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VT Halter Marine to Build for NOAA
NOAA said that VT Halter Marine Inc. of Pascagoula, Miss., will complete the final design and build of a new Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull Coastal Mapping Vessel, or SWATH CMV, for the agency. NOAA exercised a $15m option for the ship with VT Halter Marine, which also completed the vessel's preliminary design under a separate option. The primary mission of the SWATH CMV will be to map the full seafloor in coastal areas for the nation's nautical charts. It will operate in waterways along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, Caribbean Sea and Great Lakes, conducting basic hydrographic surveys of the seafloor using side scan and multibeam sonar technologies. The vessel's ability to monitor and detect changes to the seafloor-including obstructions, shoaling and other dangers to navigation-will enhance the nation's commerce and security and improve NOAA's ability to characterize marine ecosystems. VT Halter Marine expects to deliver the SWATH CMV by the summer of 2008. The 124.6 ft. (38m) vessel will be homeported at Fort Point in New Castle, N.H., and will replace the 40-year-old NOAA ship Rude. Locating the vessel at New Castle will significantly enhance coastal and ocean mapping research partnership opportunities with the NOAA Joint Hydrographic Center at the University of New Hampshire. U.S. Senator Judd Gregg, who was instrumental in securing funds for the SWATH CMV, stated, "This vessel provides a cutting-edge platform for NOAA and UNH scientists and undergraduates to test new ocean mapping technologies and conduct hydrographic research in near coastal environments, previously inaccessible with traditional vessels. The SWATH ship will help to grow the already successful UNH-NOAA partnership and help UNH remain a national leader in oceanographic work." Once operational, the new SWATH CMV will be operated, managed and maintained by the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, composed of civilians and commissioned officers of the NOAA Corps, one of the nation's seven uniformed services. The SWATH will support the nautical charting mission of the NOAA Office of Coast Survey. bor. Captain O'Neill said the men, employees of a local power plant taking water samples from the harbor, had a hand-held radio and they were able to establish contact fairly quickly. While Captain O'Neil stayed in radio contact to pinpoint the men's location, the crew prepared the rescue boat and emergency first aid supplies. The men told O'Neill they were near Tongue's Point and the ferry headed in that direction. O'Neill said it took just a few minutes to spot the men and their capsized vessel, which was being tossed about by two and three foot waves. He estimated the boat was between 17 and 19 ft. long. The ferry arrived at the scene at 6:12 and O'Neill said they maneuvered the vessel -- which is 300 ft. long, to block the wind and waves -- which were blowing at around 25 knots. That allowed them to launch the rescue boat manned by crew members Brian Smith and Fred Campbell. At 6:25, the men were taken aboard the rescue boat and examined by the crew, then transferred to a Bridgeport Police boat, which had arrived at the scene. Captain O'Neill said the crew has weekly drills to prepare them for a range of emergencies, from water rescues to fires to medical emergencies.
Ferry Crew Rescues Three
A crew from the Bridgeport and Port Jefferson Steamboat Co. rescued three people who were clinging to their capsized boat and shaking in the 59-degree water. The men had been in the water for about 25 minutes when they were pulled aboard a lifeboat from the ferry, the Grand Republic. The mayday call from the boat went out at 6:01, just as the ferry was preparing to depart from Bridgeport Har-
USCG Merchant Mariner Physical Exam Reqs
The Coast Guard recently published two Federal Register notices relating to physical examination requirements for merchant mariners, based on National Transportation Safety Board recommen-
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10 · MarineNews · November, 2006