Posthumous awards for two Coast Guard legends: Rear Admiral William M. Benkert and Captain Dominic A. Calicchio.

The Marine Inspection and Investigation School at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Training Center in Yorktown, Va., recently held a ceremony to honor two distinguished marine safety icons, Rear Admiral William M. Benkert and Captain Dominic A. Calicchio.

Coast Guard Vice Admiral Brian Salerno, Deputy Commandant for Operations, served as the ceremony speaker.

“If my signature looks like my hand was shaking when I signed the certificates awarding the Marine Safety Pin to Rear Admiral Benkert and Captain Calicchio, it probably was,” Vice Admiral Salerno said. “These are two icons of marine safety, and I have been in awe of them throughout my marine safety career.”

Rear Admiral Benkert’s son, Mr. Alan Benkert, and Captain Calicchio’s brother, Merchant Marine Captain Fred Calicchio, also attended the ceremony to honor their distinguished family member.

Rear Admiral Benkert graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1943 and served in the Pacific during World War II. His career spanned 38 years, during which he was entrusted with numerous afloat and ashore commands. The William M. Benkert Award for Environmental Excellence was established in his honor to recognize marine industry companies that have distinguished themselves in environmental stewardship.

Captain Dominic Calicchio entered the Merchant Marine in 1943 to support the war effort. He joined the Coast Guard in 1968 and quickly made a name for himself as a safety-conscious captain of the port and a tough, no-nonsense marine investigator. Robert Frump’s book Until the Sea Shall Free Them: Life, Death, and Survival in the Merchant Marine, tells the story of the Marine Electric sinking and highlights Captain Calicchio’s efforts to uncover the casualty’s cause.

As is appropriate for men of this stature, Rear Admiral Benkert’s and Captain Calicchio’s uniforms and artifacts are on display in the main entrance of Hamilton Hall at U.S. Coast Guard Training Center.



At the ceremony to honor their family members, Rear Admiral Benkert’s son, Mr. Alan Benkert, (left); and Captain Calicchio’s brother, Master Mariner Captain Fred Calicchio, (center); receive the accolade from U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral Brian Salerno.



Understanding Acrylonitrile

This "Chemical of the Quarter" excerpt is from the U.S. Coast Guard “Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council” magazine, by LCDR Gretchen Bailey, Marine Inspector, U.S. Coast Guard Hazardous Materials Standards Division

What is it?
Acrylonitrile is a colorless to pale yellow volatile liquid that is soluble in water and used in common solvents. Technical-grade acrylonitrile is more than 99 percent pure and always contains a polymerization inhibitor.

Acrylonitrile is a reactive chemical that polymerizes (converts one compound into another) spontaneously, either when heated or in the presence of a strong alkali. I

How is it shipped?
Acrylonitrile is typically shipped as a liquid in low-pressure tank railcars, as liquid in tank barges, or by truck as liquid in non-pressure liquid tanks.

Why should I care?
Shipping concerns.
Acrylonitrile is a polymerizing cargo that can become explosive when heated or involved in a fire. This product has a very low flash point—30 degrees Fahrenheit—and using water to fight the fire may be inefficient. When this cargo is heated or burned, it may produce a toxic vapor of hydrogen cyanide gas, so it is essential to keep a safe distance during a fire. Additionally, its vapor is heavier than air and has been known to travel a considerable distance to an ignition source, then flash back to the spill.

Health concerns.
It is very toxic by ingestion, inhalation, or absorption through the skin. Symptoms of poisoning will begin with irritation of the eyes, limb weakness, difficulty in breathing, dizziness, and impaired judgment. If the degree of poisoning increases, the symptoms will progress to cyanosis, nausea, collapse and loss of consciousness, irregular breathing, convulsions, and respiratory arrest.

Because it is lighter than water, acrylonitrile will form a light surface sheen when spilled on the water. Sorbent booms, pillows, and other containment tools will be contaminated and must not be handled without appropriate personnel protective equipment. However, due to its moderately high solubility, acrylonitrile will quickly dissolve into the water column.

Fire or explosion concerns.
Acrylonitrile is flammable and has the capability to explode. This happens when the cargo is heated, causing a polymerization reaction, which is highly exothermic. If the cargo is involved with a fire, the fumes from the cargo are a poisonous gas and should be avoided.

It is essential for emergency responders to wear self-contained breathing apparatus and rubber overclothing (including gloves), and to combat the fire from a safe distance or protected location. The most efficient way to extinguish the fire is with dry chemical foam, alcohol foam, or carbon dioxide. With water, use spray or fog; do not use straight stream.

What is the Coast Guard doing about it?
Acrylonitrile is categorized as a “Subchapter D” cargo, regulated in 46 Code of Federal Regulations Part 30.25. This cargo is carried in tank barges and ships that are required to be inspected by the Coast Guard.

Required design and construction standards for these vessels include:
· being double-skinned,
· having spacing between the hull and the inner tank wall,
· employing individual tank manifolds and pumps to avoid cross-contamination,
· utilizing a separate tank venting facility,
· being capable of internally circulating the tanks,
· being capable of being ventilated.

For more information:
Full article is available at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/fall2010.

Subscribe online at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/subscribe.asp.

U.S. Coast Guard Recreational Boating Safety Specialists—Part 2

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine

Regional Emphasis

USCG First District

In the 1st District, paddlesport safety is a huge concern.

Many fatalities occur on whitewater or in colder coastal waters as paddlers take advantage of the seasonal changes. The RBS specialist works with the Coast Guard Auxiliary, outfitters, retailers, and other paddling organizations coordinating training seminars to enhance safety awareness and risk-based decision making.

USCG Fifth District

The 5th District specialist serves as Executive Secretary of the Virginia Recreational Vessel Subcommittee and manages the Coast Guard Outreach Innovation Center, which contains a variety of boating safety outreach materials and displays for RBS partners.

USCG Seventh District
Due to a year-round boating season and a high population of seasonal residents and tourists, the 7th District specialist travels around the district with a Boating Advisory Trailer Public Awareness Kit. Also known as the “Bat-Pak,” this rolling boating safety classroom provides hands-on recreational boating safety training.

USCG Eighth District
The 8th District specialist serves as the district boating under the influence and Boating Safety Strike Team program manager. The strike team supports state marine patrol efforts during annual high-profile marine events such as Cincinnati’s “Tall Stacks” and provides surge capability on waters popular with exuberant boaters, such as the Lake of the Ozarks.

USCG Ninth District
The 9th District’s specialist coordinates joint training for marine patrol officers, collaborates on annual district boarding and BUI guidance, and is a contributing writer for Mid-America Boating, a regional newspaper for Great Lakes boaters.

USCG Eleventh District
In the 11th District, the RBS specialist participates in the “Wear It California!” life jacket campaign. Supporting several booths at various marinas in “the Delta,” where the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers meet, inflatable life jackets are distributed to anyone who signs a pledge to wear it when on the water.

The RBS specialist also participates in the Tri-State Boating Safety Fair at Lake Havasu, Ariz., assisting officers from Arizona, California, and Nevada with life jacket trade-in.

USCG Thirteenth District
The 13th District’s specialist manages the district recreational boating policy. In addition, he or she is a member of the Washington State Drowning Prevention Coalition, the Washington State Parks Boating Safety Council, and is an advisory member to several boating advocacy groups.

USCG Fourteenth District
The 14th District recreational boating safety specialist oversees the CG-4100 report of boarding forms and coordinates a variety of safe boating events and activities related to the annual National Safe Boating Week observance.

USCG Seventeenth District

This specialist is perhaps the most unique. The 17th District RBS specialist deploys RBS teams to the Arctic to raise boating safety awareness and instill best practices among the regional Native American tribes. In addition, he or she employs boating education and safety teams around the state, oversees the CG-4100 report of boarding forms, and coordinates boarding officer and boarding team member training.

Full article is available at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/fall2010.

Subscribe online at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/subscribe.asp.

Visit Part 1 here for more information on U.S. Coast Guard Recreational Boating Safety Specialists.

U.S. Coast Guard Recreational Boating Safety Specialists—Part 1

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine by Mr. Frank Jennings, Jr., Recreational Boating Safety Specialist, Ninth Coast Guard District and Mr. Bruce R. Wright, Recreational Boating Safety Specialist, Seventh Coast Guard District

While the Coast Guard headquarters’ Boating Safety Division functions at a strategic level, recreational boating safety (RBS) specialists are assigned primarily to district prevention division staffs.

Myriad Duties
Recreational boating safety specialists each serve as the principal Coast Guard liaison to individual state boating law administrators and their staffs. This regular contact may involve discussions of unclassified Coast Guard operations within the state; emerging recreational boating issues, boating casualty investigations, or joint operations planning; or local boaters’ complaints.

Recreational boating safety specialists also coordinate and host workshops and professional training programs, serve as the Coast Guard’s “ambassadors” to RBS partners, such as municipal water safety agencies, local safe boating coalitions, the Red Cross, and the U.S. Power Squadrons, and hold active memberships in organizations including the National Safe Boating Council, National Water Safety Congress, and International Association of Marine Investigators.

Jurisdiction
In addition to liaison duties, these specialists are responsible for the district recreational boating safety cooperative agreements the Coast Guard maintains with each state and territory, which delineate the responsibilities shared by the state and Coast Guard on waters of concurrent jurisdiction.

Special Efforts
One overarching safety message continues to be the importance of wearing a life jacket when boating. However, because boating constituencies and activities vary from district to district, the message may require slight modification to reach localized user groups.

Stay tuned for U.S. Coast Guard Recreational Boating Safety Specialists—Part 2.

Full article is available at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/fall2010.

Subscribe online at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/subscribe.asp.

The National Water Safety Congress

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine by Ms. Cecilia Duer, Executive Director, National Water Safety Congress

Established in 1951 as one of the first non-profit water safety organizations, the National Water Safety Congress is a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting boating and water safety.

Its efforts include:

• publishing the Water Safety Journal, course curriculum for “Cold Water Boot Camp USA,” “Beyond Boot Camp: Rescue, Recover, Re-warm,” and the “Multiple Use Waterway Management Guide;”


• establishing a personal watercraft instructor/cold water immersion/first responder trainer certification program;


• completing a life jacket national wear rate validation study;


• providing grants for boating and water safety projects.

Leadership
The NWSC executive director serves as a member of the USCG’s National Boating Safety Advisory Council, Vice Chair of the Strategic Plan Committee, and liaison to the Towing Safety Advisory Council. The executive director is a board member of the partner organization the National Drowning Prevention Alliance and is also the executive director of the Spirit of America Youth Family and Community Boating Education programs.

Full article is available at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/fall2010.

Subscribe online at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/subscribe.asp.

The Vessel Identification System

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine by Mr. W. Vann Burgess, Senior Recreational Boating Safety Specialist and Ms. Kathleen Poole, Western States Grant Coordinator, U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Division

Currently 32 states and territories have access to a secure database for all vessels documented by the Coast Guard. The data is accurate to within the last 30 days and can be used to verify ownership of a vessel while a law enforcement officer is on scene, as well as to identify abandoned vessels or vessels involved in an accident or search and rescue case.

Getting More States on Board
The advantages of this type of system are obvious, yet there are still states that are not participating. Some are facing barriers such as state privacy laws, or their system of numbering doesn’t provide a unique identifier for each record. Some states cannot provide the information in a format that can be translated into the system.

Making sure that states and the Coast Guard share as much timely information with each other as possible to protect our nation’s waterways and citizens is a top priority. The Coast Guard strongly encourages those states not yet participating to re-energize efforts to resolve any issues preventing participation and work with the Coast Guard to bring this system up to its full potential.

For more information:
Full article is available at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/fall2010.

Subscribe online at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/subscribe.asp.

Operation Dry Water

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine by Mr. Mike Baron, Recreational Boating Safety Specialist, U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Division, Program Operations Branch

From June 26-29, 2009, “Operation Dry Water,” served to illustrate that BUI (boating under the influence) is a nationwide problem, and that law enforcement is taking it seriously. Coordinated activities occurred in 52 of 56 U.S. states and territories where federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies worked side by side to make the weekend a success.

One Sector’s Statistics
U.S. Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads in Portsmouth, Va., has an area of responsibility that covers a large portion of the Chesapeake Bay and its adjacent coastal and state waters. Sector Hampton Roads’ Operation Dry Water stats:

• 1,079 dedicated hours
• 372 U.S. Coast Guard boardings
• 1,635 boardings by other government agencies
• 7 arrests for BUI
• 5 arrests for other crimes discovered during the boarding process
• 13 recreational vessel voyages terminated

Future Plans

Plans are in place to make Operation Dry Water an annual event. It’s imperative, however, that boaters are aware that law enforcement professionals are serious about BUI, and that the weekend of Operation Dry Water isn’t the only time the laws will be enforced.

For more information:Full article is available at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/fall2010

Subscribe online at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/subscribe.asp.

A boater’s blood alcohol content (BAC) registers above the .08 legal limit. Photo courtesy of the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

For more information visit http://www.operationdrywater.org/

A Century of Recreational Boating Safety—Part 2

Over the years many boating safety organizations have worked with the Coast Guard to collectively make boating safer and more enjoyable. These invaluable partners include:

The National Water Safety Congress
The American Boat and Yacht Council
The National Safe Boating Council
The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators
The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
The U.S. Power Squadrons
BoatU.S.
U.S. Sailing
The National Boating Federation
The American Canoe Association
The Boy Scouts of America (Sea Scouts)
The American Red Cross
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The National Marine Manufacturers Association
The National Boating Safety Advisory Council
The Water Sports Industry Association
The Personal Watercraft Industry Association
The Personal Flotation Device Manufacturers Association
United Safe Boating Institute

For more information:
Full article is available at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/fall2010

Subscribe online at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/subscribe.asp.