Contact: Ninth Coast Guard District Public Affairs Office
(216) 902-6020
| Ninth District External Affairs U.S. Coast Guard |
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| News Release |
Date: August 16, 2009 Contact: Petty Officer |
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Coast Guard assists vessel taking on water CLEVELAND - The U.S. Coast Guard assisted a vessel taking on water near Toledo, Ohio, Saturday, at approximately 12:17 a.m. Coast Guard Station Toledo received notification, at approximately 12:14 a.m., that a 36-foot vessel, with four adults aboard, was taking on water after colliding with an aid to navigation in the Maumee River Channel. The Station launched their 25-foot response boat and arrived on scene at 12:24 a.m. A nearby dredging barge assisted the distressed vessel with dewatering. The operator of the distressed vessel reported nearly four feet of water had entered the craft in a matter of minutes. All persons were wearing life jackets and no injuries were reported. The boat crew utilized a portable dewatering pump and was able to reduce the level of water inside the vessel. After determining that there was no pollution risk, the station crew towed the damaged vessel back to Bayview Yacht Club, where the owners had friends waiting to remove the vessel from the water. “We got on scene really fast and by working with the crew of the barge we got the water level down to a point where we could safely tow them in to shore,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Lance Sapp, the small boat engineer aboard Toledo’s 25-foot response boat. The Coast Guard requires all recreational boats to carry one wearable PFD (Type I, II, III or Type V PFD) for each person aboard. Any boat 16 feet and longer (except canoes and kayaks) must also carry one throwable PFD (Type IV PFD). The law states you must have a PFD on board, but the Coast Guard recommends you wear your PFD at all times when boating. It is much more difficult to locate, access or don a PFD at the moment the accident occurs. Additional information on life jackets (PFDs), can be found at http://www.uscgboating.org/safety/fedreqs/equ_pfd.htm For more information contact the Ninth District Public Affairs Office at (216)-902-6020. ### Saving Lives and Guarding the Coast Since 1790. |
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