Coast Guard Rescues 12 From M/V Bonnie G, Aground off U.S. Virgin Islands

Yesterday the USCG issued a press release: A Coast Guard boat crew rescued 12 people, Wednesday morning, after they were forced to abandon the M/V Bonnie G that was taking on water and ran aground just south of the airport … Continue reading

Update: Reza Baluchi Attempts to Run Across the Atlantic in His “Hamster Wheel of Doom,” Arrested By Coast Guard

Reza Baluchi is at it again. The US Coast Guard intercepted Baluchi in the Atlantic about 70 miles (110km) off Tybee Island, Georgia on August 26 in his most recent attempt to run across the ocean, this time from the … Continue reading

The Rookie Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer, a Stolen Boat, and a Dead Fish at the Goonies House

Here is a strange story of a heroic rescue by the US Coast Guard, a stolen boat, and a dead fish left on the front porch of a house in Astoria, Oregon, where the cult classic adventure/comedy movie, The Goonies … Continue reading

After Grounding, Maryland Bans On-Duty Marine Pilots From Using Cell Phones

The Maryland Board of Pilots has decided to enact a rule change that forbids on-duty pilots from using their phones after the Coast Guard determined that a distracted pilot’s cell phone use contributed to a container ship grounding.  In March … Continue reading

Update: Atrevida II Rescue & the High Cost of Sailing Unprepared

We recently posted about the rescue of two sailors and a dog from a 30′ sailboat, Atrevida II, off Cape Hatteras by the tanker Silver Muna. While the initial Coast Guard report was accurate, it was also incomplete. The initial … Continue reading

Coast Guard: Distracted Pilot on Cell Phone Prior to Grounding of Container Ship Ever Forward in Chesapeake

Last March, we posted about the grounding of the container ship Ever Forward near Baltimore in the Chesapeake Bay. The ship failed to make a turn in the Craighill channel and ran hard aground on a mud flat, where it … Continue reading

Record Drought Shuts Down Traffic In Mississippi River and Tributaries

In August, we posted about an extreme drought in Europe that dramatically reduced water levels in major rivers, including the Rhine, Elbe, Loire, Danube, and Po. Now a near-record drought in the US Midwest has dropped water levels in the … Continue reading

62 Yr Old Sailor Rescued, Trapped for 16 Hours in Capsized Sailboat Off Spanish Coast, After Loss of Keel

It has happened again. While sailing in a qualifying race for the upcoming transatlantic solo sailing contest Route du Rhum, 62-year-old French sailor Laurent Camprubi found himself trapped inside his sailboat after it capsized. The keel on his boat, the … Continue reading

SpaceX Launch Scrubbed Due to Cruise Ship in Exclusion Zone

On Sunday, 30 seconds before the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was due to take off from Florida, the launch was scrubbed when a cruise ship sailed into the launch hazard area. Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas ventured into the … Continue reading

Update: Dept. of Transportation Issues Rules to Protect Cadets from Sexual Assaults at Sea

In early November, we posted that the United States Maritime Academy at King’s Point had paused Sea Year, a program that sent cadets to sea aboard commercial ships, after a female midshipman at the school shared an account in September of … Continue reading

Zoom Presentation — Tanker Mary A. Whalen’s Game Changing Supreme Court Case

PortSide NewYork is hosting a fascinating virtual talk with Captain Lawrence Brennan, a Fordham law Professor, and PortSide Executive Director Carolina Salguero about the Supreme Court decision US vs RELIABLE TRANSFER involving PortSide’s historic ship Mary A. Whalen.  Brennan and … Continue reading

US Coast Guard Testing Unmanned Vessels Off Hawaii

The US Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) has begun testing and evaluation of several unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) off the south shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The testing is scheduled to run through early November, conducted in partnership with … Continue reading

Update: US Coast Guard Officer Sentenced To 13 Years For Plotting Mass Murder

About a year ago we posted about an active-duty US Coast Guard lieutenant accused of plotting attacks “to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country.” Christopher Paul Hasson, 50, a self-avowed white nationalist, was arrested after … Continue reading

Honoring the Coast Guard Heroes of Hurricane Harvey

When Category 4 Hurricane Harvey devastated coastal Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, the US Coast Guard was there to assist in the rescue. Harvey was the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the United States and is tied as … Continue reading

LA Times: Coast Guard Rejected Calls for Stricter Safety Rules Prior to Deadly Dive Boat Fire

The dive boat Conception was a death trap.  It was a wooden vessel with a single narrow and steep stairway from the lower berthing deck and a small emergency exit hatch. When a fire broke out on September 2, 34 … Continue reading

Congratulations to USCG Lt. Ronaqua Russell — First Black Female Aviator Awarded Air Medal

Congratulations to Lt. Ronaqua Russell, the first African-American female aviator in the Coast Guard to receive the Air Medal.  From the Coast Guard press release: The Air Medal is awarded to an individual who distinguishes themselves by heroic or meritorious … Continue reading

Some of the Things the Coast Guard Has Been Doing While Not Getting Paid

As the wholly unnecessary and reckless partial government shutdown rolls on, 41,000 active duty US Coast Guard personnel are still doing their jobs, without getting paid. Roughly 8,500 civilian support staff are furloughed, also without paychecks. Across the country, concerned citizens are trying … Continue reading

Crabber Mary B II Capsizes Crossing Yaquina Bay bar — Three Fishermen Lost

The Dungeness crab season opened late in the Northwest, starting last Friday, January 4th. The weather was terrible, with high winds and waves. Conditions were especially challenging on river bars, where the river’s current opposing the ocean waves can raise monstrous breakers.  … Continue reading