CUTTER
NAME:

DATE OF
ACCIDENT

TYPE OF
ACCIDENT

DAMAGE
ASSESSMENT
[Original damage assessment as per Cutter Operations Division 1990 report--if the accident listed is from that report]

Air Partridge

Nov 1947

Towing collision

Moderate

Air Peacock

Nov 1947

Towing collision

Moderate

Air Tanger

Nov 1947

Towing collision

Moderate

Eastwind

19 Jan 1949

Collision

Major, 13 Dead

White Holly

27 Aug 1949

Collision

Minor

Macoma

28 Mar 1950

Grounded

Total loss

Macoma (2nd)

08 May 1952

Grounded

Minor

Sweetbriar

11 July 1953

Holed on rock

Moderate

Linden

10 Feb 1955

Grounded

Minor

1955 -- "Storis ran aground in the Wrangell Narrows, near Petersburg, Alaska. She was then sent to Seattle for major repairs."

Iris

19 Oct 1957

Struck submerged object

Moderate

Iroquois

06 Mar 1958 (incorrect date; see below)

Grounded

Major

"The [above] report was in error. Actual date the Iroquois grounded was 29 June 1954."

Ironwood

15 Oct 1958

Grounded

Minor

Mallow

04 Dec 1959

Collision

Minor

General Greene

07 Mar 1960

Grounded

Moderate

1960 -- Acushnet & General Greene: "On 7 March 1960 the Acushnet collided with the General Greene when the Acushnet attempted to rescue and prevent the General Greene from going aground. This caused a four foot gash on her port side and a hole under her bow caused by its own anchor coming through her hull after the anchor had been lowered to prevent the Acushnet from going aground while trying to get rescue lines to the General Greene."

1960 -- WAL 505 Relief sank after the SS Green Bay rammed her while the former was on station on 24 June 1960 at the entrance of Ambrose Channel.

Gentian

09 Nov 1961

Collision

Moderate

1962: "Spar sank to her main deck in Narragansett Bay in 1962 after striking the bottom just north of Prudence Island, Rhode Island."

1962 -- "Winnebago went aground on Tripod Reef in the west corridor at the entrance of Pearl Harbor at 2310 hours on 26 March 1962. This was . . . due to a navigation error by a junior officer. With the assistance of U.S. Navy tugs, she was eventually refloated and returned to service."

Papaw

31 Jan 1963

Collision

Moderate

1963 -- Tamaroa: "In March 1963 the Tamaroa sank while in dry-dock at Bushey's Red Hook, Brooklyn. She was raised, repaired, and returned to service."

Mesquite

10 Apr 1964

Grounded

Moderate

Ingham

10 May 1965

Fire

Moderate

Point Glass

26 May 1965

Collision

Minor

Fir

15 Jul 1965

Grounded

Minor

Cape Carter

19 Jul 1965

Collision

Moderate

Owasco

24 Aug 1965

Grounded

Moderate

Walnut

01 Sep 1965

Collision

Minor

Point Thatcher

04 Oct 1966

Struck submerged object

Major

Arbutus

15 Jul 1966

Grounded

Minor

Chautauqua

20 Jan 1967

Fire

Moderate

1967 -- Yakutat: "On July 6, 1967, USCGC Yakutat WHEC-380 collided with the USN tanker Cimarron during refueling in the waters off Viet Nam, split 14 frames, returned to Subic Bay for repairs."

1967 -- Staten Island: "In the summer of 1967 the Staten Island bounced on the bottom while traveling west from Prudhoe Bay after completing a survey of the area. . .The swells were five foot at the time and soundings for that area were extremely scarce. The charts for that area were still listed as 'classified.' The damage sustained was not major."

Eagle

Jan 1967

Collision

Major

Resolute

10 Jan 1968

Collision

Moderate

Avoyel

10 Jan 1968

Collision

Moderate

Barataria

24 Mar 1968

Explosion

Moderate

Bittersweet

12 Apr 1968

Struck submerged object

Moderate

Sauk

08 Oct 1968

Grounded

Major

Loganberry

03 Dec 1968

Struck submerged object

Total loss [incorrect--raised & repaired]

White Alder

07 Dec 1968

Collision

Sank, Total Loss, 17 Dead

1969 -- Evergreen: "In 1969 the Evergreen had a major engine room fire."

1969 -- Staten Island: "In 1969 a fire broke out in the transformer vault area amidships, near the EM shop, on board the Staten Island while moored in Seattle. The compartment was locked and the duty EM did not have a key. The fire spread into the cork insulation on the hull. This created a smoky mess. The Seattle Fire Department had to use phosphorus rings to cut through the deck, to attack the fire. I do not believe there were any major injuries, but the fire did quite a bit of damage."

Escanaba

Jan 1969

Motor burnt out

Adrift, minor

Point Verde

13 Jan 1969

Fire

Minor

Acacia

12 Mar 1969

Collision

Minor

Southwind

15 Aug 1969

Grounded

Minor

Storis

07 Sep 1969

Holed by ice

Moderate

1970 -- Edisto: "I served aboard the Edisto on Deepfreeze 69-70, it should be noted that while breaking pack ice we broke our rudder shaft and also lost our port screw's fairwater. We were then sent to a floating drydock [for] roughly a month in Wellington, N.Z., and had the rudder stock flown in from Seattle."

Courier

12 Jun 1970

Collision

Minor

Point Brower

13 Jul 1970

Capsized

Moderate

Kukui

24 Jul 1970

Collision

Minor

1971 -- Staten Island: "In early 1971 the Staten Island struck a submerged uncharted rock. Sustained substantial hull and keel damage. Sailed with pumps running to Melbourne, Australia for emergency repairs, then home to Seattle for dry-dock repairs."

1971 -- Morgenthau: "In 1971 the Morgenthau suffered major damage to its keel and losing both propellers and the sonar dome while on patrol in Vietnam. She was towed back to Subic Bay for repairs."

1971 -- Sherman: "1971 the CGC Sherman while underway departing Boston Harbor for an ocean station had one turbine explode which blew a hole in the side of her hull."

Spar

29 Jan 1971

Grounded

Minor

Duane

03 Aug 1971

Grounded

Minor

1971 -- Castle Rock: "1971 Operation Market Time: While in a yard period at [Singapore] a sea chest valve on board the CGC Castle Rock was improperly reinstalled, which effectively flooded an entire engine room. Two months for repairs."

Hornbeam

24 May 1972

Collision

Major

Minnetonka

20 Jun 1972

Heater Explosion

Moderate

Eagle

Jun 1972

Collision

Substantial

1972 -- Minnetonka: "On 20 June 1972, on board the Minnetonka, a water heater in the CPO mess exploded, killing one crewman."

The Coast Guardsman who lost his life was EM3 Craig J. Surmeier, USCG.

Edisto

05 Oct 1972

Collision

Major

Jarvis

15 Nov 1972

Grounded

Major

Sweetgum

13 April 1973

Grounded

Minor

1974-75 -- Burton Island: "While on Deep Freeze '75, while escorting the USNS Pvt John R Towle through the ice pack, the Burton Island hit a pressure ridge, stopped, the Towle didn't. Left a second notch in the stern. Damage was later repaired in Long Beach, CA."

Clover

26 May 1975

Grounded

Moderate

Basswood

18 Oct 1975

Grounded

Minor

Ingham

04 Jun 1974

Collision

Minor

1976 -- Ingham: "June 4th or 6th of 1976 when the Ingham arriving Boston rammed the dock almost head on. Required immediate shipyard availability to repair the eight-foot gash in her bow. Repairs to the minor? damage were completed and she steamed under a full head of power to catch up with Eagle and the rest of the squadron."

1977 -- Unimak: "In 1977 the Unimak suffered a major fire and she remained out of commission for a year."

Mariposa

21 Nov 1976

Grounded

Moderate

1977 -- Midgett: "1977 fire on board the CGC Midgett: On 30 March 1977 a rack light in a forward berthing area on the 2nd deck caught fire to a pillow and spread quickly throughout the berthing. The fire lasted for over an hour and took the life of one MKC. He died of smoke inhalation."

The Coast Guardsman who lost his life was MKC William D. Gray, USCG.

Duane

25 Jul 1977

Shaft Damaged

Minor

Dallas

10 Aug 1977

Flooding

Moderate

Westwind

13 Dec 1977

Grounding

Minor

Basswood

24 Jan 1978

Grounding

Moderate

Sagebrush

02 May 1978

Grounding

Moderate

Sedge

14 Aug 1978

Collision

Moderate

Confidence

14 Aug 1978

Collision

Moderate

Mahoning

12 Sep 1978

Collision

Minor

Cuyahoga

20 Oct 1978

Collision

Sank, Total Loss, 11 Dead

Westwind

01 Feb 1979

Collision

Minor

Citrus

27 Feb 1979

Struck submerged object

Major

1979 -- Ingham: "On 4 July 1979 the Mary Ann, a suspected drug smuggling vessel, collided with the Ingham."

Blackthorn

28 Jan 1980

Collision

Sank, Total Loss, 23 dead

Iris

24 Apr 1980

Fire

Minor

Jarvis

07 Oct 1980

Collision

Moderate

Durable

04 Dec 1980

Fire

Minor

Polar Sea

28 Jan 1982

Grounded(Actually collision--see below)

Moderate

"The Polar Sea entry for 28 Jan 1982 was incorrect. The USNS Yukon collided with the Polar Sea while the latter was escorting the Yukon north out of McMurdo Sound. The Polar Sea was stopped by ice when the Yukon collided with her, causing moderate damage."

The third mate of the Yukon corrected the last statement: "Concerning your list of USCG cutter accidents - I was third mate aboard the tanker USNS Yukon when it collided with the stuck Polar Sea in January of 1982. It is rather misleading to imply the Yukon collided with the Polar Sea. The Polar Sea switched off its turbines and decided to operate solely on diesels to save fuel, as they stated the ice was getting thinner. They relayed this to our vessel. Then the ice started to thicken and the Polar Sea requested we maintain a closer cpa as the ice was closing in. Shortly after we closed up, per their request, they went up on the ice and got stuck because it had thickened up again. We went immediately full astern on the Yukon, but due to the narrow channel we were unable to miss the Polar Sea. We shifted the helm at the last minute to minimize the damage to both vessels. This accident was caused by the Polar Sea trying to save fuel, not a simple tanker hitting them. I think that should be made clear in your archives. I was on watch at the time of the incident."

Gallatin

18 Jul 1982

Grounded

Minor

1983 -- Eastwind: "During her last Antarctic trip (1983), the Eastwind collided with the edge of an iceberg. Hot water was used to melt the edge jammed into the ship's hull. She was temporarily patched and made Sydney. There she was more permanently repaired to make the trip back to Mobile, Al, which she accomplished in 1984. There was no loss of life."

1984 -- Westwind: "On 1 January 1984 the Westwind sustained major hull damage in the Weddel Sea on a Deep Freeze cruise." LT Clarence Bonner provided more details: "The Westwind was caught in a pressure ridge, which ripped a 6ft high, 140ft gash down her side, above the waterline. The crew patched it with rubber sheeting until they could get out of the ice, then with plywood, and limped into South America for steel repairs. I was an RM2 at her homeport of Mobile at the time and recall the message traffic well, and had friends on her."

Snohomish

13 Jan 1984

Struck submerged object

Moderate

Dallas

24 Jun 1984

Grounded

Moderate

1984 -- Polar Sea: "The USCGC Polar Sea had a fire in an auxiliary engine space early to mid-July 1984 while in drydock at Todd Shipyard, Seattle, Washington. There were no significant personnel injuries."

1985 -- Polar Sea: "The Polar Sea encountered a rogue wave off the coast of Queen Charlotte Island in the Gulf of Alaska in [October of] 1985. An MST3 died of head injuries shortly after tumbling head over heels from one end of the bridge to another several times and crashing head first into the helm console. An ensign suffered a broken arm."

The Coast Guardsman who lost his life was MST3 Bradley J. Galik, USCG.

Chase

08 May 1985

Fire

Minor (see below)

Cutter Division originally classified this mishap as "minor" but in fact the fire killed Chase crewman MK3 Nicholas V. Berei, USCG. The fire caused extensive damage and the cutter had to be towed into port by CGC Chilula for lengthy repairs.

White Sage

15 Dec 1985

Collision

Moderate

Point Franklin

15 Dec 1986

Grounded

Minor

Point Steele

31 Mar 1987

Grounded (?)

Minor

1987 -- Farallon: "The Farallon struck a reef off of the Berry Islands in the Bahamas, 1987-1988."

Vigorous

1 Jun 1989

Fire

Minor

1989 -- Chandeleur: "The Chandeleur struck a coral head in June of 1989 in the Bahamas. It made its way back to Miami on one screw where temporary repairs were effected (replaced the stbd screw). It then made its way on one screw to the CG yard for repairs. I believe this resulted in the first strut replacement done on a 110'. Damage sustained was: cracked stbd fin stabilizer, bent port and stbd screws, bent port shaft, bent port strut, cracked port rudder."

Mesquite

04 Dec 1989

Grounded

Total loss

Naushon

05 Dec 1989

Grounded

Minor

Sledge

09 Jan 1990

Grounded

Moderate

Planetree

25 Jan 1990

Grounded

Undetermined

1992 -- Point Harris: "The Point Harris was badly damaged during Hurricane Iniki in Hawaii in 1992. She was decommissioned and sold."

1993 -- Boutwell: "In [1992] the Boutwell was struck by a rogue wave while in transit to her ALPAT area. The bridge crew reported green water breaking over the pilot house. The wave heavily damaged the RHI, stove in a watertight door, carried away a weatherdeck ladder and a P-250 pump and smashed a porthole in the XO's head."

[This incident occurred on 13 December 1992 as per R. M. EdAngelis (Ed.), "Marine Weather Review [-] Casualties," Mariner's Weather Log 37, 2 (Spring, 1993), p. 76. The Marine Weather Log report stated: "The USCGC Boutwell was on Alaska patrol on the 13th and they were battling 30-ft seas when a 'freak' wave estimated at more than 40 ft crested and broke over the ship, staving in a water tight door and causing other minor damage."]

1994 -- Polar Star: "In January 1994 the Polar Star's number 1 auxiliary boiler blew up due to a firebox explosion. The burner door almost blew clean off as described in the 1999 accident, and the whole upper end of the boiler's air box ripped open causing approx 100,000dollars worth of damage. Due to the grace of God no one was injured. . .The cause was found to be a contaminated main flame fuel valve. Anyway the crew quickly extinguished all fires and eased all steam pressure from the affected systems. The Seattle Fire Department double checked. The blast had been heard from at least 2 miles away. My boys did everything right that night. I departed Polar Star in June of 1994 just days before light offs on the newly rebuilt number 1 boiler."

1994 -- Spencer: "In February, 1994, the USCGC Spencer (WMEC-905) experienced a fire in an electronics space on the 02 deck forward of the hanger, days before getting underway for an Atlantic fisheries patrol. The fire was extinguished by duty section personnel and the Boston Fire Department, but not before it gutted the space and burned through an expansion joint and slightly warped the aluminum bulkheads and overhead. The crew of the Spencer had the space cleaned out and assessed the necessary repairs, enabling the cutter to get underway on time. Spencer returned to port nine days later to have the repairs performed and equipment replaced, and then resumed the patrol."

1995 -- Point Evans: "In 1995 the Point Evans ran aground near Molikini Crater leaving a 12-foot long six-inch deep indentation in her keel and rather large pieces missing from her prop."

1996 -- Firebush: "The Firebush ran hard aground in April of 1996 in Bechivan Bay, Alaska. A M/V attempted to help her off (the M/V ended up running aground herself). She later floated free of the sand she was stuck on."

1997 -- Cowslip: "The Cowslip collided with the M/V Ever Grade (Panamanian) in the
Columbia River on 15 May 1997. She was repaired and returned to service."

1997 -- Polar Star: "Polar Sea rammed in to the M/V Green Wave while tying up to the ice pier [at McMurdo Base, Ross Island] during her Deep Freeze 1997 deployment [early-February 1997]. The Green Wave claimed $300,000 worth of damage to itself, while the Polar Sea will wear a 10-foot long crease in its port racing stripe to its grave."

1998 -- Polar Star: "In early November 1998 the Polar Star was southbound, near Hawaii, when one of her boilers exploded the inspection door open. This door nailed a young fireman square in the forehead causing major injuries."

"I was on Polar Star Aug-95 to Aug-98. Unless the above was a nearly duplicate incident. . . .this actually occurred in July 98 while heading northbound to the Arctic. I still remember the poor fireman crying out in sickbay after the incident -- he was lucky to have lived. We had to sit in Kodiak AK for several days to rig a donkey boiler so we could continue up north to the Arctic."