[FedCom] Coast Guard issues its own distress call - NorthJersey.com

Wed Sep 28 12:46:43 EDT 2011

Yes, USCG must respond regardless, but having RDF info that the 
MAYDAY transmitter is actually *inland* (or in any particular 
direction) would help USCG locate them--regardless of whether it's a 
hoax or not.

-bernieS

At 05:36 AM 9/28/2011, "~Bill" <ecps92 at earthlink.net> wrote:

>But relying on RDF is not an option, they still need to respond, just like
>your Police and Fire on a Dropped or Hang-up 9-1-1 call
>
>
>Bill Dunn           N1KUG
>Cruise Ship Frequencies
>http://scanmaritime.com/
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: fedcom-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:fedcom-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
>On Behalf Of bernieS
>Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 3:23 AM
>To: Discussion of Federal Government Communications
>Subject: Re: [FedCom] Coast Guard issues its own distress call -
>NorthJersey.com
>
>For a fraction of what USCG says it costs them to follow up on these
>hoax mayday calls, they could probably deploy RDF (radio
>direction-finding) gear at each USCG station, and also some
>solar-powered buoys with automated RDF gear to provide approximate
>directional info of the transmitters reporting the maydays.  That
>would at least indicate if the calls were coming from a direction
>consistent with where they were being reported.
>
>-bernieS
>
>
>At 07:35 PM 9/27/2011, you wrote:
> >http://www.northjersey.com/news/130518688_Coast_Guard_issues_its_own_distre
>ss_call.html
>
> >In the overnight hours of a mild June morning, a caller told the Coast
>Guard
> >the crew was abandoning ship in Sandy Hook Bay because their sailboat was
> >taking on water.
> >
> >
> >STAFF PHOTOS BY TYSON TRISH
> >Buy this photo
> >Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Dan Blouch patrolling Sandy Hook Bay
> >this summer.
> >Buy this photo Coast Guard rescuers from the Sandy Hook station sped to the
> >location. A helicopter and rescue aircraft from the federal agency deployed
> >from Atlantic City and Massachusetts. A state police helicopter assisted.
> >
> >The end result: no boat, no sailors and an $88,000 Coast Guard price tag.
> >
> >False alarms
> >The U.S. Coast Guard received the following number of probable
> >hoax/uncorrelated mayday calls: Fiscal year (Oct. 1 through Sept. 30)
> >
> >For the coverage area that encompasses northern New Jersey, New York City
> >and the Hudson River:
> >
> >2008: 35
> >2009: 55
> >2010: 49
> >2011: 36
> >
> >For the coverage area of Sandy Hook to Cape May:
> >
> >2008: 6
> >2009: 9
> >2010: 11
> >2011: 10
> >
> >Uncorrelated maydays are radio calls the Coast Guard receives with very
> >little information other than "Mayday" or "Help." There is no location or
> >name reported and no descriptions.
> >
> >Source: U.S. Coast Guard
> >
> >During a U.S. Coast Guard search, it costs approximately:
> >
> >$1,830 an hour to operate a 25-foot response boat
> >
> >$4,492 an hour to operate a 45-foot response boat
> >
> >$11,078 an hour to operate a helicopter out of Atlantic City
> >
> >$12,566 an hour to operate a fixed-wing aircraft
> >Hoax distress calls have always been a frustrating part of the Coast
>Guard's
> >job, putting rescuers and other boaters with possible emergencies in
> >unnecessary danger. But it's taxpayers who must foot the bill for those
> >responses.
> >
> >Since 2008, the agency received 211 of what it officially labels
> >"uncorrelated mayday" and probable hoax calls for an area that includes New
> >Jersey, New York City and the Hudson River. And with a few more weeks left
> >in the boating season, more could occur.
> >
> >"It's a bad economy, everybody's hurting and this makes it worse," said
> >Petty Officer 1st Class Dan Blouch of Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook.
> >
> >"It goes beyond frustration," added Chief Warrant Officer Brandon S.
>Brewer,
> >commanding officer, Public Affairs Detachment New York. "It's us
>potentially
> >putting our crews at risk when there's not really a distress call. And that
> >coupled with the fact that God forbid there is a real distress call at the
> >same time, our resources will be tied up searching for someone who's not
> >there."
> >
> >In the region that encompasses northern New Jersey, New York City and the
> >Hudson River, the calls spiked from 35 in fiscal 2008 to 55 in 2009. But
> >they dropped to 36 in fiscal 2011, which ends Friday.
> >
> >Calls in the coverage area of Sandy Hook to Cape May gradually climbed from
> >six in fiscal 2008 to 11 in 2010 with 10 reported so far in 2011, according
> >to agency statistics.
> >
> >"There's no rhyme or reason to an increase or decrease, but it's dangerous
> >and it's expensive no matter what - whether it's one or 100," said Charles
> >Rowe, public affairs officer for Coast Guard Sector New York.
> >
> >On average, several thousand dollars is expended every time rescue crews
> >respond to a suspected hoax call. For example, an 87-foot patrol boat
> >dispatched to a scene costs $3,667 per hour while a helicopter out of
> >Atlantic City costs $11,078 per hour.
> >
> >When a distress call is received, the Coast Guard always responds with
>radio
> >communications or by launching a rescue boat or helicopter, said Commander
> >Stacey Mersel, chief of the command center for Coast Guard Sector New York.
> >
> >"When we get the call, we never assume it's a hoax," she said. "We think
> >it's the real deal. The goal is to save a life."
> >
> >Dispatchers are also assisted by relatively new direction-detection
> >technology called Rescue 21 that more accurately locates radio distress
> >signals and narrows a search area.
> >
> >The nature of suspected hoax calls vary with some consisting of only one
> >word such as "Mayday" or "Emergency" before the connection is lost. Others
> >have been made by unsupervised children using the radio on their parents'
> >boats or intoxicated boaters playing practical jokes.
> >
> >Rescue officials speculate that fake distress calls are sometimes made
> >because the offenders are seeking attention or want to feel powerful.
> >
> >"It's very frustrating because you're out there searching for hours and you
> >don't find anybody and you don't know if it's a hoax," said Blouch during a
> >patrol of the Sandy Hook area this summer.
> >
> >In the June 14 incident in Sandy Hook Bay, the Coast Guard spent nearly
> >$88,000 during the 600-square-mile search for the Courtney Lynn crew after
> >receiving two distress calls. The first claimed the 33-foot sailboat was
> >taking on water. The second, 20 minutes later, reported the four crew
> >members were transferring to a small gray dinghy because the vessel was
> >sinking.
> >
> >Federal officials were told the crew didn't have a hand-held radio, flares
> >or a sound-producing device.
> >
> >Officers later determined the transmissions were false distress calls and
> >the case remains under investigation. A $1,000 reward has been offered for
> >information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the person who wasted
> >the rescuers' time.
> >
> >The difficulty of finding the hoax caller depends on the circumstances of
> >the case, said Bill Hicks, special agent in charge for the Coast Guard
> >Investigative Service's Mid-Atlantic region.
> >
> >"Sometimes it's very difficult because there are hundreds of places where
> >people could facilitate the call from," he said. "Sometimes it's easy
> >because people tell you what their name, phone number and address are."
> >
> >The investigative service, which has units scattered throughout the
>country,
> >turn the cases over to the U.S. Attorney's Office for prosecution.
>Offenders
> >who make false distress calls face hefty punishment including a maximum
>five
> >to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, an $8,000 civil penalty and
>possible
> >reimbursement.
> >
> >
> >Bill Dunn           N1KUG
> >Cruise Ship Frequencies
> >http://scanmaritime.com/
> >
> >
> >
> >
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