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False Maritime Distress Calls Affect Coast Guard, Taxpayers, Mariners in Distress
U. S. Coast Guard
April 04, 2005
SAN DIEGO - For more than
210 years the U.S. Coast Guard has responded to distress calls at sea and in local waterways. Usually the callers are truly
in distress. But some of those calls are suspected or found to be false distress calls or hoaxes.
This causes concern
because hoax calls hurt: The Coast Guard by placing our people in danger by operating ships, boats and aircraft, responding
to these false distress calls; the taxpayer by wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars annually; and those truly in distress
by interfering with legitimate search-and-rescue cases.
It is a federal felony for anyone to knowingly and willfully
communicate a false distress message to the Coast Guard or cause the Coast Guard to attempt to save lives and property when
no help is needed. This includes, but is not limited to, firing flares in a non-distress situation and/or saying "Mayday,
Mayday, Mayday" for a radio check.
Penalties include up to six years in prison, $250,000 fine, $5,000 civil penalty,
and possible reimbursement to the Coast Guard for costs of the search.
The Coast Guard must remain vigilant and take
all distress calls seriously. The maritime environment is too dangerous to do otherwise. The perpetrator of hoaxes is fleecing
America and we are working with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Department of Justice to prosecute and recover
costs for the federal government on behalf of the taxpayer.
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If you hear a hoax, or you have information which might lead to the perpetrator of a hoax, call
the nearest U.S. Coast Guard unit or contact the FCC.
For additional information on false distress calls, hourly values
of Coast Guard assets, hoax statistics, and information on prosecuted hoax cases, go to http://www.uscgsandiego.com/external/index.cfm?cid=830&fuseaction=EXTERNAL.docview&do
cumentID=65755.
To interview a San Diego-based, U.S. Coast Guard member concerning local hoax issues, contact Petty
Officer Robert K. Lanier, 11th Coast Guard District Public Affairs - San Diego, at (619) 683-6552, phone, or (619) 247-5064,
mobile.
Coast Guard to Honor Helicopter Crew for Heroism
U. S. Coast Guard
April 18, 2005
SEATTLE - The crew of a Coast Guard HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast
Guard Group/Air Station Astoria, Ore., will be recognized Monday for heroic actions performed during a long distace rescue
off the Washington coast.
Commander Karl Baldessari, Ens. Amy Sandbothe, Petty Officer 2nd Class Stephanie Sera and
Petty Officer 3rd Class Gabriel Sage will be awarded the Air Medal for heroic achievement in aerial flight.
On Oct.
19, 2004, the crew responded to a distress call from the 55-foot sailing vessel Kamaa, nearly 200-miles off the coast of Washington,
after the vessel was caught in a storm that threatened the lives of the two men aboard.
Robert Wallace, a 59-year-old
man from Massachusetts, and Joe Dubose, a 33-year-old man from Hawaii, were safely lifted into the helicopter despite 50-knot
winds and 20-30-foot seas. The Kamaa's engine was disabled, the focsle was split and several portholes were blown out.
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