PACIFIC OCEAN – Working in conjunction with the Panamanian Navy, the crew of the U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau helped apprehend two suspected drug smugglers off the coast of Panama, Jan. 26. The crew also recovered a bale of cocaine the suspects had tossed overboard as the authorities closed on the subjects.

The suspects’ vessel was spotted by a U. S. Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and a marine patrol aircraft, and the crew of the Morgenthau moved to intercept the vessel before engaging in pursuit.

During the pursuit the suspects aboard the vessel jettisoned several packages, one of which was recovered and tested positive for cocaine. After attempting to evade the Morgenthau’s interceptor boats the vessel was intercepted and boarded.

The Panamanian Navy led the boarding process, assisted by the Morgenthau’s law enforcement team. The Panamanian Navy assumed custody of the two suspects and seized all of the contraband aboard the vessel.

This is the second drug bust in just 18 days for the crew of the Morgenthau.

Overall coordination of detection and monitoring for counter-drug interdiction operations is conducted by the Joint Interagency Task Force South, headquartered in Key West, Fla.  The actual intercept and seizure of suspected smuggling vessels in the Eastern Pacific is carried out under the tactical command and law enforcement authority of the U.S. Coast Guard 11th District, headquartered in Alameda, Calif., or by law enforcement agencies of partner nations in the region.

Morgenthau, homeported in Alameda, Calif., has a crew of approximately 165 personnel whose missions include search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction, fisheries and maritime law enforcement, marine environmental protection and homeland security.

For more information about the Morgentahu's previous drug bust, click here.

ALAMEDA, Calif. – Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp will deliver the 2012 State of the Coast Guard Address here Feb. 23, on Coast Guard Island starting at 10 a.m.  Papp will also participate in a media availability following the address at 11 a.m.

WHO:       Adm. Bob Papp, commandant, Coast Guard

WHAT:     The State of the Coast Guard Address. This is an annual speech delivered by the commandant of the  
                 Coast Guard to provide a current overview of the service and outline his priorities for the years  
                 ahead.

WHEN:     The address will begin at 10 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012.  Media should plan to arrive at Coast
                  Guard Island no later than 9:30 a.m.

WHERE:    Cutter pier at intersection of Spencer Road and McCullouch Drive
                  Coast Guard Island
                  Alameda, Calif. 94501
                  (Go to intersection of Dennison Street and Embarcadero, cross bridge onto Coast Guard Island and
                  security will guide media to parking location.) 

Media will have designated parking along McCullouch Drive near the address location.  Space is limited and will be provided on a first-come first-served basis.  Media should plan to arrive at the Coast Guard Island front gate no later than 9:30 a.m. to be parked and at the address site on time.

Limited riser space will be available on a first-come first-served basis.  A multi-box will be available as no microphones will be allowed on the podium. 

Media unable to attend can view the address live at www.uscg.mil/socga.  A copy of the address will be posted online at www.uscg.mil/seniorleadership/speeches.asp, Thursday, after the event. 

To ensure credentialing and access to Coast Guard Island, all interested media should contact Lt. Eric Eggen at 510- 437-3319 or Petty Officer 2^nd Class Sondra-Kay Rivera at 510-437-3318 to coordinate details no later than Feb. 22 at 2 p.m.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard suspended the search this evening for a man whose recreational vessel was found capsized off the coast of Ano Nuevo State Park, Calif., on Friday morning.

The 64-year old man was reported missing by his son when he did not return after departing from the Pillar Point Marina in an 18-foot white recreational boat on Wednesday.

Crews aboard 47-foot Motor Lifeboats from Coast Guard Stations Golden Gate and Monterey, two MH-65 Dolphin helicopters from Air Station San Francisco, a HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Sacramento, the Coast Guard Cutter TERN, an 87-foot coastal patrol boat homeported in San Francisco, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department fixed wing aircraft and two small boats, and the Pillar Point Harbor Master all responded to the search for the man. The Coast Guard Auxiliary also assisted in a shore-side search that stretched from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz.

Responding units searched more than 3,800 square nautical miles of water, an area more than twice the size of Rhode Island.   

SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard is searching by air and sea for a boater reported  missing by his son last night near Half Moon Bay.

Missing is Shau Tsu Wong, a 64-year old San Ramon resident.

He left from Pillar Point Marina Feb. 1, in an 18-foot white recreational boat with a red strip.

The Coast Guard launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station San Francisco, a C-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Sacramento, a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat from Station Golden Gate and Station Monterey, and the Coast Guard Cutter Tern, an 87-foot coastal patrol boat homeported on Yerba Buena Island. Additionally, the Coast Guard Auxiliary is assisting in a shore-side search, stretching from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz.

The Coast Guard is asking for anyone with information about the missing boater to contact Coast Guard Sector San Francisco at 415-399-3530.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard announced a proposed special local regulation publication in the Federal Register for the 34^th America’s Cup and related races that are scheduled to take place in San Francisco Bay between August and September 2012 and between July and September 2013.

The proposed regulation would temporarily reroute vessel traffic between the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island and create regulated areas where America’s Cup races will be held. There are 12 race days scheduled in 2012 and 45 race days in 2013.

“This proposed regulation will help achieve a safe and enjoyable event, while also ensuring continued commerce and recreational access on the Bay,” said Capt. Cynthia Stowe, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port of San Francisco. “We have taken early input from many of the Bay’s users and incorporated lessons learned from Fleet Week into the drafting of this rule.   I look forward to receiving any additional comment prior to publishing a final regulation.”  

The proposed rule establishes dedicated regulated areas in the central Bay near the city’s waterfront. The regulated area in 2012 would extend from Crissy Field to Aquatic Park. The regulated area in 2013 would be roughly twice as large as the one in 2012 and would extend farther east to Pier 23 to accommodate the larger racing catamarans. Access restrictions would only apply between noon and 5:00 p.m. on designated race days and will be available through the Broadcast Notice to Mariners on VHF channel 22A.  The proposed rule would allow commercial shipping traffic to continue to operate using the existing Deep Water Traffic Lane north of the proposed regulated area and includes provisions to accommodate vessels requiring access to pier space and facilities along the city’s waterfront.

“The temporary regulation will help America’s Cup conduct races that are safe and accessible to the public, while still allowing both recreational and commercial mariners access to the Bay and shipping lanes,” said Capt. Mathew Bliven, Coast Guard principal coordinator for the 34^th America’s Cup. “We want to ensure that ferries, fishing vessels, and other commerce continue to flow and meet their schedules on race days. This regulation also reserves an area near Crissy Field where swimmers, rowers, and kayakers can safely enjoy the race and the Bay.”

The Coast Guard, National Park Service, and other federal agencies are preparing an environmental assessment pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act.  The results will be considered before the Coast Guard finalizes the special local regulation.

The public may obtain a copy of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for AC34 and submit comments at www.regulations.gov, docket number USCG-2011-0551.  There is a 90-day public comment period which ends on April 30.  Three public meetings concerning the proposed special local regulation will be held at the following locations and times:

March 6, 2012 - Presidio Log Cabin, 1299 Storey Ave., San Francisco, CA 94129

March 7, 2012 - Inn Marin, 250 Entrada Dr., Novato, CA 94949

March 8, 2012 - Waterfront Hotel, 10 Washington St., Oakland, CA 94607

Graphics are NOT for navigational use. 

MCKINLEYVILLE, Calif. – The crew of a Coast Guard MH-60 Dolphin helicopter rescued three men after a crab boat sank approximately 11 miles off the coast of Crescent City, Calif., Friday.

The three men aboard the 46-foot crab boat West Wind noticed the boat was riding low in the water and began taking on water.

Air Station Humboldt Bay received the distress call at approximately 3 p.m. and launched a helicopter and diverted another airborne helicopter to respond. Station Humboldt Bay also launched a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat to respond.

The aircrew spotted the three men in a survival raft and lowered a rescue swimmer who assisted in hoisting the three men into the helicopter. The three men were taken to Crescent City airport where they were transferred to the care of medical personnel from Sutter Coast Hospital in Crescent City.

The Coast Guard would like to emphasize the importance of the crab boat crew’s safety gear including their survival suits and life raft, which played a significant role in the survival and rescue of the three fishermen.

The aircrew included pilots Lt. Keith Roberts and Lt. Josh Smith, flight mechanic Petty Officer Brandon Cook and rescue swimmer Petty Officer Dave Foreman.

PACIFIC OCEAN – The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau, a 378-foot cutter homeported at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, Calif., seized approximately 140 pounds of cocaine and apprehended three suspected smugglers earlier this month in the Eastern Pacific Ocean approximately 250 miles south of Guatemala.

A suspicious vessel was spotted in international waters by a U.S. Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft on Jan. 8. The crew of the Morgenthau set an intercept course and engaged in pursuit of the boat as the suspects threw several bales of cocaine overboard. The bales, along with one of the suspects who fell overboard during the chase, were recovered, and the remaining two suspects were taken into custody when the boat was caught a short time later. All three suspects were turned over to authorities ashore and transferred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida for prosecution under the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act.

Overall coordination of counter-drug patrols and surveillance in the Eastern Pacific is done by the Joint Interagency Task Force, South (JIATF-S) headquartered in Key West, Fla. U.S. maritime law enforcement and the interdiction phase of operations in the region occurs under the tactical control of the 11th Coast Guard District based in Alameda, Calif.

The Morgenthau has a crew of approximately 165 personnel whose missions include search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction, fisheries and maritime law enforcement, marine environmental protection and homeland security.

ALAMEDA, Calif. – The crew of a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Sacramento completed a medical supply drop to a 950-foot Greek flagged bulk carrier today off the coast of Mexico.

At approximately 3 p.m. yesterday, the Coast Guard received notification that the second mate aboard the Alpha Millennium was experiencing a medical emergency. 

The ship’s captain was directed by the ship’s doctor to turn around and head toward the nearest port, which was Acapulco, Mexico. After consulting with the patient’s doctor and the ship’s captain, the Eleventh Coast Guard District search and rescue command center in Alameda, Calif., coordinated the drop in order to ensure the patient had enough medical supplies to make the trip to Acapulco.

The Hercules aircrew delivered the medical supplies today, and the Alpha Millennium is scheduled to pull into port in approximately 3 days. The crew of the Millennium will continue to update the Coast Guard of the patient's health and the ship’s progress.

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Federal, state and local agenices are searching for a man who jumped into the water near the Fort Mason Pier in San Francisco at approximately 10 p.m., Wednesday.

The man was witnessed jumping into the water after finishing a cell phone call that included an aggravated conversation. The person who entered the water was reportedly a white male, middle-aged, curly hair and wearing a white t-shirt and grey sweatshirt. A work party setting up for an event scheduled for today reported the incident to the authorities.

The Coast Guard currently has rescue crews from Station Golden Gate, Station San Francisco and Air Station San Francisco on scene and searching. The National Park Service has six officers searching shore side. The San Francisco Police and Fire Departments each have a boat crew searching as well. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Tern, an 87-foot patrol boat, is scheduled to join the search at 2 a.m., and relieve the Coast Guard boat crews from Station Golden Gate and Station San Francisco.

Search and rescue coordinators at the Interagency Operations Center on Yerba Buena Island are requesting the publics help in gathering amplfying information and identifying the missing man. If you have any information concerning this case you are requested to call the Coast Guard at (415) 399-3451.

MCKINLEYVILLE, Calif. – Expecting an increase in boating activity in the following weeks starting Jan. 15, Coast Guard Group Humboldt Bay emphasizes boating safety at the start of this year’s delayed commercial Dungeness crab season. 

Encouraging safety first for this crabbing season, the Coast Guard strongly recommends for all mariners wear personal flotation devices while on the water as surviving the risks inherent with crabbing in the Pacific Ocean requires preparation, proper education, and a survivor’s attitude.  Mariners must know the importance of monitoring weather conditions and know the limits of their vessels and crew.

While the Coast Guard understands the economic impact of a delayed commercial season, accepting additional risks in an unforgiving environment is not an option.  Overloading a vessel can fundamentally change its buoyancy characteristics and put all on board in danger.  Mariners should also ensure all safety equipment such as flares, shipboard alarms, EPIRB’s, life rafts, and survival suits are in good condition and easily accessible.   

If something does happen to a mariner on the water, one of the best resources to assist the Coast Guard is the float plan the mariner filed with their family or friend.  While the Coast Guard does not personally accept float plans; boaters should leave the float plan with a trusted person ashore. A good float plan, sample available on www.uscgboating.org, includes a description of the vessel, names of the crew, a list of safety equipment on board, the estimated time of arrival at the fishing grounds and a return schedule.  Mariners are reminded that once their vessel returns to its home port or reaches its destination, they should close out their float plan. 

Dockside Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Inspections are a great way to ensure compliance with all safety regulations and that vessels gear is in serviceable condition.  Examinations can be schedule by contacting Manny Ramirez, the Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Coordinator, at (510) 437-5788. 

For information on the crab season, check the California Department of Fish and Game website at: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/invertebrate/management_com.asp#crab