“Coast Guard SAR and Marine Safety operations protect those on the sea by minimizing the loss of life, injury and loss of property. The Coast Guard maintains highly efficient incident response and recovery capabilities to effectively minimize the impact of disasters to people, the environment and the economy. The Coast Guard’s response to Hurricane Sandy and Deepwater Horizon are noteworthy examples of this mission focus,” according to the strategy.
“The Coast Guard’s extensive efforts to prevent maritime accidents are guided by our emphasis and oversight on maritime regulations, inspections and investigations and the development of global shipping safety standards through the International Maritime Organization. Coast Guard vessel inspections include a focus on both domestic and foreign vessels. At every major U.S. port, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port has broad legislative authorities to enforce regulations and institute safety and security zones for the protection and security of vessels, harbors and waterfront facilities. Coast Guard safety operations will continually adapt to increased energy exploration and production, commercial vessel activity, fishing, transit and tourism.”
Members of a Coast Guard search and rescue crew from a St. Louis-based Disaster Area Response Team drag their skiff to a launching point on New Orleans’ South Carrollton Avenue to look for people in distress on Sept. 4, 2005, following Hurricane Katrina. USCG photo by PA3 L.F. Chambers
In 2007, the Coast Guard released an admittedly “subjective” list of the top 10 rescues in the service’s history to that point:
Hurricane Katrina (2005)
Although ranking at the top of the Coast Guard’s own “Top 10 Rescues” list, the Coast Guard’s SAR efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are not included in the service’s official tally of lives saved. While there are no “footnote” explanations, that may be because those were not rescues at sea; rather, most were New Orleans residents lifted from the roofs of their homes by 76 Coast Guard aircraft or taken to safety by the 42 cutters and 131 smallboats involved. Overall, more than 5,000 Coast Guard men and women saved 24,135 lives from imminent danger and “evacuated to safety” 9,409 patients from local hospitals. More than 33,000 rescues were performed by boatcrews (21,200) and 1,817 aircraft sorties flying more than 4,291 hours (12,535).
Dutch Cruise Ship Prinsendam (1980)
On Oct. 4, 1980, a fire broke out on the Dutch cruise ship Prinsendam off Ketchikan, Alaska, and the ship’s captain ordered the 520 passengers (many elderly) and crew to take to the lifeboats and abandon ship. U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian helicopters and the CGCs Boutwell, Mellon, and Woodrush joined other vessels in the area for rescue operations, complicated by the cruise ship being 130 miles from the nearest airstrip. Nonetheless, thanks to their efforts and the coordination of independent organizations, all aboard were rescued without loss of life or serious injury before the Prinsendam capsized and sank.
SS Pendleton and SS Fort Mercer (1952)
A severe nor’easter off the New England coast on Feb. 18, 1952, caused two T-2 tankers – the SS Fort Mercer and SS Pendleton – to break in half. A four-man motor lifeboat from Station Chatham, Massachusetts, managed to reach the Pendleton, with coxswain BM1 Bernard C. Webber skillfully maneuvering his 36-foot craft under the stricken ship’s stern, where its crew had been trapped. The sailors jumped into the icy water one by one and were pulled into the lifeboat, with 33 of the Pendleton’s 34 crewmen successfully rescued. Other Coast Guard vessels, aircraft, and lifeboat stations helped transport those victims to shore and defied the severe winter conditions to rescue another 29 from the foundering Fort Mercer, with a loss of only four lives. Five Coast Guardsmen – including Webber and his entire crew – earned the Gold Lifesaving Medal, four earned the Silver Lifesaving Medal, and 15 earned the Coast Guard Commendation Medal for their actions that day.
A U.S. Coast Guard Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican helicopter hovers near the stern of the Holland America cruise ship Prinsendam in the Gulf of Alaska. Prinsendam was sailing near Ketchikan, Alaska, at midnight on Oct. 4, 1980, when a fire broke out in the engine room. U.S. Coast Guard, Air Force, and Canadian Coast Guard helicopters and the CGCs Boutwell, Mellon, and Woodrush responded. All 520 passengers and crew were saved in one of the Coast Guard’s greatest rescues. The vessel later capsized and sank. U.S. Defense Imagery photo by Staff Sgt. Richard D. McKee
World War II Transport Ship Dorchester (1943)
The Allied transport ship Dorchester was torpedoed and sank off the coast of Greenland on Feb. 3, 1943, with the surviving sailors having only minutes to live in the cold North Atlantic waters after abandoning ship. The CGCs Comanche and Escanaba, on convoy escort duty, responded immediately, with the crew of the Escanaba employing a new “retriever” rescue technique in which wetsuit-clad Coast Guardsmen swam out to the victims and secured lines, enabling them to be hauled onto the ship. Escanaba saved 133 men (one died later) and Comanche saved 97.
Joshua James and the Hull, Massachusetts, Life-Saving Station (1888)
During a major storm that hit near the Hull, Massachusetts, Life-Saving station on Nov. 25-26, 1888, station keeper Joshua James and his crew rescued 28 victims from five different vessels. Due to the number of victims and vessels, the severe weather, and the duration of their efforts, the station crew employed a variety of rescue techniques, including the use of beach apparatus and rescue boats. For their “versatility, endurance, skill and dedication,” James and his crew were awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal.