Coast Guard Searching for Delilah

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Coast Guard is searching for a vessel 145-miles east of Savannah, Ga.

A mayday was sent out by the Delilah, Friday at approximately 3 p.m., which was overheard by several aircraft and relayed to the Coast Guard. The pilots overheard that the vessel had six people aboard, a blue hull and were taking on water.

A Coast Guard C-130 fixed-wing aircraft from Air Station Clearwater, Fla., and Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., the Coast Guard Cutter Yellowfin, the Coast Guard Cutter Spencer, and Good Samaritans have been searching a 2,100-square-mile area for the vessel.

The Coast Guard is requesting assistance from anyone who might have more information on Delilah. Please contact the District Seven Command Center in Miami at 305-415-6800 if you have any information on Delilah.

Coast Guard Unveils National Maritime Center

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Coast Guard will unveil its National Maritime Center during a ribbon cutting ceremony and dedication scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at 100 Forbes Dr., Martinsburg, W.Va.

Although not yet fully staffed, the NMC is fully operational and houses U.S. Merchant Mariner Licensing and Documentation production as well as the Merchant Mariner Training Course Approval and Oversight Program.  The center is expected to employ approximately 200 military, federal civilian and contract employees once fully staffed. Construction of the 60,000 square-foot NMC began in late 2006 and was completed in December 2007.  The NMC moved from its temporary facility in Kearneysville to the new facility in Martinsburg once construction was completed.   

The mission of the NMC is to issue credentials to qualified mariners and approve maritime training courses in the most efficient and effective way possible.  While the Coast Guard's Mariner Licensing and Documentation program is centralized at the center, 17 Regional Examination Centers operate as "storefronts and advocates" for the approximately 212,000 actively employed merchant mariners who require the services of the NMC.

The General Services Administration and the Coast Guard worked in partnership to construct the NMC with developer JDL Castle Corp. and Mackie Johnson Architects, both of North Carolina, Bristol Group Construction of Kentucky and MBP Construction Engineering Inc. of Virginia.  The building is owned by JDL Martinsburg LLC, an affiliate of JDL Castle Corp., and is leased by the Coast Guard at a cost of $30 million over the next 20 years.

The NMC building is expected to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified through the U.S. Green Building Council, and recognized for conserving energy and being a high-performance sustainable building.  Additionally, low water usage plants were used for "green" landscaping and strategically placed large rocks from the building site's natural landscape form a physical security barrier for the building.

The National Maritime Center is commanded by Coast Guard Capt. David Stalfort.  For more information about the Coast Guard NMC visit their website at http://www.uscg.mil/stcw/ .

Coast Guard Announces Successful Launch of
Nationwide Automatic Identification System Satellite

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Coast Guard announced Friday the launch of an ORBCOMM concept demonstration satellite, equipped with Automatic Identification System (AIS) capability, from Kapustin Yar, Russia, Thursday.

The satellite attained a proper orbit and is expected to start transmitting operational data within the next three months.  The U.S. Coast Guard Nationwide Automatic Identification System (NAIS) Project sponsored equipment on the satellite to test the feasibility and effectiveness of AIS message reception and reporting from space for ship tracking and other navigational activities.  The launch marks an important milestone in the development of the NAIS project. 

The NAIS project will improve maritime domain awareness for the U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security by using the integrated network of AIS equipment and user interface services that display and exchange AIS-equipped vessel information for maritime safety and security.  Data collected by the NAIS supports the nation's maritime interests by promoting vessel and port safety through collision avoidance, and through detection, traffic identification, and classification of vessels out to 2,000 nautical miles from shore. 

The NAIS project is being implemented in three primary increments.  Increment one, fielded in September 2007, currently provides the capability to receive AIS messages at 55 critical ports and nine coastal areas across the nation.  Increment two (with nationwide AIS transmit and receipt coverage) will provide the capability to receive AIS messages out to 50 nautical miles and transmit AIS messages out to 24 nautical miles along the entire coastline of the U.S. and designated inland waterways.  Increment three will extend the coverage for receipt of AIS messages out to 2,000 nautical miles from shore.  The upcoming satellite testing will assist in the development of Increment three of the NAIS project. 

For more information on the project visit: http://www.uscg.mil/nais/, and for more information on automatic identification system technology, standards and carriage requirements visit: http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/enav/ais/

Coast Guard Medevacs Woman 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, Ga., medically evacuated a woman from a sailing vessel six-miles east of St. Simons Island, Ga., Friday at approximately 1:30 a.m.

Justine Schiro, 35, residence unknown, was aboard the sailing vessel Sweet Lady, when she began vomiting blood. Other members aboard the sailing vessel then contacted the Coast Guard for help.

Coast Guard Air Station Savannah immediately launched to medevac the woman. Once on scene, she was hoisted and taken to Southeast Georgia Regional Medical Center in Brunswick, Ga., for medical care.