US Coast Guard Can’t Crew All Its Ships Due to Recruiting Shortage

Last week, US Coast Guard Vice Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday spoke at the Brookings Institution and addressed the service’s enlisted force’s ongoing 10 percent manning shortage.  Entering the fiscal year, the Coast Guard was about 3,000 members short of end strength … Continue reading

Schooner De Gallant Sinking Update: Coast Guard Suspends Search for Two Missing Mariners

We recently posted about the sinking of the cargo schooner De Gallant early Tuesday morning, 22 nautical miles north of the Bahamas island of Great Inagua, with eight sailors on board. Six of the crew were rescued from life rafts … Continue reading

The Sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald 48 Years Ago — the Unsolved Mystery

SS Edmund Fitzgerald, an American Great Lakes ore carrier, sank 48 years ago today, on November 10, 1975, in a storm on Lake Superior. The crew of 29 was lost when the freighter, loaded with 26,000 tons of iron ore pellets, … Continue reading

In Aftermath of Disastrous Lahaina Wild Fire, 49 Sunken Vessels Counted in Harbor

In addition to devastating the historic town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui, the recent wild fires also destroyed most of the boats in the harbor.  After almost two weeks, Channel KHON2 News reports that the US Coast … Continue reading

Operation Fouled Anchor — Coast Guard Apologizes for Years-Long Cover Up of Sexual Assault

CNN reports that a secret investigation into alleged sexual abuse at the US Coast Guard Academy uncovered a dark history of rapes, assaults, and other serious misconduct being ignored and, at times, covered up by high-ranking officials. The findings of … Continue reading

Search Underway for Submersible Missing on Titanic Wreck Dive

The US Coast Guard is searching for a submersible carrying five people on a dive on the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland. The submersible Titan, which began its dive towards the Titanic wreck site on … Continue reading

US Coast Guard Rescues 7 From Drifting Tug Legacy

On Saturday, January 14, the US Coast Guard rescued seven crewmembers from the tug Legacy, disabled and drifting about 30 miles off the coast of Ocean City, New Jersey. The Coast Guard reports that the tug Legacy notified watchstanders at Coast … Continue reading

Against All Odds, Cruise Passenger Survives 20 Hours in the Gulf of Mexico After Going Overboard From Carnival Valor

When we posted about a man who had been rescued in the Gulf of Mexico by the US Coast Guard after apparently falling off the cruise ship Carnival Valor, we were convinced that there was more to the story. It … Continue reading

Man Rescued After Going Overboard on Carnival Valor — Thanksgiving Mystery or Miracle?

Yesterday, the US Coast Guard rescued an unidentified passenger who had gone overboard in the Gulf of  Mexico from the cruise ship Carnival Valor on a voyage from New Orleans to Cozumel.  While most cases of passengers who fall or … Continue reading

The Sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, an Unsolved Mystery

SS Edmund Fitzgerald, an American Great Lakes ore carrier, sank 47 years ago today, on November 10, 1975, in a storm on Lake Superior. The crew of 29 was lost when the freighter, loaded with 26,000 tons of iron ore pellets, … Continue reading

Navy & Coast Guard Offer Signing Bonuses & Increased Enlistment Age to Attract Recruits

The US military has been having problems meeting its recruiting targets. In response, the US Coast Guard and the US Navy have been offering signing bonuses of up to $50,000 for certain billets, after the number of sailors plummeted, in … Continue reading

Remembering “HMS” Bounty Lost in Hurricane Sandy — Survivors’ Interview

Ten years ago today, the replica of HMS Bounty sank in Hurricane Sandy off the coast of North Carolina. Despite horrific conditions, the US Coast Guard was able to rescue 14 of the 16 aboard the ship when she sank. … Continue reading

Congratulations to Admiral Linda Fagan, First Woman Coast Guard Commandant

Congratulations to Admiral Linda Fagan, who today assumed command as the 27th commandant of the US Coast Guard. Breaking a major glass ceiling, (or perhaps a glass overhead), she also becomes the first woman to lead the service, as well … Continue reading

First New Polar Icebreaker Delivery Delayed Until 2025

In 2019, we posted that US Coast Guard was finally getting an appropriation to build three new heavy polar icebreakers, followed by the construction of three new medium polar icebreakers. The Coast Guard currently has one heavy icebreaker, USCGC Polar Star, which … Continue reading

Update: US Coast Guard Identifies Container Ship MSC Danit in California Pipeline Dragging

In early October, a crack in a pipeline off the coast of Huntington Beach, California spilled some 3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons) of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean. On Saturday, the US Coast Guard announced that it had determined that … Continue reading

All Available Boats — Captain Michael Day’s Radio Call On 9/11/01

There are moments in history when an individual makes the right choice at exactly the right moment and it makes all the difference. Such was the case with LT. Michael Day on the morning of September 11, 2001, in New … Continue reading