In November 2019, the Office of Coast Survey (OCS), part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), announced the start of a five-year program to “sunset” all raster and paper nautical charts.NOAA has produced electronic navigational charts (ENCs) since 1993. In the 2019 notice, NOAA writes that “ENC sales increased 425% since 2008
“I hold no branch in higher esteem, than the Merchant Marine…”That is a quote from General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander of the Pacific in WWII. That one sentence sums up National Maritime Day. Inasmuch if it were not for our glorious Merchant Marine and maritime industry, we may not even have been a nation at all.
A derelict tugboat abandoned near Juneau, Alaska since 2016, has been towed to sea and scuttled in the Gulf of Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The Lumberman had been causing problems for locals since it was abandoned in the Gastineau channel five years ago, and the decision was made to dispose of the vessel at sea after the 107-foot steel hulled tugboat was determined to be derelict and a
A federal appeals court on Tuesday confirmed bans on offshore oil leasing in most federal Arctic waters and in the Atlantic after the Trump Administration tried to open them up to development.The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said President Joe Biden's reinstatement of Obama-era protections makes moot the previous administration's attempts to allow oil development there.
The U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday issued a warning to mariners and commercial fisherman about the dangers and legal consequences of switching off their Automated Identification Systems (AIS), citing concern over a growing number of vessels operating with the tracking equipment disabled.
A tanker vessel rescued of 18 Ecuadorians after their 72-foot commercial fishing vessel sank Friday approximately 350 miles north of the Galapagos Islands, the U.S. Coast Guard said.USCG 11th District watchstanders received an alert from an emergency position-indicating radio beacon from an unknown vessel north of the Galapagos Islands at 4:30 a.m. Friday.
A containership rescued a boater clinging to the hull of his capsized vessel approximately 86 miles east of Port Canaveral, Fla., Sunday.Stuart Bee departed Cape Marina in Port Canaveral on Friday and was reported missing Saturday after he did not return from his day trip. A marina member contacted watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville at 11:40 a.m.
The Trump administration on Thursday proposed to loosen Obama-era safety regulations for the oil industry in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska to ease the way for petroleum extraction in the region, an effort that President-elect Joe Biden will likely throw out once in office.The proposal would revise a suite of Obama-era rules crafted to improve safety in the extreme conditions of the Arctic after a
A Gibralter-flagged car carrier rescued three Canadian mariners from their disabled sailing vessel in heavy seas of the North Atlantic Ocean on Saturday.Watchstanders at the U.S. Coast Guard's 5th District Command Center received notification from the Bermuda Rescue Coordination Center that a personal locator beacon was activated
Two warships came to the aid of an injured seafarer on board the Indian-flagged merchant tanker Lourdes off the coast of Oman in the early hours on Monday.French frigate Jean Bart and Japanese destroyer Ariake were called to conduct the emergency operation, which saw medical personnel from both vessels assist an Indian patient who had a suspected head injury.
The U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) provided assistance to an Iranian-flagged dhow in distress in the Arabian Sea, October 15.While operating under Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), Churchill received signal from the motor vessel via flashing light that it was in distress.
The captain and crew of a Hong Kong-flagged containership came to the rescue of a sailboat crew in distress on Sunday amid severe weather and waves during storm Sally, in the Gulf of Mexico, some 130 nautical miles west of Port Tampa Bay, Fla.The COSCO SHIPPING Lines containership COSCO Malaysia was en route from Mobile, Ala.