Coast Guard, good Samaritans responding to EPIRB from vessel in Bering Sea, Alaska[FONT=times new roman]KODIAK, Alaska — Coast Guard assets and good Samaritans are responding to an electronic position indicating radio beacon alert from the 59-foot fishing vessel Western Venture in the Bering Sea Sunday.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman]An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and crew forward deployed to Cold Bay, an additional Jayhawk and crew from Kodiak, an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Kodiak and a Kodiak-based Hercules airplane and crew with additional relief helicopter crews that was in Sitka overnight are en route.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman]Good Samaritans aboard the fishing vessel Aleutian Beauty responded to a Coast Guard issued urgent marine information broadcast and are anticipated to arrive first on scene due to their proximity to the vessel. The Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, underway in the Bering Sea, was also diverted and is en route to the scene.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman]Coast Guard 17[SUP]th[/SUP] District command center watchstanders in Juneau received a personal locator beacon alert registered to a crewmember aboard the Kodiak-based Western Venture at about 9:05 a.m. The PLB notification was quickly followed by a second alert from the vessel’s registered EPIRB. The notifications identifed the vessel and indicated the longliner’s position was 69 miles west of Adak.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman]Watchstanders made call outs to the vessel and directed Communications Station Kodiak personnel to issue the UMIB requesting the assistance of mariners in the area over HF radio channels.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman]Communication with the vessel’s owner revealed the captain of the Western Venture reported a fire aboard the vessel Sunday morning via email. No further communication with the crew by the owner or the Coast Guard was possible. Watchstanders directed the launch of Coast Guard assets.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman]“This case illustrates the importance of not only having an EPIRB, but properly registering it to provide rescuers with vital information to aid in the response,” said Lt. Colin Boyle, a search and rescue controller with the 17[SUP]th[/SUP] District command center. “The PLB and EPIRB alerts were our first and only indication of this maritime emergency.”[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman]Weather conditions in the region are reportedly 22 mph winds with seas up to four feet and good visibility.
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Update: Good Samaritans rescue 5 mariners from life raft in Bering Sea, Alaska[FONT=times new roman]KODIAK, Alaska — Good Samaritans aboard the 98-foot fishing vessel Aleutian Beauty rescued five fishermen from a life raft in the Bering Sea Sunday.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman]The good Samaritans, responding to a Coast Guard issued urgent marine information broadcast, were first on scene about 69 miles west of Adak and rescued the crewmen from the life raft. All five mariners are reportedly in good condition and will transit to Adak aboard the Seattle-based longliner Aleutian Beauty.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman]Coast Guard 17[SUP]th[/SUP] District command center watchstanders in Juneau received a personal locator beacon alert followed by an EPIRB alert Sunday morning prompting callouts to the vessel, issuance of the UMIB and the launch of Kodiak-based Coast Guard aircraft in Kodiak and deployed to Cold Bay and Sitka. [/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman]“The assistance of good Samaritans like the crew of the Aleutian Beauty is vital to saving lives in Alaska where we are regularly faced with harsh conditions and vast distances,” said Lt. Colin Boyle, a search and rescue controller with the 17[SUP]th[/SUP] District command center. “Preparedness is integral to survival and the Western Venture crew were proactive with their use of survival gear allowing them to stay alive until good Samaritans and our HC-130 Hercules airplane crew arrived on scene.”[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman]Weather conditions on scene were reportedly 22 mph winds with seas up to four feet and good visibility.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman]At last report the 59-foot Kodiak-based Western Venture is still afloat and emitting smoke from a reported fire aboard the vessel. The fishing vessel is unlit and adrift. A broadcast notice to mariners has been issued to alert those in the area of the hazard to navigation. Coast Guard Sector Anchorage personnel will investigate the cause of the fire and work with the owner to determine if salvage of the vessel is possible. The Western Venture reportedly has a potential fuel load of 4,300 gallons of diesel and other oils. It is unknown at this time exactly how much fuel was aboard the vessel when the fire occurred or if any of it has been burned up.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman]The Coast Guard reminds all mariners to ensure they have required emergency equipment aboard their vessel, to register their EPIRBS and to conduct emergency drills at least once a month.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman]Vessel owners and operators are encouraged to get their free dockside commercial fishing vessel safety exams. Exams are available by calling Coast Guard Sector Anchorage at 907-271-6700, Coast Guard Sector Juneau at 907-463-2448 or the nearest Coast Guard marine safety detachment. More information about fishing vessel safety and the associated regulations is available at www.fishsafe.info.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman]Read the initial press release on the case here. For more information please contact Petty Officer 1[SUP]st[/SUP] Class Sara Mooers at 907-654-4112.[/FONT]
“… helicopter and crew forward deployed to Cold Bay …”
WTF? Is there some reason Coasties have to say stupid crap like that? Is it supposed to be cool SARspeak or something? Do they sometimes aft deploy? Do they sideways deploy? Maybe the helicopter crews upwards and downwards deploy?
Since the press release is intended for the public how about just saying they flew to Cold Bay? Geez, it looks like they are worse at language than they are at overseeing oil company operations.
[QUOTE=Steamer;122855]"… helicopter and crew forward deployed to Cold Bay …"
WTF? Is there some reason Coasties have to say stupid crap like that? [/QUOTE]
I take it that you aren’t familiar with Alaskan geography. Cold bay is several hundred miles from the nearest Coast Guard Air Station on Kodiak where the helicopter would normally be based. Fortunately for mariners and residents of rural Alaska the USCG has the foresight and capability to temporarily station (or “forward deploy” in their military jargon) aircraft and crews at locations away from home where they can be more useful. Over time the staff in Alaska has done a pretty good job of figuring out which seasons, fishery openings, etc. require a forward deployed helicopter or a cutter with a helo aboard. It saves them from routinely re-positioning a helicopter several hundred, possibly more than a thousand miles with multiple refueling stops, so they can bring in a second crew with a C-130 to fly the rest of mission hours after the initial distress alert. The Costies do some pretty incredible stuff in Alaska, I think it’s reasonable of them to brag in the occasional press release.
[QUOTE=renoun;122901]I take it that you aren’t familiar with Alaskan geography. [/QUOTE]
I take it you are not aware that I lived there for years, went to high school there, worked tugs, ferries, processors, and yachts from one end of the panhandle to the end of the chain. I was sailing out of Kodiak when that POS behind you was a cannery. Now that your red herring is out of the way, silly man, my knowledge of Alaskan geography is irrelevant to the pointless use of CG jargon in any event. I could care less if they have a dumb term for where they park their assets.
Now, back to the stupid CG language … if the helicopter and its crew were temporarily based in Cold Bay, then just say so, or just say a CG helo took off from Cold Bay and leave it at that. The press release is meant for people, not just jargon loving Coasties.
The crew of the Crowley Maritime tug Siku, operating in Western Alaska, recently rescued six men adrift in the Bering Sea. The men’s 21’ aluminum skiff had run out of gas in Hooper Bay and was being quickly blown out of the bay and into building seas.
Responding to a request by the Coast Guard, the crew of Siku, which was in the area holding for weather, located the drifting skiff about a mile offshore of Hooper Bay. Siku Captain Angus Isaac instructed the skiff crew to pull up their anchor and ready themselves for a line from the tug. The captain then maneuvered the tug so that the skiff was in the lee to protect it and its passengers from the building wind and seas. The crew then threw a heaving line to the skiff and pulled it alongside the tug allowing the passengers to disembark and board Siku. The tug crew then attached a line to the skiff and towed the stricken boat back into the sheltered waters of Hooper Bay where it was re-filled with gasoline. The Crowley tug then towed the skiff close to shore and assisted the passengers with a safe re-boarding while the local search and rescue team welcomed them ashore. The Siku safely and successfully completed the rescue in approximately five hours before returning to its barge, which throughout the rescue waited out the gale in protected waters. Once the storm passed, the tug-barge combo continued its business along the Yukon River.
“We are proud of the professionalism of Captain Isaac and his crew,” said Greg Pavellas, Crowley’s director of marine operations. “Crowley has a longstanding relationship with the people of Alaska and we were happy to put our safety and rescue training to work in order to lend a hand to those men who were in dire need.
Posted by LT Stephanie Young, Tuesday, October 22, 2013
For many, the fall season means cooling temperatures, leaves turning and all things pumpkin. But for the men and women of Air Station Kodiak, the fall is all about the cold, Cold Bay to be exact.
Kodiak stood up a seasonal forward operating location in Cold Bay, Alaska, in advance of winter fisheries with one MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and rotating crews. A second helicopter and crew will remain at the ready in Kodiak to assist in any long-range or complex cases.
Alaskan waters are notoriously volatile, and the seasonal location in Cold Bay ensures the Coast Guard can assist fishermen working in and around Bristol Bay, the Bering Sea and the Aleutian Islands. The air station will be joined by a Coast Guard cutter on patrol in the region throughout the season, equipped with an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Kodiak…
[QUOTE=renoun;122986]Kodiak stood up a seasonal forward operating location in Cold Bay… [/QUOTE]
Thanks for providing more great examples of Coastie language abuse.
Was it lying down before they got there? Do FOLs fall down in good weather? Did the CG have a date with Cold Bay and didn’t show up?
Coastie PR school must teach a class on how to avoid using plain English when writing for the public.
I wonder how long it took to stop Lt. Young from writing stuff like: In preparation for search and rescue duties during the Bering Sea and Aleutian winter fishing season, USCG air station Kodiak based an MH-60 Jayhawk search and rescue helicopter and crew in Cold Bay.
Fair enough if the Coasties want to thrill each other with cool jargon but, jeez, give the rest of us a break. It just makes them look too stupid to use language that means something to the billions of readers who pay their bills.
Does the CG spend tax money to train its PR hacks to unlearn 16 years of English classes?