Special forces aboard the Grande Tema on Friday night , photo from Telegraph

The Telegraph, a UK news organization, brings a report of an attempted takeover of a container ship by four stowaways, apparently want-a-be immigrants, and their subsequent capture by British special forces.

Four stowaways who allegedly threatened the crew of a cargo ship with armed bars were detained by police on Friday night after an operation to secure the vessel was launched off the Kent coast.

The crew of Grande Tema, en route from Lagos in Nigeria to Tilbury in ­Essex, locked themselves on the bridge after the stowaways they had discovered broke free from a cabin and started to make their demands.

Read the entire report here.

This is the sort of operation where inserting law enforcement by helicopter makes sense. Fortunately no casualties, unlike some earlier vertical insertions.

Thanks to EagleSpeak for bringing this to my attention.

Got this by email. I am reposting for those of you who may not be on the mailing list. Not too late to join.

From Captain Scott Clendenin, USCG, President, National Cuttermen Chapter of the Surface Navy Association

Colleagues,

I hope this holiday season finds you well.

The Surface Navy Association’s 31st National Symposium will be held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, Virginia from 15 to 17 January 2019.

Please see the agenda on our website: http://navysna.org/

Last year we had good attendance by our Coast Guard men and women.  I received a lot of great feedback from those  who attended about how great this event is for Coast Guard members and staff.  Unfortunately, many of us did not sign up in advance which was a bit of a burden for the SNA event team.  To remedy this we ask that you please go to the link now to register and sign up for the events that you are interested in attending.  As cuttermen you are certain to find the discussions and exhibits of great interest.

Secondly, this is a great time to join, rejoin, or re up your SNA membership.   Your modest membership fee brings a lot of support to you, your chapter, and cuttermen.  Please help us grow.

Lastly be sure to sign up for the regularly scheduled SNA Symposium Cuttermen’s Call on Thursday Afternoon where the Atlantic Area Commander will address us, followed by a traditional Cuttermen’s  cocktail gathering, all sponsored by SNA.

We hope to see you there!

Vr,

Captain Scott Clendenin, U.S. Coast Guard

President, National Cuttermen Chapter of the Surface Navy Association.

202 372 2003

Felt the need to share this. Very impressive test results against small surface targets. Given how close the targets appeared to the horizon, the targets must have been near the extreme range of the Hellfire or about 8000 yards. This is also about the effective range of the 57mm and the 76mm except that the accuracy is much greater and the time to destroy the target much shorter.

NAVSEA claims a 90% success rate in testing.

BM2 Dale Veverka, a boatswains mate, Seaman George Degener, and MK2 Joshua Post  conduct maneuvers on the Coast Guard Cutter Northland’s “over-the-horizon” small boat during transit to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, April 9, 2008. for UNITAS exercise. U.S. Coast Guard photo by PA2 Nathan Henise.

The following is a release from the Acquisition Directorate (CG-9)  Apparently they plan to procure a fifth generation over the horizon cutter boat.

The Coast Guard released a request for information (RFI) Dec. 7 to gather information in preparation for the Over the Horizon V cutter boat acquisition.

The planned vessel is a standard configuration boat up to 26 feet long, which is capable of performing missions that require projection of Coast Guard capabilities beyond the parent cutter. It will operate in day and night; in a spectrum of climates, weather conditions and sea states.

The anticipated scope of the contract is near 200 boats delivered over a 10-year-period.

The RFI is available here. The deadline to submit responses is Dec. 14 at 12 p.m. EST.

For more information: Cutter Boats program page   

This is probably the answer to a comment question on an earlier post about a new 7 meter RHIB, that ask what boat would be used on the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC).

From the RFI:

Approximate OTH-V Characteristics:
Length: 26 feet (maximum extreme dimensions)
Beam: 9.0 feet (maximum extreme dimensions)
Weight: ~7500 lbs (full fuel, no personnel)
Comms: HF, UHF, VHF, DSC, AIS
Navigation: Scalable Integrated Navigation System-2 with radar
Seating: Shock Mitigating for five, designated for eight additional
Stability: ISO 12217-1
Structure: ISO 12215-5
Propulsion: Diesel Engine with Waterjet propulsion
Top Speed: 40 knots
Range: 200 NM (with 10% fuel reserve)
Interface: Dual Point Davit, Single Point Davit with Sling, Stern Notch

MilitaryTimes reports, 

“The horrific KC-130T plane crash that killed 15 Marines and a sailor last summer was caused by a deteriorating propeller blade that was corroded when it entered an Air Force maintenance depot in 2011, but workers there failed to fix it and sent it back to the fleet unrepaired.”

Reportedly this was not an isolated problem.

The investigation’s report and nearly 2,000 pages of supplementary records portray an endemic level of neglect by the Air Force, which maintains C-130 propeller blades for the Navy.

and I would presume possibly also for the Coast Guard which is still flying the C-130H.

The exact maintenance failures that took place at Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex back in 2011, and who was responsible, will likely never be known.

Before the crash, it was Air Force policy to throw out such maintenance records after two years, according to the report.

The US Naval Institute News Service has the video above and the full text of the investigation (which I must admit, I did not read). This video has a bit more detail than the one accompanying the MilitaryTimes post.

It is of course the anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor that brought America into World War II. Last year Coast Guard Compass published this story of the Coast Guard’s actions on that day and the conflict that followed.

But the Coast Guard has another reason to remember December 7, the loss of the White Alder, along with 17 of her crew of 20. From the Coast Guard Compass, “The Long Blue Line: Buoy Tender White Alder—lost 50 years ago, but not forgotten”

a music video dedicated to the men of USCGC BLUEBELL, a “hidden jewel” in the coast guard. the black hull sailors who got things done, “if we go unnoticed then it just simply means we’ve done our job right”.

If you haven’t seen it yet, the Acquisitions Directorate has some excellent graphics on the current and future inland and river tender fleet, or as the program is now known, the Waterways Commerce Cutter.

If you would like to take a look start here, and check out the “Resources” and “In the News” tabs at the bottom of the page.

USCGC Wyaconda stationed out of Dubuque, IA

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz visits with Coast Guard crews stationed in New York City. U.S. Coast Guard photo illustration by Petty Officer 1st Class Jetta Disco.

MarineLink has a wide ranging interview with the Commandant dated 4 Dec., 2018. The interview is from a Marine Industry prospective, so the flavor is a bit different from what we see from Defense oriented interviewers, more about the prevention side, still a lot of interest in the Polar Security Cutter program. Perhaps the most informative section concerns cyber and what the Coast Guard is doing about cyber threats.

Just in case you may have missed it. (Or your command did not tell you.) I am passing this along from Coast Guard All Hands. 

Please join me and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Jason Vanderhaden for a “Virtual Coast Guard Town Hall” on my Facebook page, @CommandantUSCG, Tuesday at 2 p.m. If you don’t have access to Facebook, you can watch it here.

We’ll discuss our service’s recent successes, the Coast Guard Strategic Plan 2018-2022 and take questions from the field. You can submit questions in advance of the Facebook event on my page or tweet them to me at @ComdtUSCG on Twitter. We’ll also be taking questions live during the Town Hall, and I encourage all active duty, reserve, civilian, and auxiliary Coast Guard members to watch, share and ask questions.

Coast Guard leaders at all levels should afford crews the opportunity to participate in this event as a group or individually as operations allow. It’s important that we take time to focus on readiness and ensure our workforce has the information and tools they need to be successful.

I look forward to talking with all of you. Semper Paratus!

Instagram/Facebook: @CommandantUSCG
Twitter: @COMDTUSCG

Metal Craft Marine seven meter RHIB with inboard-outboard diesel drive by Volvo Penta, Volvo-Penta Photo

MarineLink reports that Volvo Penta has been contracted to provide power and control systems for seven meter, 26 foot, “Cutter Boat, Large” being built by Metal Craft Marine of Cape Vincent, New York. The engines are “Volvo Penta three-liter 220 hp diesel Aquamatic sterndrive systems with HD controls.”

The RIBs are designed for a top speed of 35+ knots carrying up to 13 passengers with an operating range of 200 nautical miles in up to four-meter wave heights.

A Sept. 6, 2018 Press release announced the award of the contract to Metal Craft Marine.

The Coast Guard awarded a firm-fixed price indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract Aug. 30, to MetalCraft Marine U.S. Incorporated of Cape Vincent, New York, for a fleet of cutter boats-large (CB-L).

The contract has a maximum value of $20 million and allows for the acquisition of more boats over an ordering period of five years. The initial delivery order for two CB-Ls, trailers, delivery, training and associated logistics documentation was placed for approximately $590,000.

The CB-L will replace the current fleet of 24-foot cutter boats in service onboard 210-foot medium endurance cutters, 225-foot seagoing buoy tenders, and Coast Guard Cutters Alex Haley and Mackinaw. The boats will support operations on the East, West, and Gulf Coasts, as well as in Hawaii, Guam and Alaska.

“We are very excited about getting this asset out to the fleet,” said Cmdr. David Obermeier, deputy program manager for boats acquisition. “A single boat class for multiple cutter classes will provide enhanced operational flexibility.”

Photos added 18 Feb.2022: