On the evening of September 29, 2014, Robert Doug Schrecengost, 59, was found dead in the water near Dock R at Shilshole Bay Marina. The Port of Seattle reported that it appears he drowned, with no signs of foul play or intentional death. Seattle Fire Department tried to revive him…
On September 23, 2014 at 1:15 pm, a crewmember of the fishing vessel TERESA JEAN, located off Patos Island in the San Juan Islands, called the US Coast Guard in Bellingham, WA to report that a diver needed immediate assistance due to decompression sickness. According to the Coast Guard report,…
Commercial fishing is still the most dangerous job in the nation. Knowledge is power and potential survival, so every mariner can learn from reading the seventh edition of “Beating the Odds: A Guide to Commercial Fishing Safety, by Susan Clark Jensen and Jerry Dzugan of the Alaska Marine Safety Education…
With the recent approval of the Washington State Maritime Cooperative’s new oil spill contingency plan, a seminar will be held Friday, October 24th, 2014 at the Doubletree Guest Suites Southcenter at 7:45 AM. The seminar is free, and intends to address the significant changes of the new plan. Attendees will…
On August 31, 2014, the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound received a mayday call from a good Samaritan who found a capsized boat with 8 people, 7 adults and a child, in distress. The good Samaritan was able to pull up the 3 people in the water, while the rest…
The Coast Guard Cutter Terrapin, ported in Bellingham, returned September 1st, after a patrol to help control drug trafficking from Southern Baja California. The 42-day patrol involved cooperation with both United States Customs and Border Protection, as well as the Mexican navy. On August 21st, a boat was reported as…
On Labor Day 2014, the U.S. Coast Guard and Washington Department of Ecology received word that oil, as well as strong petroleum odors, had appeared in the Ballard Mill Marina on Salmon Bay. The Coast Guard and Department of Ecology have established a unified command to oversee the plan and…
A Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crew rescued a man and woman whose 12-foot skiff had run aground on a mud flat near Willapa Bay, Washington. The command center received a call for help late September 6th, after the vessel had become stuck. The two individuals made a second call for…
Partially in response to Washington State’s tourism office being eliminated by budget cuts in 2011, two South Sound Congressmen have proposed a federal designation of Puget Sound as a heritage area. The 13 mile stretch of coast would not be subject to the same regulations as a wilderness or wetland,…
Earlier this year, the Washington State Department of Ecology approved of the Washington State Maritime Cooperative’s oil spill contingency plan, applying it to all vessels in Puget Sound and non-tank vessels in Grey’s Harbor. The WSMC website allows vessel owners to quickly enroll in the plan, laying out the regulations…