WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard announced the winner of its 2011 Video of the Year  contest Tuesday, a contest that highlighted the year's most compelling cases from the work done every day by America's Coast Guard.

The winning video features Coast Guard members partnering with Moody Garden's Aquarium and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to release eight Kemp's Ridley and two Loggerhead turtles off the coast of Galveston, Texas.

The second place video features airborne canine training involving the Coast Guard and various law enforcement agencies in San Francisco.

The third place video features a helicopter crew rescuing a man and his dog from their sailboat 120 miles southwest of San Diego.

Voting for the annual contest was done by the public between Dec. 21, 2011 and Jan. 13. Each day of the contest people voted for their favorite videos by choosing “Like” on the Coast Guard's Facebook page or on the Coast Guard’s YouTube 2011 Videos of the Year playlist.

“This year’s top three videos exemplified the multi-faceted nature of the Coast Guard’s service to the nation,” said Capt. Ron LaBrec, chief of Coast Guard public affairs. “From returning wildlife to its natural habitat, to partnering with state and local agencies and their canine units to protecting life, all life, at sea”

Video of each case, as well as the Top 10 video compilation, is available for viewing and download from the Coast Guard visual information site.

In 2011, the Coast Guard:

• Responded to more than 22,000 search and rescue cases and saved more than 4,300 lives.
• Screened more than 257,000 commercial vessels carrying 71 million crewmembers and passengers prior to arrival in U.S. ports.
• Investigated 4,650 marine casualties, including two marine boards of investigation.
• Seized more than 37,000 pounds of marijuana and more than 200,000 pounds of cocaine bound for the United States.
• Conducted more than 11,000 inspections on U.S. vessels and 9,000 port state control safety and environmental exams on foreign vessels.
• Interdicted more than 2,000 undocumented migrants attempting to illegally enter the United States from the sea.

WASHINGTON — Personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement completed a review of the mobile offshore drilling unit Scarabeo 9, Monday, off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago. The review followed an invitation from the vessel’s operator, Repsol. While aboard the Scarabeo 9, personnel reviewed vessel construction, drilling equipment, and safety systems – including lifesaving and firefighting equipment, emergency generators, dynamic positioning systems, machinery spaces, and the blowout preventer – in anticipation of its scheduled drilling operations in Cuba’s exclusive economic zone in the coming months.

The review is consistent with U.S. efforts to minimize the possibility of a major oil spill, which would hurt U.S. economic and environmental interests. The review compared the vessel with applicable international safety and security standards as well as U.S. standards for drilling units operating in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. U.S. personnel found the vessel to generally comply with existing international and U.S. standards by which Repsol has pledged to abide.

BSEE and the Coast Guard exercise no legal or regulatory authority over the MODU or its intended operations in Cuba’s EEZ. Additionally, their review does not confer any form of certification or endorsement under U.S. or international law.

In anticipation of an increase in drilling activities in the Caribbean Basin and Gulf of Mexico, the United States is participating in multilateral discussions with the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Mexico on a broad range of issues including, drilling safety, ocean modeling, and oil spill preparedness and response that are providing valuable information on each country’s plans and capabilities that will improve bilateral and regional cooperation should a major pollution incident occur. The Coast Guard is also working closely with federal, state and local agencies, as well as maritime industry officials to update contingency plans to ensure readiness to respond to any potential oil spills in international waters that could potentially affect U.S. waters and coastline.

At the local level, Florida Coast Guard Sectors Jacksonville, Miami, Key West and St. Petersburg are updating their Area Contingency Plans, which will provide guidance for near and on-shore response efforts along the coast. In addition, the Coast Guard's Seventh District, headquartered in Miami, is overseeing work on an Offshore Drill Response Plan and Regional Contingency Plan that focuses on response strategies and tactics to combat a spill at sea. More than 80 federal, State of Florida, Florida coastal county and maritime industry representatives held a table top exercise on Nov. 18, 2011, utilizing response plans to address a hypothetical international spill off the coast of Florida. The exercise allowed participants to discuss sensitive environmental areas, planning strategies, likely issues and response coordination principles that responders would face, as well as gather additional information to use in future planning.

The United States remains committed to supporting best practices to prevent and contain oil spills, and is pursuing immediate and long term initiatives that seek to minimize risks to U.S. waters and shores.

WASHINGTON – The Coast Guard announced Thursday publication of a policy letter that exempts a number of mariners from the requirement to obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Credential when renewing or obtaining a Coast Guard-issued merchant mariner credential.

The policy letter, effective as of Tuesday, provides immediate relief for mariners who otherwise would need to obtain a TWIC to get or renew their Merchant Mariner Credential. The policy letter also provides the Coast Guard with an expedient means to comply with a portion of the requirements set forth in Section 809 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010.

“These changes eliminate the TWIC requirement for mariners who operate vessels not required to have a vessel security plan or who are not actively sailing on their merchant mariner credential” said Captain Eric Christensen, Chief of the Office of Vessel Activities in Washington, DC. “This policy letter solution uses Coast Guard resources and capabilities to lessen the impact on an estimated 60,000 mariners while we work on a regulatory solution to address the full scope of Section 809.”

Prior to the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 becoming law, all mariners holding a Coast Guard-issued merchant mariner credential were also required to obtain and hold a valid TWIC. Section 809 of the Act, however, permits the Coast Guard to exempt any mariner not requiring unescorted access to a secure area of a vessel from the requirement to hold a valid TWIC as a precondition of receiving a merchant mariner credential.

The policy letter can be found here.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard announced Wednesday the release of its Top 10 video compilation for 2011, highlighting the year's most compelling cases from the work done every day by America's Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard also announced its 2011 Video of the Year contest in which the public is invited to vote for their favorite video. The contest begins Thursday, with voting open through Jan. 13, 2012. Starting Thursday, and continuing through Dec. 31, the Coast Guard's official blog, the Coast Guard Compass, will publish one of the Top 10 videos each day including commentary from a service member who participated in the mission. Voting for the 2011 Video of the Year will remain open through Jan. 13, 2012, so each video will have ample opportunity to be "Liked." 

Each day of the contest people may vote for their favorite videos by choosing “Like” on the Coast Guard's Facebook page or on the Coast Guard’s YouTube 2011 Videos of the Year playlist.

"The service of Coast Guard men and women is often out of sight of the public occurring offshore, at night or at the height of a ferocious storm at sea, so we are proud to show citizens our Top 10 videos that represent this work," said Capt. Ron LaBrec, chief of Coast Guard public affairs. "We are part of the communities we serve throughout the country.  The Coast Guard has the ability to deploy military capability, law enforcement authority and life-saving expertise whenever and wherever needed to safeguard our nation and its citizens."

The Top 10 video compilation includes:

• The rescue of a man who was trapped on the rocks near the South Padre Island jetty, March 5 by a Coast Guard Air Station Houston helicopter crew.
• The rescue of a 77-year-old man and his dog from a disabled, adrift sailboat southwest of San Diego, March 2 by a helicopter crew from Air Station San Diego.
• Coast Guard Crewmembers assisting Moody Garden’s Aquarium and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the release of eight endangered Kemp’s Ridley and two Loggerhead turtles into the Gulf of Mexico, July 14.
• Crewmember training with Coast Guard Station Merrimack River, Mass., July 13.
• The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Henry Blake maintaining aids to navigation in the Puget Sound area.
• The first Caribbean Sea interdiction of a cocaine smuggling, self-propelled, semi-submersible vessel by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk Sept. 17.
• The rescue by an aircrew from Air Station Barbers Point of a pilot who had to ditch his Cessna airplane in the ocean 13 miles northeast of the Big Island, Hawaii, Oct. 7.
• The rescue of a family of four, including a six-month-old baby and a dog, from their disabled sailboat by Coast Guard and Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol crews, March 20.
• An Air Station Astoria rescue of an injured climber near the North Head Lighthouse outside Ilwaco, Wash., July 7.
• Helicopter familiarity training for law enforcement canines, conducted with various law enforcement agencies in Alameda, Calif., May 24.

Video of each case, as well as the Top 10 video compilation, is available for viewing and download from the Coast Guard visual information site.

In 2011, the Coast Guard:

• Responded to more than 22,000 search and rescue cases and saved more than 4,300 lives.
• Screened more than 257,000 commercial vessels carrying 71 million crewmembers and passengers prior to arrival in U.S. ports.
• Investigated 4,650 marine casualties, including two marine boards of investigation.
• Seized more than 37,000 pounds of marijuana and more than 200,000 pounds of cocaine bound for the United States.
• Conducted more than 11,000 inspections on U.S. vessels and 9,000 port state control safety and environmental exams on foreign vessels.
• Interdicted more than 2,000 undocumented migrants attempting to illegally enter the United States from the sea.

The U.S. Coast Guard's Health, Safety and Work-Life Directorate Monday announced an Interagency Agreement with the Department of State to share an Integrated Health Information System (IHiS), which includes a commercial electronic health record, Epic.™

This unique agreement provides substantial benefits to both agencies, including efficiencies generated by leveraging joint purchasing power and allowing the Coast Guard and the Department of State to share resources. It also will significantly increase the interoperability of healthcare information within the federal government and the private sector, a critical component of healthcare reform.

This collaboration leverages the Coast Guard's initial health care systems investment while sharing life-cycle costs with the Department of State, generating immediate and long-term economic benefits. Coast Guard medical clinics nationwide will be able to access Coast Guard personnel medical records from a central database instead of having to transfer paper records from different locations. The Department of State will share this main server to support its medical records database and will provide its back-up system for use by the entire records database.

Under the provisions of the agreement, clinicians for the Coast Guard and the Department of State also will have access to the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record, the unified health record for active and former members of the U.S. armed services and to the Nationwide Health Information Network.

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WASHINGTON — The Coast Guard announced Wednesday the launch of its third Sentinel-class, Fast Response Cutter, the William Flores, at Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, La. 

The launch of the William Flores into the waters of Bayou Lafourche marks a production milestone as the Fast Response Cutter readies for sea trials, delivery, crew training and eventual commissioning. 

“The Coast Guard’s new Fast Response Cutters are national assets, unique to the United States and uniquely equipped to respond to all threats and all events in times of crisis,” said Cmdr. Chris O’Neil, chief of media relations for the U.S. Coast Guard.  “The Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters will be capable of speeds in excess of 28 knots and operating in seas up to 18-feet.  Armed with a 25-mm chain gun and four, .50 caliber machine guns,  the speed, stability and firepower of the Fast Response Cutter deliver tremendous lifesaving, law enforcement and homeland security capabilities in the same package.  Like the Island-class patrol boats the Fast Response Cutters replace, the fleet of 58 Sentinel-class cutters will serve as the workhorses of America's littoral, maritime fleet.”

Seaman Apprentice William Flores, namesake of the cutter, posthumously received the Coast Guard Medal, the service’s highest award for heroism not involving combat, for his unselfish acts and sacrifice Jan. 28, 1980, following the collision between the Coast Guard Cutter Blackthorn and the tanker Capricorn.  Flores and another crewmember threw life jackets to their shipmates who had jumped into the water.  Later, when his companion abandoned ship as the Blackthorn began to submerge, Flores, who was less than a year out of boot camp, remained behind and used his belt to strap open the life jacket locker door, allowing additional life jackets to float to the surface.  Even after most crewmembers abandoned ship, the 19-year-old Flores remained aboard Blackthorn to assist trapped shipmates and to comfort those who were injured and disoriented. Seaman Apprentice William Ray “Billy” Flores and 22 other Coast Guardsmen perished as the Blackthorn capsized and sank near the entrance of Tampa Bay, Fla.  Twenty seven of his shipmates survived. 

After commissioning, the William Flores will be homeported in Miami, with a crew of 24 to conduct alien migrant interdiction operations, port, waterways and coastal security patrols, search and rescue and national defense missions.

Named for enlisted Coast Guard heroes, Fast Response Cutters have an overall length of 154 feet, a beam of 26 feet and are capable of speeds in excess of 28 knots.  The Fast Response Cutter also features a stern launch ramp for rapid and safe deployment of its 7.9-meter small boat.  The William Flores is scheduled to be delivered and commissioned in 2012.

For more information about the Fast Response Cutter visit http://www.uscg.mil/acquisition/sentinel/default.asp or to learn more about the recapitalization of Coast Guard assets visit http://www.uscg.mil/acquisition/programs/pdf/CG9recap.pdf.

  

WASHINGTON — The commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Adm. Robert J. Papp, Jr., testified Tuesday before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation about the Coast Guard’s acquisition program.

The subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Frank LoBiondo, received testimony detailing the progress of the Coast Guard Acquisitions program and highlights of recent successful acquisitions.

“I am proud to report we are making real progress.  On Sept. 2, we accepted the on-time delivery of Cutter Stratton – the third National Security Cutter; fabrication of Cutter Hamilton, NSC #4, started in August, and we awarded a fixed price contract for the Cutter James, NSC #5, just last month,” said Papp. "In April and August, the first two Fast Response Cutters – the replacement for the venerable Island Class patrol boat – were launched.  Production of hulls #3-8 is underway and we just exercised a fixed price option for production of hulls #9-12.”

To download written testimony click here.

To download the oral statement click here.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Coast Guard made public a memo outlining details of a training accident that killed a Coast Guardsman from Marine Safety and Security Team 91106 based in New York at the mouth of the James River near Portsmouth, Va., Oct. 13, 2010.

Petty Officer 3^rd Class Shaun Lin, a maritime enforcement specialist, and other Coast Guard trainees were practicing boarding procedures with the Coast Guard Cutter Frank Drew when he fell from the ladder he was climbing as he attempted to exit a boat and climb onto the Frank Drew.

“The loss of Petty Officer 3rd Class Lin will always be remembered within the Coast Guard.  We hope the release of the Final Action Memorandum of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death helps bring closure to his family and shipmates.  We honor his memory by learning all we can from this accident to ensure Coast Guardsmen are fully prepared to safely and proficiently conduct operations.”

The memo directs 17 actions be taken and lists two other recommended actions based on the causal and contributing factors identified during the Coast Guard’s investigation of the accident.  The memo also details the findings of fact that support the causal and contributing factors.

Lin was a three-year veteran of the Coast Guard and a native of New York.

The memo is posted to the Coast Guard’s Freedom of Information Act Reading Room Web site and can be accessed at http://www.uscg.mil/foia/docs/MSST_NY_FAM.pdf

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The U.S. Coast Guard announced Friday that, in cooperation with federal and international partners, it has seized a fishing vessel and crew suspected of large-scale illegal high-seas drift net fishing in the North Pacific Ocean and is delivering them to the Alaska Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement for the investigation.

Renegade large-scale high-seas drift net fishing indiscriminately kills massive amounts of fish and other marine life such as whales and turtles by means of enormous nets suspended for miles in open water. The practice is universally condemned and is a significant threat to ocean ecosystems and to the food and economic security of nations that rely on fishery resources. 

Acting on vessel sighting information provided by a maritime patrol airplane from the Fisheries Agency of Japan, Sept. 7, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro launched its MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and crew and located the fishing vessel Bangun Perkasa with 22 fishermen aboard, approximately 2,600 miles southwest of Kodiak, Alaska.

The Bangun Perkasa’s crew reportedly abandoned their fishing nets and attempted to leave the area once they spotted the helicopter flying above them.  The vessel was determined to be operating without valid flag state registration, and seized as a stateless vessel for violations of U.S. law.  A Munro boarding team determined the vessel had more than 10 miles of drift net, 30 tons of squid and approximately 30 shark carcasses aboard. They retrieved the abandoned net and began the lengthy escort toward Dutch Harbor, Alaska.

During the transit, the Coast Guard boarding team discovered rats aboard.  The Coast Guard understands the serious ramifications that may occur if an invasive species is introduced to the local ecosystem; therefore, the Coast Guard is working closely with state, local, tribal, and agency partners to ensure all precautions and procedures are being followed to mitigate the rat infestation aboard the Bangun Perkasa before it will be allowed into port.

NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement will take the case from the Coast Guard for further investigation into illegal fishing activities by this and any related vessels, as well as into those behind and profiting from this unlawful activity. Once the investigation is completed, NOAA will forward its findings to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“The seizure of the Bangun Perkasa highlights how international cooperation along with U.S. Coast Guard high endurance cutters can detect, monitor, and interdict high-seas drift net fishing vessels,” said Capt. Gregory Sanial, 17th Coast Guard District chief of enforcement.  “This method of fishing is illegal, despicable and shows complete disregard for the world's ecosystem, and the joint effort of the many Pacific nations shows our dedication to ending this barbaric practice, enforcing maritime law and being good stewards of the environment.”

“We will conduct a thorough investigation of this case and continue our work to prevent high-seas drift net fishing, which is globally recognized as an indiscriminate fishing practice that kills marine mammals, sea birds, sharks and fish,” said Eric Schwaab, NOAA’s assistant administrator for Fisheries. “NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement in Alaska continues to combat this illegal fishing with the help of Canada, Russia, Japan, Korea and China, our international partners in the North Pacific.”

“This incident reaffirms the need for the United States to continue to work with other nations to ensure respect for international fishing rules,” said Ambassador David Balton, the U.S. Department of State’s deputy assistant secretary for Oceans and Fisheries. “I commend the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies for their efforts in detecting this apparent violation of such rules and in taking decisive action in response.”

The Coast Guard, NOAA, and Department of State participate in international cooperative efforts to achieve U.S. goals and objectives for the sustainable management of living marine resources, as evidenced in the recent signing of a joint statement of commitment between the U.S. and European Union to cooperate in efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.  Similarly, Japan is a key partner in efforts to fight IUU fishing.  Together, the United States and its partners exchange information on IUU activities, support the adoption of effective management measures in regional and international organizations to combat IUU fishing, and promote tools that prevent IUU operators from benefiting economically from their illegal activities.

“IUU fishing is one of the most serious threats to American fishing jobs and fishing communities, as well as to the health of the world’s oceans,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “This multi-national, multi-agency action and investigation demonstrates the resolve of the United States to work closely with international partners to combat IUU fishing. We will continue this investigation to identify others who may be profiting from illegal activities.”

As the only U.S. agency with the combination of a high seas ship and aircraft fleet, and the legal authority to project law enforcement presence throughout the 3.36 million square mile U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and in areas of the high seas vital to U.S. interests, the U.S. Coast Guard is the lead U.S. agency for at-sea enforcement of living marine resource laws in addition to providing maritime security and safety.

“This case demonstrates how our cutters and crews allow the United States to maintain constant vigil far from the U.S. mainland and reflects the value of having a maritime service that can protect US interests including the environment, security and safety regionally and globally,” said Rear Adm. Cari Thomas, the Coast Guard director of response policy. “Our high endurance cutters routinely operate from South America to the Bering Sea conducting alien migrant interdiction operations, domestic fisheries protection, search and rescue, counter-narcotics and homeland security operations for extended periods of time. The Munro, and cutters like it, are more than 40 years old and slated for replacement. National Security Cutters that are faster, better equipped, more durable, safer and more efficient than their predecessor, will continue to ensure U.S. interests are protected today and for decades to come.”

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard announced Friday it has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries a contract action valued at approximately $482 million for the production of the fifth National Security Cutter.

Construction of the ship to be named James, is scheduled to begin this spring at the Huntington Ingalls Industries’ shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. following prefabrication.

“The contract award for production and delivery of the fifth NSC is an important step forward in the Coast Guard’s efforts to recapitalize its aging surface fleet,” said Rear Adm. Bruce Baffer, the Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate’s program executive officer. “The NSC is desperately needed to replace the service’s 40-year-old high endurance cutters and to be able to perform today’s challenging homeland security missions.”

Captain Joshua James, the namesake of the cutter, served in the U.S. Life Saving Service for nearly sixty years. The U.S. Life Saving Service is a predecessor service of the U.S. Coast Guard. Patrolling the shores of Hull, Mass., James participated in his first rescue at age 15 and received his first of many lifesaving medals at the age of 23. In 1876 James became the keeper of four lifesaving stations in Hull, including Point Allerton. During his career, James was credited with saving more than 600 people and has been touted as the world's most celebrated lifesaver.

"The National Security Cutter is necessary to operate in demanding marine environments and perform today's vital Coast Guard missions,” said U.S. Coast Guard Commandant, Adm. Bob Papp. “The James will be a state-of-the-art vessel which will enable the Coast Guard to provide persistent presence for safety, security and stewardship of the nation on the sea and in our waters. The signing of this contract exemplifies our service’s 221-year commitment to maintaining a capable cutter fleet to provide military capability, law enforcement authority and life-saving expertise."

The Legend class National Security Cutter is 418 feet long with an operational range of 12,000 nautical miles, a top speed of 28 knots and a 60-day endurance. These cutters routinely conduct operations from South America to the Bering Sea where their unmatched combination of range, speed, and ability to operate in extreme weather provides the mission flexibility necessary to conduct alien migrant interdiction operations, domestic fisheries protection, search and rescue, counter-narcotics and homeland security operations at great distances from shore keeping threats far from the U.S. mainland.

Recent improvements in the Coast Guard’s acquisition program have provided increased stability over major acquisition programs such as the National Security Cutters.  Stable vessel requirements have allowed the service to control costs and establish realistic project schedules.  As a result of learning gained by the shipyard and the Coast Guard during the construction of the first four NSCs, the program is achieving efficiencies in cost and schedule.

Two National Security Cutters, the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf and the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, have been commissioned and the third, Stratton, was delivered Sept. 2. The U.S. Coast Guard plans to acquire a total of eight National Security Cutters.