Category: VA

BARGE REFLOATED AS CLEAN-UP OF OIL SPILL PROGRESSES NORFOLK, Va. – The tank barge VB 53, which grounded in the upper James River on Sunday, May 8, 2005, was successfully refloated at about 7:00 a.m. today. Divers have determined that there are cracks in the bottom of the barge caused by the grounding. The barge […]

Coast Guard Responds to James River Oil Spill; Update #1 NORFOLK – Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Hampton Roads has moved its Command Post for the oil spill on the upper James River to Osborne Park Landing, just above river from the location of the grounded barge. This new location will improve coordination between the […]

COAST GUARD RESPONDS TO JAMES RIVER OIL SPILL NORFOLK, Va. – Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Hampton Roads is responding to a report of a diesel fuel spill from the tank barge VB 53 on the upper James River below Richmond. The spill was reported to the Coast Guard National Response Center at 11:41 a.m. […]

SAILBOAT CAPTAIN DIES WHILE TRYING TO SAVE CREW PORTSMOUTH, Va.- Survivors of the sailing vessel Almeisan distress have provided additional details concerning the loss of the vessel’s captain, Thomas Tighe. After experiencing extreme weather and pounding surf, Tighe activated an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon and began preparing a life raft to evacuate his crew. […]

MISSING SAILORS FOUND PORTSMOUTH, Va. – One sailor was rescued and one was recovered deceased from the sailing vessel Almeisan early today 400 miles off the Virginia coast. Thomas Tighe, 65, from Patterson, N.Y., was discovered at 5:45 a.m. today deceased. His body was recovered by the motor vessel Sakura Express, a Panamanian-flagged tanker ship […]

COAST GUARD ASSISTS DISABLED SAILBOAT PORTSMOUTH, Va. – The Coast Guard is assisting in the rescue of four people from a demasted sailboat 240 miles south east of Cape Hatteras. Norm Pilkey, 60, owner of the double-masted sailboat Eskasoni, initially contacted the Coast Guard Wednesday evening to report trouble with his masts. He indicated that […]

SAILORS ABANDON SHIP 400 MILES OFF VIRGINIA COAST PORTSMOUTH, Va. – A local Coast Guard command center is coordinating the rescue efforts today of two men in a life raft approximately 400 miles east of Virginia Beach, Va. Thomas Tighe, from Patterson, N.Y., and Lochlin Reidy, from Woodbridge, Conn., abandoned their 45-foot sailing vessel, Almeisan, […]

TWO SAILORS PLUCKED FROM ROUGH SEAS PORTSMOUTH, Va. – A Coast Guard helicopter pulled two men from the water this morning 55 nautical miles east of Cape Lookout, N.C., after encountering rough weather and taking on water. Robert Cummings, 40, the vessel owner from Newport News, Va., and Jerry McCarthy, 35, from Charleston, S.C., left […]