The online Patriot package is a single-page online library for readers looking to recall or recount past stories — and especially what Coast Guard officials and others may have said along the way. See all the articles at the Gloucester Daily Times.
Coast Guard leader promised answers, but is leaving with no word on Patriot probes
The commander of Coast Guard Sector Boston promised that an investigation into the delayed search and rescue response would be swift. On January 9, Capt. Gail Kulisch said it was possible the internal investigation or "case study" could be completed within "three weeks". Five days later, Rear Adm. Dale Gabel, the district commander, wrote "I will be able to review the details of the response soon". Kulisch departs Sector Boston today for a new assignment in Virginia. And neither she nor Gabel have reported again.
VMS, which is required on all fishing boats with groundfish permits, is primarily a law enforcement tool. Boats are tracked by the periodic radio signals that are relayed by satellite into a computer base maintained at the National Marine Fisheries Service. Yet the Coast Guard was unable, without delay and difficulties, to use VMS to locate the Patriot when the assignment wasn’t policing but search and rescue.
Free safety program offered to fishermen
With funding sources depleted, fishing safety drill instructors have decided to volunteer their time at a spring safety training workshop for commercial fishermen.
The free workshop is scheduled for May 15 at UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology.
Training activities, which will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., will include instruction in firefighting, man-overboard procedures, flood and pump operation, and other lifesaving skills that will help fishermen know what to do when facing an emergency situation at sea.
Free Basic Safety & Survival Training for Commercial Fishermen
FREE BASIC SAFETY & SURVIVAL TRAINING FOR COMMERCIAL FISHERMEN
Provided by
Rodney Avila – Ted Williams Fred Matera Dan O’Connor
IMP Fishing Gear, Ltd. NESTCO Life Raft & Survival Equipment
David Blaney Dana Collier Kevin Coyle & Staff
Blaney Marine Safety Marine Safety Consultants Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment
The above Coast Guard certified drill instructors, and proud sponsors, are volunteering their time to provide you with training
TRAINING Friday May 15th, 7:30 A.M. to 2:30 P.M.
At the University of Massachusetts, SMAST Building
706 Rodney French Blvd., New Bedford, MA
* Fire Fighting * Man-Overboard Procedures * Flood & Pump Operation * Use of Flares & EPIRBS * Don Immersion Suits * Deploy Life Raft * Enter Life Raft * Coast Guard Helicopter visit*
PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN IMMERSION SUIT
(Suits will be provided if you don’t have one)
LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED BY OCEAN MARINE INSURANCE AGENCY, INC.
PARKING IS AVAILABLE AT THE NRC BUILDING NEXT DOOR
A NEW IMMERSION SUIT WILL BE RAFFLED OFF
Compliments of NEW BEDFORD HARBOR DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
Call and Register with FRAN ABREU
Tel:(508) 979-1616 ext: 129
New Directions Southcoast, Inc.
7 Safety Steps for Survival
The key to survival at sea is to have an emergency plan and make sure that the entire crew understands it. Practice MONTHLY safety drills that are realistic and involve the entire team. ALWAYS debrief after safety drills.
The City of New Bedford in partnership with the School for Marine Scieence and Technology at U. Mass. Dartmouth regularly host Fishermen Safety Training sessions. To learn more or to sign up for the next training call New Directions in New Bedford at (508) 979‐ 1616 ext 129.
New Bedford scallop boat still offshore after flooding
A city-based fishing boat was being assisted by the Coast Guard and a commercial tugboat Saturday night after it started taking on water about five miles northeast of Cuttyhunk Island, according to the Coast Guard.
As of 9 p.m. Saturday, the 78-foot scalloper Cowboy was still offshore as crew members from the boat and the assisting vessels tried to get the water out of the engine room, according to a Coast Guard spokeswoman. The tides would determine when and where the boat would be towed after the water was drained.
The Cowboy’s crew radioed for help at 2:11 p.m., reporting that the boat was flooding, according to a statement from the Coast Guard.
OPINION: As chief moves on, Coast Guard still owes many answers
Some lessons already learned from the Patriot’s sinking are that the Coast Guard needs to work effectively with local fire departments and other emergency personnel to develop a more urgent means of response; and that the Coast Guard needs to be able to work with NMFS to have consistent VMS access in case of an emergency at sea.
Yet, three months after the loss of the Patriot, there’s no sign any of those changes are in place, or even on the drawing board. And now the Sector Boston captain at the enter of the investigation is being transferred.
That’s far short of providing the needed answers to this tragedy; far short of the kind of action the Russo and Orlando families and all of Gloucester deserve.
Patriot crew’s family to sue tug owner
The owners of the ocean-going tug Gulf Service will face a suit for causing the deaths of Capt. Matteo Russo and his father-in-law John Orlando aboard the fishing vessel Patriot, which sank under mysterious circumstances in early January.
Joseph Abromowitz, attorney for the estate of the late Capt. Matteo Russo, 36, and his pregnant widow Josie, said yesterday he has begun the process of suing Louisiana-based Hornbeck Offshore Services, a publicly traded leader in the tank-barge industry that specializes in moving petroleum between ports.
The 126-foot-long Gulf Service was built in 1979 and is rated for 3,900 horsepower, according to the 2007 annual report for the $1 billion company.
Safety Overview
OPINION: Make a dangerous job safer (Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen embraces Boston Globe editorial)
WASHINGTON, DC (March 21, 2009) – COMMERCIAL fishing is by far the country’s most dangerous occupation. Taking 112 lives per 100,000 workers each year, it easily outstrips the second worst killer, logging, which kills 86. Fishing would be less deadly if the Coast Guard could mandate safety examinations of fishing vessels before they leave the dock, but fiercely independent fishermen have resisted attempts at this. It is high time for the industry and the Coast Guard to sit down and agree on a safety program that could save lives without creating costly or cumbersome hurdles.
A bill granting the Coast Guard the explicit authority to do mandatory dockside examinations was attached to the service’s budget authorization last year. It passed the House overwhelmingly, but the Senate never approved similar legislation, leaving the safety provision high and dry. Under the House proposal, Coast Guard officers could examine fishing vessels at least twice in each five-year period.
The bill would also require a training program for the operators of fishing boats, though it would allow some credit for past experience. The bill calls for two grant programs, one for the training and another for research on fishing safety.
Read the Boston Globe opinion in full via the Coast Guard Commandant’s official blog