U.S. Coast GuardU.S. Coast GuardNational Strike Force National Strike Force

CDR Richard J. SchultzCommanding Officer, Atlantic Strike Team

Entire Brief is UNCLASEntire Brief is UNCLAS

La PrincesaLa PrincesaBarge GroundingBarge Grounding

Updated: Dec 09

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Incident BackgroundIncident Background

• November 13, 2009• Crowley Barge La Princesa was being towed from

Puerto Rico to Pennsauken, NJ in a strong nor’easter with 25’ seas

• 2.25” steel tow lines parted when tow was near Delaware sea buoy (MD/DE state line)

• Unmanned barge carrying 312 intermodal containers (some with hazardous materials) drifted and made landfall 130 miles south in Virginia Beach, VA

• Barge continued to drift south along beach toward a fishing pier at Little Island Park

• Double bottom tanks were intentionally ballasted to stop barge movement 120 yards north of the pier

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Position of LA PRINCESA when tow line parted

Position of LA PRINCESA when she grounded

LA PRINCESA drifted approx. 130 NM SE

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Position of LA PRINCESA when

SEC Hampton Roads notified

21NM NE of Cape Charles Lt, VA

Position of LA PRINCESA when she grounded

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Notification and Response Day 1Notification and Response Day 1

• 0445 Sector Hampton Roads requests Atlantic Strike Team (AST)

assistance• 0545 AST duty team arrives at unit for

brief and equipment load-out• 0800 AST mbrs (4) depart unit

- 2 Response Supervisors (MSTC & DC1)

- 2 Response Members(ENG3 and BM2)

• 1515 AST arrives at Sector Hampton Roads for briefing from Cmd Center and Sector Commander

• 1700 AST on scene at Little Island Park, Sandbridge Beach, VA

• 1715 Permission granted to use an old CG station, decommissioned in 1964, as a Command Post

• 1715 Provided media interview as to what AST mission and goals were at the incident

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Day 2Day 2

• 0100 Set up wx station and air monitoring stations on beach• 0130 Set up comms schedule with Cmd Center to provide real-time

updates of o/s conditions• 0900 Provided media interview• 1140 Conducted boarding, with air monitoring, of barge to assess

condition of containers and vessel for the safety of salvage team No hazmat releases; no serious structural integrity issues

• 1400 Conducted media briefing

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Day 3Day 3• 0830 AST and commercial salvage crews

boarded barge to stage tow gear• 0900 Provided media interview• 1000 Marine Chemist gas freed all double

bottom tanks• 1440 Tow line staging on beach began• 1600 Seas prove to be to difficult for

salvage team jet skis to take tow lines from barge to tugs

• 1800 CG Sta Little creek agrees to ferry tow lines using new 45’ jet drive boat and line throwing gun

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Day 4 & Day 5Day 4 & Day 5

Day 4---• 1324 CG Sta Little Creek fires line throwing

gun to connect to aft tow line.• 1430 Aft line connected to tug #1• 1600 Bow line connected to tug #2

Tugs keep a light strain on lines and wait for next high tide in AM

Day 5---• 0700 Tugs make tow attempt w/o success• 1100 Tug #3 connected to assist• 1800 High tide tow attempt• 1920 Tow line parts on one tug• 2300 Barge has moved 100 yds north but

still grounded• 2330 Media interviews given

Tugs keep a light strain on lines and wait for next high tide in AM

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Day 6Day 6

• 0700 Tow attempt made with 2 tugs

• 0747 Barge removed

• 0800 Notifications made

• 0830 Media interview given

• 1100 AST demobilization from incident

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OverviewOverviewAST Personnel & Equipment:4 AST members 1 Weather Station1 G.V. (Suburban) 1 11K Generator1 Computer Kit 2 SCAT Packs1 TVA-1000 1 EMT Kit2 Multi-Rae 8 Radios1 FLIR Camera 1 SAT Phone1 Digital Camera 1 ICS Kit1 DVD Camera 1 Damage Assess Kit

AST Response Activities Included:• Air monitoring of shoreline adjacent to vsl• Weather monitoring / recording• Status reporting of operations to Sector Command Center & AST• Photo & video documentation• Onboard damage assessment of intermodal containers and vessel prior to

salvage operations (Multi-Rae and TVA-1000 employed)• Media interviews (continuous progress updates)• Enforce safety regulations during salvage operations• Ensure salvage team adhered to salvage plan, tow plan, and site safety plan

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Any Questions?Any Questions?

Atlantic Strike Team: (609) 724-0008

http://uscg.mil/hq/nsfwebhttp://www.strikeforcenews.com