ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.  — The Coast Guard medevaced two fisherman, during separate rescues, from fishing vessels that were both about 30 miles off the New Jersey coast Saturday morning.

In the first rescue, a crewmember from the 105-foot fishing vessel Friendship hailed watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay, Pa., at approximately 2 a.m. stating they were east of Atlantic City, and a 47-year-old man was ill and needed medical attention.

A 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew from Coast Guard Station Atlantic City arrived on scene, helped the man aboard and transported him to shore and awaiting medical personnel. He was transferred to AtlanticCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City.

In the second rescue, a crewmember from the 78-foot fishing vessel Bald Eagle II, which was east of Manasquan Inlet, N.J., called watchstanders at approximately 4:50 a.m. stating a 32-year-old man aboard the Bald Eagle II tangled his arm in a net, suffered injuries and was in need of assistance.

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Atlantic City launched to assist the man. Once on scene, Dolphin crewmembers hoisted the man into the helicopter and transported him to JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J., where he was transferred to awaiting medical personnel.

Crewmembers from Coast Guard Station Manasquan Inlet and the corpsman aboard the nearby Coast Guard Cutter Willow, homeported in Newport, R.I., also assisted in the second rescue.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard, a good Samaritan and the Virginia Marine Police came to the aid of a boater in the Elizabeth River near Chesapeake, Va. Wednesday.

A Coast Guard crew aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., responded at approximately 2 p.m. to the boater’s call for assistance via VHF-FM channel 16 after his boat began taking on water due to a reportedly broken rudder post.

The helicopter crew lowered a rescue swimmer to assist, and the good Samaritan aboard the tugboat Maverick also responded after hearing the Coast Guard’s urgent marine information broadcast from Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads about the sinking sailboat.

The tugboat crew took the boater aboard their vessel, and the Virginia Marine Police crew who responded with their vessel towed the 28-foot sailboat to a nearby marina in Chesapeake, Va.

"Today's coordinated effort is representative of how we do business here in Hampton Roads," said Lt. Jack Smith of Sector Hampton Roads. "We work every case as a team alongside state, local and good Samaritans from the boating public."

Coast Guard crews from Station Portsmouth also responded to assist with a 41-foot Utility Boat and a 25-foot Response Boat-Small.

CAPE MAY, N.J.  — The Coast Guard medevaced a 61-year-old man off a 73-foot fishing vessel approximately 75 miles east of here at approximately 11:15 a.m. Saturday.

A crewmember from the fishing vessel Debbie Sue called watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay, Pa., at approximately 9:45 a.m. stating a man aboard the Debbie Sue was experiencing chest pains and was in need of assistance.

Crewmembers from Sector Delaware Bay then relayed the call to watchstanders at Air Station Atlantic City, N.J.

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Atlantic City and an HC-130 Hercules long range surveillance aircraft crew from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., launched to assist the man. Once on scene, Dolphin crewmembers hoisted the man into the helicopter and transported him to AtlantiCare Mainland Campus in Pomona, N.J.

BALTIMORE — Two corporations pleaded guilty Wednesday in separate hearings in Baltimore for their role in managing and owning a ship engaged in deliberate discharges of waste oil and plastic garbage.

The companies were each sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marvin Garbis to pay $1.2 million and serve three years of probation during which they will be required to implement a government approved environmental plan that includes audits conducted by an independent firm and review by a court appointed monitor.     

Efploia Shipping, a Marshall Islands corporation based in Greece, was the technical manager of the Aquarosa, a 33,005 ton newly built cargo ship, constructed in China and registered in Malta. Aquarosa Shipping, a company based in Denmark, was the owner of the vessel. Both corporations pleaded guilty today to four felony counts: obstruction of justice, making material false statements, the environmental crimes of knowingly failing to maintain an accurate oil record book and knowingly failing to maintain an accurate garbage record book, both in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.  

According to papers filed in court, senior ship engineers started dumping oil contaminated bilge waste on the ship’s very first voyage after it was completed in June 2010 in China. One method involved removing the blocking mechanism inside a valve so waste could be pumped overboard. Another method involved a so-called magic pipe consisting of a long rubber hose and metal flanges welded together onboard to bypass required pollution prevention equipment.  

The investigation began after an engineer complained to the Coast Guard when the ship arrived in Baltimore February 2011. The crew member provided the Coast Guard with his cellphone containing 300 photographs showing how a magic pipe was being used to discharge sludge and oily waste overboard and to bypass the ship’s oily water separator, a required piece of pollution prevention equipment. Plastic garbage bags containing oil soaked rags were also dumped overboard. Under MARPOL, an international treaty to which the United States is a party and which is enforced by the APPS, ships must maintain an oil record book and a garbage record book in which all such discharges are recorded. Both defendants admitted to deliberately falsifying these required logs.  

The ship’s chief engineer, Andreas Konstantinidis, is currently incarcerated for his role. He pleaded guilty in December to obstruction of justice charges and was sentenced to three months in prison.  

Both Efploia Shipping and Aquarosa Shipping were sentenced to pay a total of $1.2 million. Of that amount, each defendant was ordered to pay $275,000 in organizational community service payments to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which will receive a total of $550,000 earmarked for projects involving Chesapeake Bay.  

At the hearing, the United States requested the court issue an award to the whistleblower whose information led to the conviction of the defendants. The court did not rule on the matter today.

“The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute the intentional dumping of oil and plastic from ships and falsification of ship records because they are serious crimes that threaten our precious ocean resources,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice.  

“The defendants dumped pollution into the ocean and falsified records to prevent the Coast Guard from learning about it,” said Rod J. Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. “More than $500,000 of the penalty proceeds will fund conservation efforts for the Chesapeake Bay, our nation’s largest and most diverse estuary.”

“The Coast Guard's objective when investigating violations and supporting these prosecutions is to ensure environmental stewardship is not optional and that deliberate violators are held accountable,” said Coast Guard Capt. Mark O'Malley, Captain of the Port of Baltimore. “This sentence includes a requirement that these defendants develop and implement a comprehensive environmental compliance program that will be monitored by third-party auditors. Our inter-agency efforts are not just aimed at punishing misconduct, they are aimed at fostering a safe, environmentally conscious and professional marine industry.”

“This case was resolved through excellent partnership between the regulatory and enforcement divisions of the Coast Guard, and also the dedicated pursuit of justice by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Department of Justice and EPA-CID,” said Otis E. Harris Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Coast Guard Investigative Service Chesapeake Region. “The Coast Guard Investigative Service is fully committed to investigating and resolving all criminal allegations of violations of environmental and regulatory statutes.”

“The oceans must be protected from those who circumvent laws by dumping wastes improperly,” said David G. McLeod, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Maryland. “The defendants in this case directed the discharge of oily waste and garbage from their vessel into open water, ordered ship records to be falsified and lied to conceal these crimes. Today’s guilty pleas and sentences should send a strong message that we do not tolerate the flagrant violation of environmental laws and will work closely with our partners to vigorously prosecute those who despoil our environment.”

This case was investigated by the Coast Guard Investigative Service and the EPA Criminal Investigation Division, with assistance from Coast Guard Sector Baltimore, and the Coast Guard 5th District Staff Judge Advocate’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Richard A. Udell and Trial Attorney David O’Connell of the Environmental Crimes Section of Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Cunningham. 

BALTIMORE — The Coast Guard will establish a temporary security zone in designated waters of the National Capital Region for the State of the Union address Tuesday.

During this period, security zone enforcement may limit or prohibit navigation by commercial and recreational waterway users.

The security zone will include the Potomac River from the Francis Scott Key Bridge, south between the Virginia shoreline and the District of Columbia shoreline along 38 degrees 51 minutes north latitude. The security zone will also include the Georgetown Channel Tidal Basin as well as the Anacostia River from the 11th Street Bridge to its confluence with the Potomac River.

The waterways will be closed to recreational boaters from 4 p.m. until 11:59 p.m., Tuesday.  Entry into or remaining in the security zone is prohibited unless authorized by the Captain of the Port of Baltimore. Vessels already at berth, mooring, or anchor at the time the security zone is implemented are not required to depart the security zone.

Persons desiring to transit the area of the security zone must first obtain authorization from the COTP or his designated representative. To seek permission to transit the area, call 410-576-2693 or use marine band radio via VHF-FM channel 16.

BALTIMORE — The Coast Guard suspended its search at 1:38 p.m. Sunday for a possible downed aircraft in the Wenona area of Deal Island, Md., Saturday.

Neighborhood residents contacted Coast Guard Sector Baltimore watchstanders at approximately 6 p.m., reporting to have heard an aircraft engine and a big splash in the water but were not able to see anything due to darkness and weather conditions.

"We treat all reports of this nature as a probable distress until we believe otherwise," said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Randall Brown, Sector Baltimore chief of response. "If anyone has more information or knows of a missing person that could be involved please contact the Coast Guard."

Crews aboard a 25-foot Response Boat - Small and a 41-foot Utility Boat from Coast Guard Station Crisfield, Maryland Natural Resources Police boatcrews, a crew aboard a Maryland State Police helicopter, a crew aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, N.J., along with other local agencies responded to search for the possible downed aircraft.

The Coast Guard searched a total of 20 square miles for approximately 18 hours.

There have been no confirmed reports of an overdue aircraft.

CAPE MAY, N.J. – A local Coast Guardsman was recognized as the service’s Independent Duty Health Services Technician of the Year aboard Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous homeported at Training Center Cape May Friday at 10:45 a.m.

Petty Officer 1^st Class John Steward of Jacksonville, Fla., was selected from Coast Guard corpsman across the Nation as the Independent Duty Health Services Technician of the Year for 2010. Steward will be presented the award in a ceremony by Rear Adm. Maura Dollymore, the director of Coast Guard Health, Safety and Worklife.

“You can’t have a good team without a good coach, so I have to thank the leadership aboard Vigorous,” said Steward during his award ceremony. “Most importantly, I have to thank the crew because this isn’t my award – it’s our award. We’re a team, and I couldn’t have done any of these things without you.”

The award recognizes the best of the Coast Guard’s men and women who provide medical services aboard the Coast Guard’s ships and other isolated duty locations.  Steward is responsible for the health and well being of the 80 crewmembers assigned to the 210-foot Cutter Vigorous, which is built for multi-week offshore patrols including operations requiring enhanced communications, and helicopter and pursuit boat operations.

Steward provided medical care for more than 150 migrants interdicted by the crew of Vigorous during counter human smuggling operations in 2010. He also responded to 11 acute medical emergencies aboard the cutter including multiple lacerations, fractures, infections, burns, bruises and serious illnesses.

Most notably, Steward recognized a crew member aboard Vigorous was exhibiting symptoms of a brain tumor one day prior to a Caribbean Patrol. Steward immediately made arrangements to have the member transported to a local hospital. Ultimately, the member’s tumor was treatable and was successfully removed at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

During annual Command Assessment of Readiness and Training, Steward completed the evaluation with only two minor discrepancies out of 93 line items. CART tests the ability of a Coast Guard cutter crew to respond to various emergencies and situations aboard the ship. During CART, he also achieved a medical readiness score of 96 percent, which was well over the Commandant of the Coast Guard’s goal of 90 percent. Steward’s drill scores averaged more than 97 percent for 22 comprehensive medical drills over a three week period, which helped earn the crew of Vigorous the coveted Battle “E” Award for Operational Excellence. 

Note: Please click on the thumbnails above to link to high-resolution photos. For more infomation about this event, please contact Donnie Brzuska at O: 609-898-6362, C: 609-224-0214 or E: donnie.c.brzuska@uscg.mil.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The Coast Guard continues its investigation Thursday into the circumstances surrounding the capsizing of the fishing vessel Mandy Ness off the coast of New Jersey Jan. 10.

In addition to the Mandy Ness, another vessel was determined to be in the area at the time of the capsizing. Coast Guard investigators will interview its crew at anchorage near Houston Thursday and conduct a dockside inspection of the vessel upon its arrival in port later Thursday.

On Jan. 11, Coast Guard personnel from Sector Hampton Roads boarded the commercial vessel off the coast of Virginia with the assistance of Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City and the Coast Guard Cutter Seneca to gather information to determine if the vessel may have been in the vicinity at the time of the incident.

“The information we obtained from the January 11th boarding led us to believe that the vessel was in the vicinity of the Mandy Ness at the time of the capsizing,” said Capt. Meredith Austin, commander of Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay. “Based on that information, Coast Guard investigators will board the vessel again in Houston and interview members of the crew. We will continue to actively investigate the incident to allow us to provide information to the family and friends of Mr. Mears who was lost in the accident and to prevent a similar tragedy in the future.”

The Coast Guard is not releasing the name of the commercial vessel at this time due to the ongoing investigation.

Coast Guard personnel from multiple units within the Coast Guard’s 5th and 8th Districts have been gathering information relevant to the incident and will continue the marine casualty investigation until it is complete.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard is requesting to hear from mariners, maritime industries, commercial fisherman, recreational boaters and other port and waterway users that operate off the Atlantic Coast.

In an effort to ensure everyone affected is represented in the process, the Coast Guard announced in the Federal Register a notice of study and reopening of comments entitled "Port Access Route Study: The Atlantic Coast from Maine to Florida" to evaluate the applicability and need for potential modifications to current vessel routing measures off the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Florida.

The notice of study addresses the need to enhance navigational safety by examining existing shipping routes and waterway uses in an effort to reconcile rights of navigation with other potential waterway uses, such as the leasing of outer continental shelf blocks for the construction of renewable energy facilities. The recommendations of the study may lead to future rulemaking and international agreements.

The original notice of study and comment period was opened in May 2011 and resulted in 26 comments. After reviewing the comments, the Coast Guard has determined that it needed to reopen the comment period to seek more information to ensure the study is comprehensive in its data collection and analysis.

For detailed questions the Coast Guard is seeking answers to in this study, please read the notice of study.

The Coast Guard encourages the public to participate in this study by submitting comments and related materials by, Jan. 31, 2012, at http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USCG-2011-0351. For more information and alternate forms of submission, please visit  http://www.uscg.mil/lantarea/ACPARS/default.asp. All comments received will be posted without change.

BARNEGAT LIGHT, N.J. — The Coast Guard medevaced a person while a good Samaritan rescued another from a capsized 44-foot fishing vessel 10 miles east of here Wednesday.

Names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Coast Guard watchstanders received an emergency position indicating radio beacon notification at 11:15 p.m. Tuesday from the fishing vessel Mandy Ness. The Coast Guard then issued an urgent marine information broadcast and launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City and a 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew from Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light.

The crew of the fishing vessel Francis Ann heard the broadcast and arrived on scene where they rescued one of the two people.

The Dolphin crew arrived on scene, deployed their rescue swimmer and medevaced an unresponsive person from the water. The crew of the MLB conducted CPR on the unresponsive person until the helicopter crew could hoist and transport the person to the air station where the person was transferred to emergency medical personnel and transported to the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center Mainland Campus in Pomona. The person was pronounced deceased by the medical examiner at the hospital.

The incident is under investigation by the Coast Guard.