Bollinger delivers Fast Response Cutter USCGC Donald Horsley

MARCH 8, 2016 — Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the USCG cutter Donald Horsley, the 17th Fast Response Cutter (FRC) to the United States Coast Guard. Each FRC is named for an enlisted

Senators introduce icebreaker bill

MARCH 7, 2016 — U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Patty Murray (D-WA) have introduced the bipartisan Coast Guard Icebreaker Recapitalization Act. The legislation would authorize $150 million for

Ballast water reporting rule set to take effect

FEBRUARY 19, 2015 — The U.S. Coast Guard is reminding shipowners and operators that the final rule amending the ballast water management reporting and record keeping requirements, published on November 24, 2015,

Nordbay has a bad day

FEBRUARY 3, 2016 — The Coast Guard yesterday responded to a vessel allision at mile marker 104.3 on the Mississippi River near New Orleans. The 116,104 dwt, 2007-built  Cyprus flagged tanker Nordbay

North Carolina ferry in grounding incident

FEBRUARY 1, 2016 — The North Carolina Department of Transportation says that at approximately 10:40 a.m. on Saturday, January 30, the Ferry Division vessel M/V Roanoke ran soft aground on its way

USCG icebreaker Polar Star gets new CCTV system

JANUARY 21, 2016 —Kongsberg Maritime has delivered a complete new CCTV system to the U.S. Coastguard for its Heavy Ice Breaker vessel Polar Star (WAGB-10). The delivery follows a successful CCTV System

Two indicted in “magic pipe” case

Oceanfleet Shipping Limited is a Greek shipping company that operates the 29,513 dwt Liberian-flag general cargo ship M/V Ocean Hope.

The two engineering officers indicted are the vessel’s Chief Engineer, Rustico Yabut Ignacio, 65, of the Philippines; and the Second Engineer, Cassius Flores Samson, 51, of the Philippines.

According to the indictment, in 2015 Samson bypassed pollution prevention equipment with an unauthorized hose connection, or “magic pipe,” to discharge oil sludge generated by the M/V Ocean Hope directly into the sea. Samson also ordered crew members on numerous other occasions to pump oily mixtures from the vessel’s bilges into the sea using the ship’s general service pump rather than processing these mixtures through the vessel’s pollution prevention equipment.

To hide the illegal discharges, Ignacio and Samson allegedly maintained a fictitious oil record book that failed to record the disposal, transfer, or overboard discharge of oil from the vessel. The oil record book also contained false entries stating that pollution prevention equipment had been used when it had not.

The indictment further alleges Ignacio and Samson ordered subordinate crew members to lie to the U.S. Coast Guard during an inspection in Wilmington, NC. The crew members were allegedly instructed to deny knowledge of the connection of the pipe used discharge sludge and to tell the Coast Guard that Oily Water Separator had been used as required under international law to process oily mixtures before discharge when they knew it had not.

Both engineering officers were charged with violating the federal Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships for failing to record overboard discharges in the vessel’s oil record book, conspiracy for their agreement to violate federal law, obstruction of justice for presenting false documents intended to deceive the Coast Guard and witness tampering for ordering subordinate crewmembers to mislead and lie to the Coast Guard.

Samson was also charged with false statements and obstruction of justice for lying to Coast Guard inspectors about the discharges.
The U.S. Coast Guard, Sector North Carolina, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Banumathi Rangarajan with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and Trial Attorneys Shane N. Waller and Brendan Selby with the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting the case.announced Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Detained in Duluth: Investigation of bulker continues

DECEMBER 4, 2015 — The Coast Guard says it “continues investigating” a 24,516 dwt, 2001-built bulk carrier that has been at anchor in Duluth, MN, since November 5, for alleged violations of

SAFE Boats to build riverine interceptors for Colombia

NOVEMBER 19, 2015—SAFE Boats International, Bremerton, WA, will build a series of Type-F Riverine Interceptor Vessels under a contract with the Colombian Navy and Coast Guard. Under the contract, SAFE Boats will

Bollinger delivers FRC Joseph Napier

 

The delivery of the 154 ft patrol craft came just four days after the commissioning of the 14th FRC, Heriberto Hernandez, in a ceremony in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The FRC is designed to patrol coastal zones and conduct missions such as drug and migrant interdiction; ports, waterways and coastal security; fishery patrols; search and rescue; and national defense. The 154-foot FRCs have a flank speed of 28 knots, a range of 2,950 nautical miles and feature stern cutter boat launch; advanced command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment; and improved seakeeping and habitability. They are replacing the service’s 110-foot patrol boats, which entered service in the 1980s.

Bollinger is building the ships using a proven, in-service parent craft design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708. It has a flank speed of 28 knots, state of the art command, control, communications and computer technology, and a stern launch system for the vessel’s 26 foot cutter boat.

Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who distinguished him or herself in the line of duty. The fifteenth vessel is named after Coast Guard Hero Joseph Napier.

Joseph Napier, Keeper of St. Joseph Life-Saving Station 6, showed his true heroism and courage as he risked his life and led his crew into gale-force winds to rescue the men of the wrecked schooner, the D.G. Williams in October 1877. Napier demonstrated his courage during multiple rescues as a career lifesaver of the Great Lakes.

“We are very pleased to announce the delivery of the latest FRC built by Bollinger Shipyards, the Joseph Napier, to the 7th Coast Guard District in Puerto Rico. We are looking forward to honoring and celebrating the heroic acts of Joseph Napier at the vessel’s commissioning,” said Bollinger’s President & CEO, Ben Bordelon

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