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Opposite page: The most hitter winter begins on the New England Coast with the stranding of the tanker Argo Merchant on Fishing Rip, 28 miles southeast of Nantucket, on 15 December 1976. The Coast Guard cutter is the 210-foot Vigilant. Drawing only ten feet, the cutter is able to pass safely over the shoal which destroyed the tanker. A few days after this photograph was taken the Argo Merchant broke into two parts, and then into three. Rough weather foiled efforts at pollution control. Fortunately, most of the ship’s cargo of fuel oil floated out to sea.
T
JL here really wasn’t much warning. There was an early cold snap in September, but then it got warm again. The turbulent fall weather which comes with the southerly movement of the Polar Front was not remarkable and, unlike the previous autumn, there was no loss of an Edmund Fitzgerald—the big ore carrier which sank suddenly with all hands in a Lake Superior storm—to presage a violent winter. The “Daily Operations Highlights” published at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters contain few weather-related assistance or pollution cases of consequence until 15 December 19^6, when the 28,691-ton Liberian-flag tanker Argo Merchant reported herself aground and in danger of breaking up 28 miles southeast of Nantucket Island. But by that time, we knew we were in for it- On the Great Lakes, a mid-November ice forecast had noted that below-normal temperatures in the preceding six months would lead to early ice formation. Navigationally significant ice was expected by early December. This was two to three weeks earlier than the year before, and a month earlier than the year before that. Does “early” mean “bitter,” or just “long”? We still didn’t know.
Normally the Coast Guard’s preparations for winter consist of removing aids to navigation which will not be needed or which will be endangered by ice, closing light stations where there will be no shipping, and reducing manning at those units which can anticipate substantially less activity than in other seasons. Boats not needed are hauled and laid up. Some ships and aircraft may be deployed elsewhere but, for the most part, they are already stationed where they will be needed; for instance, the 110-foot icebreaking tug Snohomish works out of Rockland, Maine, summer and winter. Readiness standby status may be changed, raised m pre-storm periods, but generally there are more alerts in homeport than actual movements to new operating areas. In the Great Lakes, however, winter operations are habitual and extensive.
While there is a sharpening of emphasis for winter operations, there usually is a significant reduction in the number of assistance cases. A higher proportion than normal, however, will be severe.
On the morning of 2 December, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port of Boston advised the Commandant that the Argo Merchant, a ship with a long history of accidents, would enter Boston (actually Salem, one of Boston’s out ports) within the next two weeks. Because of her past, the Captain of the Port stated his intention to board the vessel. If she was found unsatisfactory, she would be ordered to leave U.S. waters.
On 16 December the “Daily Operations Highlights” reported on the Argo Merchant: “Early yesterday this 639-foot Liberian tanker
with 39 persons aboard and laden with 7,500,000 gallons of number six fuel oil ran aground on Fishing Rip, 28 miles southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. CGC Sherman and Vigilant are on scene and have evacuated 3 1 crew members and placed a damage control team aboard the vessel. Four members of the Atlantic Strike Team are also aboard. Substantial engine room flooding by oil and water have been reported and some minor water pollution has been observed. CGC Bittersweet will sail for the scene from Woods Hole this morning with additional pollution control equipment and two commercial tugs and a barge are scheduled to arrive this morning for lightering operations. Case Pends.
The next day’s report ran: “All remaining crewmen and Coast Guard personnel aboard this grounded Liberian tanker were evacuated last night. The vessel heeled to starboard 10 degrees and her hull plates showed evidence of buckling and cracking. Tank soundings showed many of the cargo tanks taking on water and some seepage of oil was reported. CGCs Sherman and Vigilant remain on scene 28 miles southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. Two commercial tugs and a barge are also in the area. Weather conditions are predicted to deteriorate on scene today with northwesterly winds of 40 knots and seas building to 10 feet. Case Pends.”
Staging of containment and removal equipment continued at Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod. Air Force C-111s assisted Coast Guard C-130s with transportation of equipment. Army Skycrane helos were available to move gear to the scene.
On 20 December the report on the Argo Merchant was: “This vessel remains aground firmly imbedded in the bottom with her main deck awash and listing 15 degrees to starboard. An estimated 1.5 million gallons of oil have polluted the water, however none of the oil is in any immediate danger of making landfall. Personnel and equipment have been staged to attempt lightering operations when the weather permits. The incident is considered closed for SAR purposes as efforts are directed toward pollution prevention. Case Closed."
Seven members of the Coast Guard Atlantic Strike Team went aboard to run out the port anchor with the help of the tug Sheila Moran. Heavy-duty Yokohama fenders were rigged to prepare for lightering. Pollution fund authorization of up to $1.5 million was made.
On 21 December the Argo Merchant split in two. Her oil slick was headed tor Georges Bank, and numerous oiled birds were recovered from the scene. The ship then split into thirds, an ecological survey was undertaken by the oceanographic cutter Evergreen, and a NASA tracking buoy was placed in the slick to permit satellite tracking. Divers on the wreck in February reported all tanks empty. Periodic monitoring continued, and in March a light sheen still existed around the wreck. The case was still "pending” at the end of April. If it were a school o fish we were trying to catch at sea, we might use a purse seine. How do you catch a lot of oil? We re pretty good at it now in mild to moderate conditions. Booms, skimmers, vacuum trucks, ADAPTS (pumping systems), and high speed sea-sled delivery all work. Rough weather still defeats us, but we re
working on it.
Just days after the Argo Merchant took the ground, the 70,630-ton tanker Sansinena exploded at Berth 46 in Los Angeles Harbor.
“Friday night, this 810-foot tanker moored at berth 46 in Los Angeles Harbor exploded amidships- The explosion lifted a major portion of the center section of the vessel onto the pier. The CGC Venturous was transiting the area at the time of the explosion and immediately began to fight the fire and rescue some of the 32 people believed to be aboard the vessel. The CGCs Point Evans, Point Camden, P<>int Bridge, utility boats, and helicopters were dispatched to the scene and rescued 23 persons from the water- Five bodies were recovered. Four persons remain missing. The fire was brought under control. The nearly empty tanker spilled approximately 20,000 gallons of bunker oil into the water which is being contained by booms. Most Coast Guard units have been released except for oil pollution cleanup teams. Captain of the Fort Los Angeles is monitoring the situation and the Los Angeles Fire Department is on scene to extinguish the small fires which continue to reflash.
No weather related disaster here; this apparently was the outcome of tank-stripping.
Two days after Christmas the Liberian tanker Olympic Games grounded upbound in the Delaware River, with attendant pollution from Marcus Hook to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Ice and win1 hampered recovery operations for some time. The master was arrested by U.S. marshalls and release on $50,000 bond. Two days later the Liberian Daphne grounded off Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, an could not be freed without lightering. There was no pollution. The next day a U.S. tank barge off Puerto Rico, under tow in heavy weather, apparently l°s two hatches which led to a loss of at least 350,000 gallons of crude oil, though not to loss of the bar£e herself.
Luck was with the 93,855-ton Liberian tanker Universe Leader when she grounded off the Delaware River entrance to the Chesapeake and Delaware Cana
Lake:
°n 4 January, allegedly avoiding the Texaco California. While she had to be lightered to be refloated, no Pollution resulted. It certainly looked like a bad year °r Liberian tankers. The record indicates, however, tLat as bad as it may have been for Liberians, U.S. fank barges had a worse record for pollution during th's season.
It was a hard winter for pollution, Liberian tank- ^rs> and U.S. tank barges. Foul weather and ice <lrnpered oil recovery operations. Rescue efforts con- ft'cted with pollution incidents went well, however, ^‘th few savable lives lost, due mostly to heroic ef- ()rts by Coast Guard rescue crews.
Was it really a bitter winter? Awareness of the ^ lr>ter was probably heightened by the unusual cold ln Wash ington, where the politicians, the bureau- r‘lts, and the reporters gather. I can remember in gutters past freezing on a bridge wing breaking ice ()r navigation and hearing (from those elsewhere)
' «ut how mild it was. But this winter was cold ^v<-'tywhere, and colder than most winters in the
C‘S, central, and eastern states. In February the ntional Weather Service declared that for the east- ,Tn two-thirds of the country, it was the coldest s'nee the founding of the Republic.”
^n the Great Lakes winter was heard with clarity ^Len the American tanker Amoco Indiana was beset 'ce and grounded off Lighthouse Point, Grand taverse Bay, on Lake Michigan. Two Coast Guard '^breakers responded, as well as the Amoco Wisconsin ^ho lightered the vessel.
I The rapid growth of ice in the week of 4 Dccem- led the C< last Guard to start Operation Tacomte, c annual winter run of ore boats from the head of
the Lakes to lower Lake Michigan and Lake Erie, as well as operations Oilcan and Coalshovel, the winter resupply of oil and coal for many places. Ice operations began in that first week, and the problems came with them. The ore carrier Cliffs Victory grounded on the Johnson Point Turn in the St. Mary’s River, which connects Lake Superior with the East. Sixty-four vessels, including many salties anxious to put the St. Lawrence Seaway astern of them, were stopped before she was freed. Many other vessels were grounded or beset. But the Seaway was kept open a little longer than normal and all those ships headed for the sea were east of the locks when they were closed on 6 January.
Even so, by the end of December, out of several hundred American and Canadian ore carriers in the Lakes, fewer than thirty were still operating. Exceptionally severe weather and the rapid growth of ice in January, with most of Lake Superior covered and five-foot high ridges of ice in Lake Erie, caused voyages to become slow and expensive. The industry asked that navigation through the St. Mary’s River and the Soo Locks be suspended.
But not all navigation could be permitted to stop. Two big icebreakers, the 290-foot Mackinaw and the 269-foot Westuind, four 180-foot buoy tenders, and five 110-foot icebreaking tugs made it possible for the ships essential to the well-being of many com-
munities, such as the car ferries connecting the cities on either side of Lake Michigan and the oil- and coal-laden vessels passing from Sarnia, Ontario, to the Soo, to keep moving. The car ferries are rugged ships and seldom beforehand had had to call for help from the Coast Guard. Ferries supporting isolated communities, such as those at Drummond and Sugar islands in the St. Mary’s River continued to operate, but only because of Coast Guard assistance. The cutters suffered considerable damage, but the necessary repairs were made and the essential traffic continued. By the end of the first week of February, all the lakes but Ontario were completely frozen over, and Ontario was covered except in the western half. But a few days later a warm spell led to cancellation of some air cushion vehicle icebreaking experiments. Ridging in White Fish Bay early in March caused some problems, but a general trend toward ice decay led to an end of icebreaking by 25 April, which is about normal. There was potential for extensive spring ice operations, but warmer air headed that off. It was an early, tough winter for the Lakes, but the Coast Guard forces on station were well able to satisfy the needs of commerce.
In the Mississippi River system, there were some uncomfortable moments. By mid-January, ice jams were commonplace. Parts of the system were closed to navigation on the 20th because of severe ice gorges or locks closed by ice. The natural-gas shortage emerged and many fuel-laden tows, which might have alleviated the problem, were beset, including six oil barges near Cairo, Illinois. Helos were deployed from Chicago and from the Gulf Coast for ice reconnaissance. Some British and Canadian air cushion vehicles were marshalled to break the river ice. But early in February temperatures rose briefly to the 50s and 60s, and the ACVs were not used. Industry towboats, however, were used. It was they who broke the ice gorges and it was this which freed the river. The towboat operators refused reimbursement for their work. Another week or so and the flood danger passed. By early March, traffic was normal for the season. For the river, the winter was bitter, but
The most hitter winter on the Great Lakes. The 110-foot icebreaking tug Raritan tows the disabled train ferry City of Midland 41 into the safety of Ludington, Michigan, on 17 February 1977. The City of Midland 41, attempting the short crossing to the other side of Lake Michigan, encountered extremely thick ice. Both propellers were damaged, one blade penetrated the after peak tank, and the interruption of fresh water circulation damaged the boilers. She was ready for all the help she could get.
brief. Industry self-help was the keynote.
There was one important casualty: On a river survey mission, a Coast Guard HH-52 helo from Chicago hit unmarked power lines crossing the Illinois River.
It crashed and all four aboard, including a Navy exchange pilot, were killed.
By early January winter was in earnest on the New England coast. The ice grew hard and thick. Fixed aids to navigation began to topple. On the tenth, the 282-foot coastal tanker Chester A. Poling, cargo tanks empty but with 12,000 gallons of diesel in her bunkers, encountered a gale, split in two, and went down six miles off Cape Ann, Massachusetts.
The 210-foot cutter Decisive, the 95-footers Cape Cross and Cape George, and the 180-foot buoy tender Fireb/tsh were dispatched to the scene. So was an HH-3 helicopter from Cape Cod. The Cape Cross, the Cape George, and the helicopter each recovered two survivors and brought them to a local hospital, flic seventh man aboard the tanker was not found.
A clean-up contractor staged equipment at Gloucester to remove any pollution that might come ; from the small amount of diesel fuel that was in the tanker. Half of the wreck was located and Coast Guard divers went down to look at it. They found that all the oil was gone. Evidence of it was found two days later by a Coast Guard aircraft crew off Eastern Point.
About the same time, the British fishing vessel Croesus went aground off Nantucket and posed a substantial threat of pollution to shellfish beds. Her salvage was hampered by heavy ice. Eventually, her fuel was removed and pollution averted, but she remained firmly where she was.
Skimmers were to clean up a spill from Bouchard Barge B-65 near Cleveland Ledge, Massachusetts, But because of the heavy ice they could not be used. Similar problems appeared for several other spills in the Northeast. Divers went under the ice on several spdls to survey for oil and damage to ships. In mid- Bt'bruary warm rains freed the oil trapped near Cleveland Ledge and it was recovered.
Buzzards Bay, Vineyard Sound, and Nantucket Sound iced up. Icebreaking cutters, some with deckloads of supplies for the islanders, broke the way for toastal tankers bound for Nantucket. The 1 10-foot and 65-foot icebreaking tugs worked hard, assisting tountless fishing vessels, fuel tows, tankers, and oargo vessels. Though the Cape Cod Canal was closed y *ce for three weeks until early in March, elsewhere the mid-February warming trend eased conditions somewhat, and soon the lobster boats were out again. Unseasonably high temperatures” in March relieved JH Northern New England’s harbors and thor- l>ughfares of ice—and it was over. Short, tough, and manageable by the assigned forces.
By mid-January, the coastal and river systems of the southern New England and mid-Atlantic states, |Be Third Coast Guard District, were feeling the rteze- In the Delaware, ice halted delivery of oil to Ut'Ctric generating stations in New Jersey until ice ^takers could clear a path. Generally, Third District °rces were able to cope. Some SAR boats were frozen ln and, since the new aluminum-hulled 41-foot utility boats are not too good in ice, the larger steel- ^nlled patrol boats took up the load. The 180-foot u°y tender Salvia was sailed from Mobile, Alabama, 0 help when the weather was at its worst, and the it'eetgum. another 180-footer, came up from g ayp«rt, Florida, and broke out the Hudson River.
y late February, it was over. There were incidents, ^Uch as the French tanker Nivose parting her moorings ecause of ice pressure, the Fishers Island ferry need- lng help, and the merchant ship Sea Service ground- in New York harbor, but with redeployment of e two icebreaking buoy tenders from southern waters, the short, harsh winter was manageable.
The fuel shortage which so concerned us stemmed Partly from the use of inexpensive barge routes lor t'hvery. When those "roads” harden, costs of trans- U'ttation and turn-around times rise beyond tolerance.
^ Ite convoys were started in the Chesapeake and j t'laware Canal in the second week of January, and y the third week operations all over the Chesapeake 'V°re becoming very difficult. Aids to navigation c’re sunk, trapped under the ice, or just toppled and 't'oved. Even before Christmas, ice had caused trou-
ble for those trying to refloat a tug and tow aground in shallow Tangier Sound, halfway down the Eastern Shore side of the Chesapeake. Eventually, they managed, without any oil leaking. Damage reports on fishing vessels and cutters started coming in. Coast Guard motor lifeboats and small tugs worked hard to help fishermen and tank barge men. Two to four feet of rafted ice was reported from the head of the Bay to the Potomac. The Eastern Shore of Maryland and its island communities had perhaps the worst of it. At the coldest, supplies were brought by air, by Army, Navy, and Maryland Air National Guard units.
It looked bad, perhaps beyond control. The buoy tender Papaw was sent up from Charleston, South Carolina. We asked the Army for help with its air cushion vehicles and the Navy for salvage and icebreaking assistance. While the Navy’s harbor tugs did much good service, the old fleet tug Papago cracked some hull plates forward. Early February and its northwest storms brought more ice. Bent screws and other casualties plagued icebreaking forces. The Salvia was diverted from New York to the Bay. So was the 157-foot buoy tender Red Beech. Ships drawing more than 30 feet were denied entry into Baltimore Harbor, and for the others passage was permitted only by daylight. An iceberg was reported just north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, but it was only rafted ice grounded on a shoal.
The week of the sixth of February was probably the worst, for in it hundreds of vessels needed help. Every ship and boat we had which could work in ice helped someone. The 44-foot motor lifeboats in the lower Bay assisted tugs, barges, and fishing craft. One small Coast Guard tug, the 65-foot Tackle. alone helped 95 other vessels. The other 65-foot tugs, the 1 10-footers, the buoy tenders, and the Navy’s YTBs helped an additional 122 vessels in that week, from the C & D Canal, up the Potomac and the smaller rivers, at Tangier, Smith, and Hooper islands, and in the lower Bay. Extensive convoying was needed. The buoy tender Madrona alone escorted over 40 million gallons of fuel up the Potomac. Then it got warm in mid-February. The very next week it was cold again, and the pace of operations stayed high. But the hump was passed. Forces were gradually released to their home ports and districts. A lively traffic in convoying fueling vessels and tank barges continued on the Chesapeake, but the rate was down.
An odd accident occurred on 24 February, when the U.S.-flag sulfur carrier Marine Floridian hit the Harrison Bridge over the lower James River and brought a big portion of the bridge down upon herself. Another portion fell into the river. The Coast
Guard was called in to help sort that out. But the last substantive assistance was in that same week when the medium harbor tugs Apalachee and Chinook helped 13 vessels through the C & D Canal. An HH-52 on loan from Brooklyn Air Station was sent home, and Navy salvage forces helped with removal of damaged aids to navigation. The Army air cushion vehicles were not used.
The same men who break ice and prevent pollution also save lives. They had a lot of that to do this winter. They also enforce laws and treaties. And they did a lot of that, too, though largely that was independent of the weather. Some events combined elements of several categories. The Argo Merchant involved both rescue and pollution prevention efforts. And SAR in Florida and the Bahamas occasionally involves law enforcement activities as well.
On 13 October the 378-foot cutter Sherman, whiff east of the Bahamas on a law enforcement patrol, sighted the small Panamanian-flag merchant vessel Don Emilio. That 325-foot vessel was on a list of ships suspected of narcotics smuggling. So the Sherman began surveillance of her while the government of Panama was asked for permission to board and search and, if contraband was found, to seize her- Panama said to go ahead, and the vessel was boarded 100 miles east of the Acklin Islands. As a result, the Sherman made the largest drug bust thus far in U.S- history. Some 160 tons of marijuana was found aboard the Don Emilio. The vessel was seized and her crew arrested. Because her fuel was contaminated, the Sherman towed her to the Coast Guard base at Miami Beach, arriving there six days after first sighting her prize. The vessel, contraband, and crew were turned over to the authorities.
On 1 February, the 180-foot coastal freighter Labrador. registered in Canada, was seized when she offloaded marijuana to a U.S. sportfishing boat. There were 13 Colombian nationals on board, all of whom were arrested. The ship had previously been registered in Panama under the name of Night Train and had been under surveillance for a considerable period. After seizure the Labrador was taken to Miami Beach, where 52 tons of marijuana were off-loaded.
There’s got to be some irony in this case. On Sunday, 20 February, the 210-foot cutter Courageous began close surveillance of the Panamanian merchant ship Calabres after she attempted to transfer contraband to an American vessel which would run R into the United States. Early on Friday, the 25th, fire broke out aboard the Calabres while she was some 180 miles northwest of San Juan. The cutter rescued 22 crewmen who were arrested after a rescue and as-
s>stance party reported the Calabns was loaded to ca- pac'ty with bales of marijuana. The Panamanian ves- scl sank and the prisoners were released to immigra- t'°n authorities in San Juan.
All these cases occurred in southern waters, though they might just as easily have occurred off
*** England.
Just as gin goes with tonic, so does search go with rcscue, or at least it does in our thoughts, and our terminology. Yet, happily—because search is the 1T)°st difficult part of the problem—only one-third of °Ur rescues must first wait on a search. In all the ’’ther cases we know, more or less, where the en- angered people are.
Here are some of this most bitter winter’s search a,nd rescue cases—first in the waters off the New ngland and mid-Atlantic states, then off the South- trn Atlantic states, the Gulf and Mississippi River, an<J finally off the West Coast and in the distant acific. Some were caused by the winter’s extreme father. Others might have happened anyway. Some ^ere inshore. Others were far at sea. Not all of them "<-'re successful.
Late in November the 89-foot trawler Mary and ^Seph declared herself in distress on Georges Bank. ”e had four people aboard. An HH-3 helicopter from °ast Guard Air Station Cape Cod delivered two por- ^|hle dewatering pumps. The high endurance cutters cl"as and Morgenthau were diverted from other ef- )rts and the Dallas stood by while the Morgenthau rtrnoved the crewmen, placed a rescue and assistance party aboard, and took the vessel in tow. Later the Vc‘ssel started sinking in heavy weather, the rescue ar*d assistance party was removed, and the vessel sank XVlth no one aboard. The Morgenthau delivered the Survivors to Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Shortly afterwards, the small sloop Easy Go was spotted overdue enroute from Gloucester to Beverly,
Massachusetts, not far from where the Chester A. Poling was soon to be overwhelmed. Three helicopters, three utility boats, and the 95-foot cutter Cape George searched for the sloop. One of the helicopters located the boat, capsized, recovered two survivors, and delivered them to a Boston hospital. Additional search failed to locate the third man.
As in the case of the Easy Go. whose destination we knew, it’s easier to find those who help us to find them. One other such case late last fall illustrates a fairly typical profile.
Numerous reports were received of an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) signal approximately 330 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. A Coast Guard HC-130 aircraft located the 33-foot sailing vessel Tangaroa, with a broken rudder and four persons aboard. The aircraft diverted a merchant vessel in the area to assist. Because of seas 18 to 20 feet high, the merchant vessel elected to stand by and not attempt to remove those aboard. A smaller, handier merchant vessel then arrived on scene and removed the four persons. The Tangaroa was left adrift as a derelict.
More good-sized vessels are lost without a trace every year than is generally known. Some, in a remote part of the world, may get an inch in a big newspaper. But probably they won't. The world is remarkably indifferent to its mariners. At the right time and in the right place, however, the public- interest runs high. Early in January, sensitized by the rough and early winter, and by the alarming loss
of tankers and their cargoes, we were shocked by the report that the Panamanian tanker Grand Zenith was overdue in the North Atlantic. With thirty-eight persons on board, on a voyage between Teesport, England, and Providence, Rhode Island, she was unreported. The first search efforts by the cutter Dallas and five fixed-wing aircraft failed to locate the missing ship. A subsequent search was conducted by two Canadian aircraft, two Navy P-3s, two Air Force HC-130s, and two Coast Guard HC-BOs from Coast Guard Station Elizabeth City, as well as by the Dallas.
Debris was found a few days later, but it could not be positively identified. One lifejacket, we heard, was marked with the vessel s name. An oil slick was located, and the oil was analyzed and identified by our research scientists as coming from the Grand Zenith. We don’t know why she went down, and there has been no further trace.
A few days later, also in the North Atlantic, the Mary Ann. a 793-foot Liberian tanker east southeast of Cape May, New Jersey, reported an explosion and fire which occurred during tank cleaning operations. Later we heard that the fire was out, but the Mary Ann was taking on water and one crewman required medical attention. An HC-130 fixed-wing aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station St. Petersburg was dispatched to locate the Mary Ann. and the old high endurance cutter Ingham departed Ocean Weather Station Hotel to assist. Saturday afternoon an Italian tanker escorted the damaged ship toward Cape Hen- lopen until relieved by the Ingham. In turn, the medium endurance cutter Cherokee relieved the Ingham and an HH-3 helicopter from Elizabeth City evacuated the patient to a Norfolk hospital. The Mary Ann subsequently anchored in Delaware Bay where a full damage assessment was conducted before the Captain of the Port, Philadelphia, would permit the vessel to enter port. The Mary Ann s experience is, unfortunately, all too common among tankers. Is this what happened to the Grand Zenith?
Late in March the disaster that befell the Panamanian-flag tanker Claude Conway had echoes of 25 years earlier off New England, when a major storm left pieces of tankers all over, to the confusion of rescuers who at first couldn t match up the parts.
The most bitter winter in the Central Pacific. The bow of the tanker Irenes Challenge just before it disappeared about 200 miles southeast of Midway in January 1977. Of the ship’s company of 31, all but three were saved by the crew of another merchant ship.
“Early yesterday,” the headquarters summary runs, “the stern section of this 713-foot tanker was sighted, 145 miles southeast of Cape Fear, by a passing merchant vessel. HH-3 helicopters from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City and Clearwater were dispatched. Three merchant vessels and the helicopters recovered 27 persons from the stern an bow sections of the ship. Eighteen survivors were flown ashore by helicopters and nine more are en route Baltimore aboard a merchant vessel. CGCs Dallas and Conifer arrived on scene last night to searc with a Coast Guard HC-130 aircraft. The search wil continue today. Preliminary indications are th‘ welding in the tanks of the Claude Conway may have caused an explosion which severed the vessel into two sections.”
Well, only one tanker split this time, and from an explosion rather than hull failure. The case con
tinues: i
“An HC-130 fixed-wdng aircraft from Coast Guar Air Station Elizabeth City failed to locate any additional survivors from this tanker yesterday. An HH-- helicopter from the air station placed a boarding party on the bow section of the ship and CGC Datt#5 placed a boarding party on the stern section. No survivors or bodies were located during the searches 0 either section. Dallas will sink the bow section today
La
Winter brings the tourists south to the cruise ships. Usually of foreign registry, often picking up Passengers in the U.S. ports, these vessels provide 'nterludes of adventure to thousands of winter vacationers. They also provide a potential for disaster which foreign certifications of fitness and competence may not prevent.
"file Coast Guard frequently gets to help, however. ltc m January, the large sailing vessel Phantome, ''ell-known in the Caribbean, was reported aground ccuth 140 persons on board near Eleuthera Island.
nree Coast Guard fixed-wing aircraft, one Coast Guard helicopter, several Navy aircraft, the medium endurance cutter Steadfast, and the submarine rescue Vt‘ssel USS Petrel were dispatched. The Petrel stood by the vessel until commercial salvage operations failed t() refloat the vessel. Then all passengers were evacuated by the Steadfast and Petrel and taken to Nassau.
nrteen crew members remained on board until she c«uld be refloated.
Here is another event in those waters: The 87-foot . 'S-"flag drift fishing vessel Helen S. Six. underway ‘n the Bahamas “with 36 persons on board located at est End Grand Bahama Island was reported to have jl ho mb hidden aboard. An HU-16 fixed-wdng aircraft r°m Coast Guard Air Station Miami transported un- ettvater demolition team personnel from the Naval urface Weapons Center at Fort Lauderdale to the Stene- The vessel was searched and no explosive de- v'ce was found. Case Closed."
Some cases really give you pause. The Good News.
3 ^8-foot sloop with four persons aboard, w'as reported disabled on Grand Bahama Bank in 50-knot ^’nds and 15-foot seas. The 95-foot patrol boat Cape n°x, moored at Freeport, proceeded to assist. An al. ^ an^ an HhJ-l6 amphibian from Miami were ‘ s° dispatched. The amphibian diverted a merchant Vtssel to recover the four. During the recovery a "°man and her baby fell into the water from a cargo nt‘t draped over the side of the merchant vessel. Two 'Uvvmen from the vessel entered the water to help P c Woman. The helicopter picked all four people 0rn che water and took them to Nassau.
While our concern is for U.S. lives, any in peril dre rescued if possible. The 354-foot Panamanian Merchant vessel Ukola, with 23 persons on board, "as reported capsized and sunk 240 miles west of U-c7 West. An HC-130, an HU-16, and an HH-3 c 'copter, all from Clearwater, and the medium en- Utance cutter Courageous were dispatched. Three ^rvivors and seven bodies were recovered. The next y the Courageous and an HH-52 helicopter located
0 more bodies near an overturned lifeboat. That Was it.
In some cases all we seem to do is to flail around, but at least we try. The 100-foot tug 7. I. Sawyer sank in the Gulf of Mexico and two survivors were removed by a passing merchant vessel. Searches were conducted for the four remaining crewmen. One day, for instance, the medium endurance cutter Dependable. an HU-16 from Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi, and one from Aviation Training Center Mobile, plus an HH-52 helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Houston searched without result. The next day, two HU-16 aircraft conducted an additional search, again without locating any of the missing men. They never were found.
Late in October the Norwegian chemical carrier Frosta collided with the ferry George Prince at mile 120 on the Mississippi River, that’s 12 miles west of Avondale (near New Orleans). The Prince capsized and sank, dumping 35 vehicles with their occupants and 60 walk-on passengers into the river. The Frosta was not severely damaged. Two HH-3 helicopters from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans, utility boats and skiffs from Group New Orleans, the 82- foot cutter Point Spencer, and numerous local government and other civilian craft were dispatched to the scene. Only sixteen survivors were recovered. Search and salvage efforts continued for some time, and an investigation was conducted by Marine Inspection Office New Orleans. I suppose every shipmaster must have doubts about what ferries will do, even when he knows their routes and schedules. Bridge- to-bridge radio telephones help to remove the doubts which whistle signals, if used, sometimes leave. Yet. . . .
Out in the Pacific, two survivors in a raft were the first clue that the sailing vessel Spirit was missing. A massive search was launched for the remaining three- sailors believed to be adrift in another raft. One day’s search, for example, consisted of ten Coast Guard, Navy, and Air Force aircraft. The frigate USS Cook arrived in the search area and assumed duties as onscene commander. She was relieved by the old high endurance cutter Campbell who assumed control of search units now numbering fifteen Coast Guard, Navy, and Air Force aircraft. The search was aided by high altitude reconnaissance.
After six days, another raft was found with one- survivor. The other two survivors of the sinking had died before being found, and were buried at sea.
We don’t always find what we look for, and we don’t always know if there is anything to find when we look. In the case of the 486-foot Panamanian log carrier Carmelian reported sinking in heavy seas 690 miles south of Adak Island, two HC-130 aircraft from Midway and Kodiak and a Navy P-3 from Adak were
dispatched to the scene along with the high endurance cutter Mellon. Two merchant vessels rescued 14 survivors, but despite air and surface search, 19 persons remained missing.
Sometimes it’s all a joke, and in this instance as winter came to Oregon, the joke was cruel. The Oregon State Police relayed a report that a submersible was unable to surface approximately 19 miles east of the John Day Dam on the Columbia River. The initial distress call was received on citizens band radio and no subsequent transmissions were received. A trailerable Aids to Navigation boat from Coast Guard Station Kennewick, a county sheriff aircraft, Army Corps of Engineers units, Washington State divers, and an Ait Force helicopter responded. No surface support facilities were located. There were no reports of overdue submersibles or of submersibles known to be operating in the area. The incident was considered a hoax. While searching, the county sheriff’s aircraft crashed, and one of the two men aboard the aircraft drowned.
Still, any signal heard is checked out, and there is
often a happy end as in this case as the winter solstice drew near. The 40-foot sailing vessel Born Free H with three persons on board activated her emergency locator transmitter approximately 900 miles northeast of Honolulu. After two commercial aircraft monitored the signal, an HC-130 from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point was dispatched to search. The aircraft located the disabled vessel and another HC-130, from Air Station San Francisco, dropped a portable radio to the boat. The tank landing ship OSS Frederick, on route to San Diego, was diverted to assist. The Born Free II and her crew were takC-n aboard the Navy vessel which resumed her course toward San Diego.
On 17 January, the 33,253-ton Liberian tanker Irenes Challenge broke in two, 205 miles east southeast of Midway Island. Both parts of the 63 l-foot vessel, which was reported to be carrying 4.2 milli(,n gallons of crude oil, remained afloat. An HC-130 aircraft from Barbers Point and a C-117 aircraft from Naval Air Station Midway, along with the merchant vessel Pacific Arrow, searched for, but were unable to locate, three missing crewmen. The Pacific ArroU departed for Kobe, Japan, at sunset that day with 2$ Irenes Challenge survivors on board. Next day the search was continued by an HC-130 aircraft from Barbers Point and the merchant vessel Rona River. The latter was relieved after some hours by the 180-foot buoy tender Mallow. The 378-foot cutter Jarvis arrived after that and, with the Mallow, was to tow the sections clear of sensitive wildlife areas, but both sections sank before the tow could be made. The oil slick disappeared.
A month later, on 14 February, the Liberian bulk carrier Rose S. disappeared 700 miles north northwest
°f Wake. Merchant ships and Coast Guard aircraft found debris and oil, but no sign of the ship or her company of 3 1 people.
Some 300 miles west of Oahu, Hawaii, the Libe- nan tanker Hawaiian Patriot exploded and sank, discharging her entire cargo of some 26,500 tons of crude into the sea. Of her crew, 39 were rescued, and only one life was lost. She had leaked for a day or so, ^en gone up, perhaps as a result of tank cleaning, he oil slick disappeared to the westward.
The bars of the Northwest have claimed many vessels and even more lives. Difficult surf conditions exist southward into California, and response must e quick to be effective. On the afternoon of 7 xHrch, the crew of a motor lifeboat from Coast Guard Station Humboldt Bay, California, saw the 8-foot fishing vessel We Three with three persons on °ard capsize at the Humboldt Bay entrance bar. ue motor lifeboat immediately rescued two of the trC'w. A search was conducted for the remaining ^lan> using an HH-52 helicopter from Coast Guard lr Station North Bend, a Coast Guard utility boat, a°d local sheriff’s units. On Saturday a swimmer Searched the cabin of the overturned vessel and loCated the body of the missing crewman. We patrol S()me bars during dangerous periods and, when we tarb turn back vessels until passage is safe. But our Warnings are not always heeded.
Our surfmen and pilots in the Northwest are justi- 'ably prouj of their skills. Conditions are as tough as tlu7 come, not just on the bars. This brief sample, |n the terse language of an operations summary, aves much for imagination to fill in what happened.
F/V Owners Choice (US)—Sunk—Washington, unday evening this 86-foot fishing vessel, with ree persons aboard, was reported taking on water .. miles southwest of Destruction Island. Motor eboats from Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor and Vuillayute River responded. An HH-3 helicopter <>rri Coast Guard Air Station Astoria delivered a Purnp t() the vessel. The occupants evacuated to ari°ther vessel in the area and a short time later the “ners Choice sank. All Coast Guard units were reCalled. Case Closed.
F/V Loma (US)—Sinking—Washington. On ednesday evening this 40-foot fishing vessel with e persons aboard was reported sinking off Jefferson I tad in Puget Sound. All of the people aboard the 0>na were wearing wet suits and abandoned the ves- ScT A utility boat from Coast Guard Port Safety Sta- tlMn Seattle, the auxiliary vessel Minita. and an H-S2 helicopter from Air Station Port Angeles were aisPatched. All five persons were rescued and two
were flown by Coast Guard helicopter to Harborview Hospital for treatment of hypothermia. Case Closed.
“S/V Shadow Fax (US)—Disabled—Washington. On Sunday a report was received that this sailing vessel, with five persons on board, was having steering difficulties as it approached the Quillayute River. A motor lifeboat from Coast Guard Station Quillayute responded and just prior to arrival on scene, the Shadow Fax took a large breaker and four men entered the water. The motor lifeboat recovered the men. One person remained on board and sailed the vessel back to sea. An HH-3 helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Astoria also responded. The motor lifeboat recovered the remaining occupant after the sailing vessel was anchored. Yesterday a sailing vessel was reported aground near Point Grenville and again the helicopter and motor lifeboat responded. Upon investigation it was determined that the grounded vessel was the Shadow Fax which had slipped anchorage. Case Closed. ”
By the end of March, the ice was gone from the Atlantic rivers, harbors, and bays. In a month’s time it would be gone from the Lakes. The storms became fewer and, usually, less violent. The winter had become a thing of the past. The searches, the pollution cleanups, the ice convoys, and all the activities had been reduced, for those who were not there, to statistics. For those who were there, they had become memories, perhaps of gratitude for help, even for having had one’s life saved, or of satisfaction for having given the help, saved the life, or simply of having accomplished a seaman’s job under the most difficult of circumstances.
The officers and men of the Service had been tested and had succeeded. Their ships, their boats, their aircraft, and their equipment had, for the most part, proved themselves satisfactory. Their deployment, suitable for normal times, had shown itself almost equally suitable for abnormal times; only a few easily made temporary reassignments sufficed to bring difficult situations under control.
If Coast Guardsmen meet future difficulties as well as they met those thrown at them by this most bitter of winters, they will be serving their country very well.