Harley Marine strengthens management team

“The expansion of our management team reflects the accelerated pace of growth across the organization,” says Harley Marine Services CEO Harley Franco. “Don and Steve represent our ongoing commitment to our customers, employees, and investors to ensure Harley Marine’s recent and projected growth is supported by a team of seasoned executives. We expect to do big things in the coming years and we’re building a world class team to support those activities.”

Prior to joining Harley Marine Services (HMS),Martin (shown at right) was the Vice President and General Counsel formartin Delta Western and Hawaii Petroleum, where he oversaw all aspects of safety, risk management and regulatory compliance for the fuel distribution companies. Previously, he served as the Director of U.S.-flag shipping for ConocoPhillips and held positions with Crowley Maritime Corporation, Exxon Shipping Company, and Olympic Tug & Barge, a subsidiary of HMS. He has a combination of hands-on marine experience including positions from Second Officer through Captain and commercial and legal experience in shore side senior management positions. He attended the University of Washington, California Maritime Academy, and holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of the Puget Sound.

Carlson joins HMS from Alaska Marine Lines (AML), where he served as General Manager of Marine Engineering. Prior to joining AML, he was with with Kvichak Marine and the U.S. Coast Guard. Carlson SCarlsonretired from the Coast Guard at the rank of Captain, after 24 years of service, with his last assignment being Chief of the Office of Naval Engineering where he oversaw engineering and logistics support to the entire Coast Guard fleet of over 230 ships and 1,500 boats.  He has advanced degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture from the University of Michigan, an executive development program certificate from the University of Washington, and a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Washington.

 

Coast Guard believes El Faro sank, searches for survivors

Coast Guard spokesman CAPT Mark Fedor said during a press conference in Miami this morning that one body was found in a survival suit in a 225-square mile debris field near the Bahamas. The body was “unidentifiable” and was not recovered. CAPT Fedor said the Coast Guard also recovered one of the ship’s two lifeboats with no one on board. He said that the Coast Guard was still hopeful of finding survivors among the 33 crew on board. Despite the difficult conditions of being subjected to 140 mph winds and 50-foot waves, “I’m not going to discount someone’s will to survive,” says Fedor.

According to Fedor, there were 46 survival suits on board and each lifeboat is certified to carry 43. “These are trained mariners and they know how to abandon ship.”

The search for survivors will continue with aircraft and commercial ships in the area.

The Coast Guard said Sunday evening that the search teams, which also include personnel and resources from U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy, have covered more than 70,000 square miles.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, with involvement from the U.S. Coast Guard, is expected to conduct a full investigation. Fedor says the Coast Guard is also expected to conduct its own investigation.

The El Faro, owned by Tote Maritime, was built in 1974 and updated in 1992 and 2006. It was carrying 391 containers and 294 trailers and cars.

 

 

Debris field found near missing El Faro’s last position

OCTOBER 5, 2015—The U.S. Coast Guard is reporting that it has located a debris field of in the vicinity of the U.S.-flag containership El Faro’s last known position 35 nautical miles northeast

Update: Coast Guard finds life ring from El Faro

The El Faro, a 790-foot roll on, roll off, cargo ship, departed Jacksonville, Florida, Sept. 29, en route to San Juan.

At about 7:30 a.m. Thursday, watchstanders at the Coast Guard Atlantic Area command center in Portsmouth, VA, received an Inmarsat satellite notification stating the El Faro was beset by Hurricane Joaquin, had lost propulsion, and had a 15-degree list. The crew reported the ship had previously taken on water, but that all flooding had been contained.

No further communications have been received from the vessel

A Coast Guard HC-130 search and rescue crew from Air Station Clearwater, Florida, spotted the life ring 120 nautical miles northeast of Crooked Island, Bahamas. A Coast Guard MH-60 helicopter crew recovered the life ring and confirmed it belonged to the missing ship.

Search and rescue crews have searched more than 30,000 square-miles since Thursday.

Sea conditions in the search area yesterday were reported to be 20 to 40-feet with winds in excess to 100 knots. Visibility for search and rescue flying between 500 and 1,000 feet was reported to be less than one nautical mile at times.

Tim Nolan, President of TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, issued the following statement regarding ongoing efforts to locate and communicate with the El Faro and her crew:

“This morning TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico’s second ship, the El Yunque, and a contracted tugboat reached the area between the last known vicinity of the El Faro and the location that the Coast Guard recovered a life ring yesterday and carried out a visual survey.

“The two vessels discovered a container, which appears to be from the El Faro, and observed what appears to be an oil sheen.

“At this time there has been no sighting of the El Faro or any life boats.

“TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico and the Coast Guard remain focused on the continuing  search for the crew.  The contracted tugs as well as other vessels transiting the area are also keeping a lookout for any sign of the ship.

Our thoughts and prayers remain with the 33 individuals aboard the ship and their families.  They are our number one priority.”

A Coast Guard pilot searching for the missing containership, near the eye of hurricane Joaquin, recounts the weather conditions Oct. 3, 2015. The Coast Guard has been searching since Oct. 1, after losing communications with the El Faro.

U.S. Coast Guard video

Coast Guard nabs another narco sub

Around 15,000 pounds of cocaine were seized and four suspects aboard the self-propelled semi-submersible vessel were detained.

The incident took place in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico. A CBP Office of Air and Marine P-3 Maritime Patrol Aircraft tracked the 50-foot vessel while on routine patrol in the region. The Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf, also on patrol in the area, was alerted to the suspicious vessel.

The cutter launched two Over-the-Horizon Long-Range Interceptor boat crews to intercept and board the vessel. Upon approach of the boarding teams, four suspected smugglers exited the hull. Boarding team members retrieved bales and loose bricks of contraband from the semi-submersible that tested positive for cocaine.

 

Bertholf and Narco Sub

 

narcosub 300“Every load of cocaine stopped at sea impacts the operation of transnational criminal organizations that spread violence, instability and death wherever they operate,” said Lt. Cmdr. Joseph Giammanco of the 11th Coast Guard District law enforcement branch. “It takes a dedicated, well-coordinated team to accomplish this dangerous and important mission. We’re proud of our crews and thankful for our strong partnership with Customs and Border Protection.”

The seized contraband is worth an estimated $227 million.

After the suspected smugglers and contraband were removed from the semi-submersible the craft was sunk as a hazard to navigation.

The previous month, on July 18, the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton from Alameda, CA, apprehended four suspected smugglers and seized 275 bales of cocaine worth more than $181 million wholesale from a self-propelled semi-submersible. In this incident, the 40 ft craft had been detected by U.S. Navy maritime patrol aircraft detected the 40-foot semi-submersible vessel more than 200-miles south of Mexico.

After removing 12,000 pounds of the narcotics aboard, the crew of Stratton attempted to tow the vessel to shore as evidence; however, the semi-submersible began taking on water and sank. Approximately 2,000 pounds of cocaine that had been left in the narco sub to stabilize it during the towing evolution sank in over 13,000-feet of water and is unrecoverable.

Up until the most recent incident involving the Bertholf, the July 18 semi-submersible seizure was the largest recorded semi-submersible interdiction in Coast Guard history.

There have been more than 25 semi-submersible interdictions in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since November 2006 when the first documented interdiction occurred.

The vessels are extremely difficult to detect and interdict because of their low-profile and ability to scuttle.

Narco sub seizure by Bertholf came not long after interdiction by Stratton shown in this video

USCG has new vice commandant

AUGUST 18, 2015 —  U.S. Coast Guard Vice Adm, Charles Michel formally assumed the role of vice commandant of the Coast Guard during a ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters Monday. As

USCG releases towing vessel safety data

AUGUST 18, 2015 — The Coast Guard has released some of the findings from the report “Towing Industry Safety Statistics: 1994 – 2014,”  which was presented at a July National Quality Steering

Drugbusters: Coast Guard seizes $1 billion in cocaine

AUGUST 10, 2015—Today, the U.S. Coast Guard is expected to announce in San Diego, CA, record drug seizure rates as the crew of the Cutter Stratton offloads more than 66,000 pounds of

Coast Guard captures cocaine-laden semi-submersible

AUGUST 7, 2015—The U.S. Coast Guard reports that it made it largest semi-submersible vessel drug bust yet on July 18, seizing more than 16,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

USCG updates policy guidance on casualty reporting

AUGUST 4, 2015 — Law firm Blank Rome says that vessel owners, operators and crew managers should review a recently published Coast Guard policy guidance on when a casualty report is and

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