NEW YORK – The media is invited to attend an oil spill response exercise briefing at the Hilton Garden Inn, in Staten Island, N.Y., Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2010.

The exercise is being conducted to test multi-agency response capabilities in the event of an actual oil spill in the New York Harbor.

Who: U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port of New York and New Jersey, Capt. Linda Fagan, and Mr. Morton Bouchard of Bouchard Transportation.

What: Media briefing about the joint oil spill response exercise in the Port of New York and New Jersey.

When: Promptly at 7:30 a.m.

Where: Hilton Garden Inn

            1100 South Ave.

            Staten Island N.Y. 10314

 Other media opportunities during the exercise include:

          9:30 a.m. – Boom deployment photo-op aboard Coast Guard Cutter Katherine Walker at Liberty Island.

         11:15 a.m. – Tour of a Bouchard barge at Homeport in Staten Island.

         12:30 p.m. – Tours of exercise command post with additional opportunities for  interviews with Coast Guard and

                             other agency officials.

Media who wish to embark on the Coast Guard cutter are asked to wear closed-toe shoes and long pants.

NEW YORK – Coast Guard Cutter Sturgeon Bay will be returning from the Gulf of Mexico at 1 p.m. on Sunday, August 8, 2010.

The 140-foot Sturgeon Bay was operating out of Panama City, Fla., and working in the Gulf of Mexico for the past month as a command, control and communications platform, directing civilian spotter aircraft for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response.

Permanently homeported in Bayonne, New Jersey, the primary missions of the Sturgeon Bay and its crew are domestic icebreaking and ports, waterways and coastal security. During the winter months, Sturgeon Bay is responsible for providing search and rescue capabilities to the ice-covered areas in the region, in addition to facilitating the safe navigation of commercial product, including gasoline and heating oil through the Hudson River from New York City to Albany.

The Sturgeon Bay is commanded by Lt. Daniel J. Everette, a 2001 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and a native of Pittsfield, MA.

Interested media representatives should contact Coast Guard Public Affairs at 917-703-0983.

NEW YORK - The following advisory concerns waterways closures during the Willis Avenue Bridge replacement span, scheduled to be loaded onto two barges at Port Coeymans, N.Y., on Monday, July 12, 2010. The two barges will transport the bridge span down the Hudson River to the Weeks Marine Yard in Jersey City, N.J. on July 13 and 14, 2010.

The following restrictions will be enforced during the noted timeframes. The restrictions may be revised during the transit due to unforeseen conditions that may be encountered.

From 230 p.m., July 12 - 530 p.m. July 12: Coast Guard Cutter Ridley and an Albany County Marine Patrol asset will enforce a full Hudson River closure from between 42°28’42.100”N - 073°47’19.100”W (Hudson River Light - 191 LLNR 38865) and 42°29’11.692”N - 073°47°14.142”W (Hudson River LIGHT 193 LLNR 38875). No vessels are authorized to enter the zone during the bridge span transfer from shore to the Weeks barges. Once the bridge is secured to the barges and ready for sea, the Hudson River will be reopened for traffic.

From 530 p.m., July 12 – 530 a.m., July 13: Barges will be tied up along shore, and the Hudson River will be open to all traffic.

From 530 a.m., July 13 – 530 a.m., July 14: No vessels will be authorized to be within 100 yards of the two Weeks Marine barges with the loaded bridge span during this period. Vessels are required to transit at no-wake speed when meeting or overtaking the two Weeks Marine barges.

From 530 a.m., July 13 - 830 a.m., July 13: The bridge barge will be underway, southbound. Coast Guard Cutter Ridley will enforce a 14-mile closure to all commercial traffic. Recreational traffic will be permitted. The river will progressively re-open north of the moving bridge span. The barge will transit at an estimated 4-5 knots (Speed Over Ground).

From 830 a.m., July 13 - 245 a.m., July 14: The Hudson River will be open to all traffic once the barges meet at Light 129 (Green Brandow Point). Coast Guard Cutter Ridley and two boats will enforce a moving no-wake zone.

From 245 a.m., July 14 – 530 a.m., July 14: The barge will be expected to be in the vicinity of the George Washington Bridge. Two Coast Guard Station New York response boats with crews will arrive on scene to assist Coast Guard Cutter Ridley for the duration of the escort. There will be a 'no meeting' and 'no overtaking' zone during the 60-minute transit between the eastern and western sections of Anchorage Ground No. 19 on the Hudson River (directly south of the George Washington Bridge).

By 415 a.m., the barge is expected to be in the vicinity of the Holland Tunnel Vents. It is scheduled to be moored at Weeks Yard in Jersey City by 530 a.m.

Vessel Traffic Service for Sector New York will make periodic broadcasts on VHF 16 advising mariners to remain clear while the barges are being loaded, and to avoid the above areas during transit.

For additional information, please contact Mr. Jeff Yunker at 718-354-4195, or Lt. William George, 718-354-4114, Office of Waterways management

BAYONNE, N.J. -- The media is invited to attend a time-honored military change of command ceremony aboard the Bayonne, New Jersey-based Coast Guard Cutter Sturgeon Bay at Memorial Park Military Ocean Terminal, Bayonne, N.J. at 11:00 a.m., July 6, 2010.

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Daniel J. Everette will relieve Lt. Cmdr. Scott Rae as the commanding officer aboard the multi-mission, 140-foot ice-breaking tug in a long-standing naval tradition, recognizing the legal transfer of authority and responsibility from one commander to another.

WHAT: Change of Command Ceremony.
WHO: Coast Guard Lt. Daniel J. Everette will relieve Lt. Cmdr. Scott Rae as the commanding officer, Coast Guard Cutter Sturgeon Bay.
WHERE: 51 Port Terminal Blvd, Bayonne, New Jersey.
WHEN: 11:00 a.m., July 6, 2010.

Media members should contact Mr. Charles Rowe, Sector New York public affairs officer, at 718-354-2359.

Everette’s most recent assignment was the GPS and Broadcast Group Lead for the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) at the Coast Guard Command and Control Engineering Center (C2CEN) in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Everette’s professional awards and achievements include the Coast Guard Commendation Medal, Coast Guard Achievement Medal, Commandant Letter of Commendation, three Arctic Service Medals, and the Antarctica Service Medal. In addition, he is a FAA certificated Multi-Engine Commercial Pilot and holds a current Flight Instructor Certificate.

Rae grew up in the Midwest and received a Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Michigan University in 1988. He enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1990. Upon graduation from basic training, he was assigned to Aids to Navigation Team Georgetown where he became a Boatswain Mate Petty Officer 3rd Class. Soon after, he was transferred to Coast Guard Station Curtis Bay in Baltimore, MD, where he quickly advanced to Boatswain Mate 2nd Class and was in charge of a 10-person duty section that conducted search and rescue, law enforcement and environmental protection on the Upper Chesapeake Bay.

Rae's first sea duty assignment was aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Point Highland homeported in Chincoteague, VA. He was accepted to Officer Candidate School in 1999, and graduated as an Ensign in 2000. After assignments in New Jersey, Virginia and the Persian Gulf, Rae assumed command of Coast Guard Cutter Sturgeon Bay, and was promoted to lieutenant commander February 1, 2010. 

Rae’s awards include the Permanent Cutterman pin, Coxswain and Boat Force Operations Insignias, Coast Guard Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corp Commendation Medal, Coast Guard Achievement Medal, Coast Guard Commandant's Letter of Commendation, Combat Action Ribbon, Iraq Campaign Medal and several other unit and team awards. 

Rae will transfer to Coast Guard Training Center, Cape May, N.J., to assume the duties as the Regimental Officer for recruit training.

NEW YORK -- U.S. Coast Guard Captain Linda Fagan will relieve Captain Robert O'Brien as commander of Coast Guard Sector New York and Captain of the Port of New York and New Jersey during a time-honored military ceremony on Staten Island, Thursday, June 24, 2010.

Fagan will become the first female Captain of the Port of New York and New Jersey in U.S. Coast Guard history.

The change of command ceremony is a naval tradition that recognizes the legal transfer of authority and responsibility from one commander to another, while preserving the continuity of command vital to any military organization.  Rear Adm. Daniel A. Neptun, commander of the Coast Guard's First District, located in Boston, will officiate the ceremony.

Fagan reports to New York from Washington, D.C., where she served as the executive assistant to the Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Thad Allen. Fagan's 25-year career has taken her to all seven continents; from Ross Island, Antarctica to Africa, from Tokyo to Geneva, and many points in between.

Fagan has a Bachelor of Science in Marine Science from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, a Master's in Marine Affairs from the University of Washington, and a Master's in National Security Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Her personal awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, three Coast Guard Commendation medals, and the Arctic and Antarctic Service medals.

Sector New York is the largest operational field command in the Coast Guard. With more than 1,000 active duty personnel and 300 reservists, the Sector is charged with maritime safety, security and stewardship for the port of New York and New Jersey.

O’Brien is closing out a career of service to his nation that has spanned more than 40 years. He served as an enlisted man for more than 10 years, advancing from Seaman to Chief Boatswain’s Mate, before being commissioned in 1980. Throughout his career, O'Brien has served ashore and afloat with assignments in North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, New York, Maryland, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C. He has commanded Sector New York since 2006.  As such, the expected distinguished guests will include Commissioner Raymond Kelly of the NYPD; Brig. Gen. Patrick Murphy, the Adjutant General of New York, and Rear Adm. Timothy Sullivan, commander, Force Readiness Command and deputy commander Coast Guard Pacific Area. 

Immediately following the change of command ceremony, outgoing Captain of the Port O'Brien will retire in a separate ceremony.

Media interested in attending should contact Charles Rowe, Sector New York public affairs officer, at 347-585-2901.

Who: Captain Fagan to relieve Captain O'Brien as Coast Guard Sector New York commander

What: Change of Command ceremony

When: 10 a.m., Thursday, June 24, 2010

Where: Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301