeport of Seattle and headed to Antarctica for Deep Freeze, a yearly joint military effort to replenish the U.S. Antarctic stations supporting the National Science Foundation, which is the U.S. Antarctic Program’s lead agency. Every year, the cutter crunches through ice to create a path that enables fuel and supply vessels to access McMurdo Station, the U.S. Antarctic Program’s logistical hub and the biggest Antarctic station. “Operation Deep Freeze is a…

10 Oct

USCG Shuts Down Illegal San Diego Charter Operation

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newscharter, luckyduck, uscg

U.S. Coast Guard members recently shut down an illegal charter operation in San Diego’s La Jolla State Marine Reserve protected area, the agency announced Oct. 4. Operation of the Lucky Duck, a 20-foot, state-registered pleasure vessel with six people aboard, including one child, was terminated after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife conducted a boarding Sept. 21 and found the operator violated state laws. Violations include failing to hire “an appropriately credentialed mariner” and failing to have a drug and alcohol program, according to the Coast Guard. “The Coast Guard will continue to pursue vessel operators who put the…