Coast Guard response continues after cruise ship Saint Laurent hits St. Lawrence Seaway lock wall

 

June 20, 2015
 
CLEVELAND, OHIO

The Coast Guard is continuing to respond to a 286-foot cruise ship that hit a concrete wall in the Eisenhower Lock in the St. Lawrence Seaway in Massena, New York.

All passengers were removed from the ship Friday afternoon and transported by bus to Montreal, Canada.

The vessel was freed from the lock wall with the assistance of the tug Pierre Julien and was moved to a lower wall of the seaway. Divers conducted a survey of the vessel and determined that the extent of the damage was to the bow of the vessel and that the vessel can sail under its own power.

The Saint Laurent is scheduled to sail to Quebec City, Canada Sunday.
Navigation is open at the Eisenhower Lock.  At least 17 vessels have been delayed due to the closure.

At 9:45 p.m. Thursday night, a search-and-rescue controller at Coast Guard Sector Buffalo received notification of the allision.

A crew aboard a 25-foot response boat from Coast Guard Station Alexandria Bay, New York, responded along with a marine inspector from Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Massena.

The Saint Laurent is a cruise ship owned by International Shipping Partners.
The cause of the allision is under investigation.

There were 274 people, including passengers and crew, aboard at the time of the collision.

The Eisenhower Lock is one of two U.S. locks on the 10-mile-long Wiley-Dondero Canal, which provides access to Lake St. Lawrence and is operated by the SLSDC, a modal administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Why do ships use "port" and "starboard" instead of "left" and "right?"

Unlike left and right, "port" and "starboard" refer to fixed locations on a vessel.

Port side of NOAA Ship Fairweather.

Since port and starboard never change, they are unambiguous references that are independent of a mariner’s orientation, and, thus, mariners use these nautical terms instead of left and right to avoid confusion. When looking forward, toward the bow of a ship, port and starboard refer to the left and right sides, respectively. 

In the early days of boating, before ships had rudders on their centerlines, boats were controlled using a steering oar. Most sailors were right handed, so the steering oar was placed over or through the right side of the stern. 

Sailors began calling the right side the steering side, which soon became "starboard" by combining two Old English words: stéor (meaning "steer") and bord (meaning "the side of a boat"). 

As the size of boats grew, so did the steering oar, making it much easier to tie a boat up to a dock on the side opposite the oar. This side became known as larboard, or "the loading side." Over time, larboard—too easily confused with starboard—was replaced with port. After all, this was the side that faced the port, allowing supplies to be ported aboard by porters.

The Deadly U.S. Roads: 2 killed, 2 injured in two-vehicle head-on collision on Main Street in Racine, WI; driver taken into custody after fleeing the scene

  June 21, 2015

 

RACINE, WI

Racine police say two people were killed in a crash involving two vehicles that occurred early Sunday morning, June 21st.

It happened just after 1:30 a.m. in the 100 block of Main Street.

Police say an initial investigation determined one vehicle was headed north on Main Street when it was struck by another vehicle headed southbound.

The driver of the southbound vehicle fled the scene on foot — but he was quickly taken into custody.

The northbound vehicle had three occupants. All three were taken to the hospital. Two of the vehicle’s occupants died at the hospital. The third occupant was transferred to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee for treatment.

The driver of the southbound vehicle was taken to the hospital for treatment after he was taken into custody. A passenger in the southbound vehicle is also being treated for injuries.

The Racine Police Department’s Traffic Unit, Major Crimes evidence technicians and Wisconsin State Patrol are investigating this incident.

Anyone with information as to this incident is asked to contact Crimestoppers at (262) 636-9330 or by texting RACS plus your message to CRIMES (274637) and referring to Tipsort I.D. #TIP417 with your message.

1 driver killed, 1 passenger seriously injured when motorcycle hits deer in North Dakota; they were not wearing helmets

JUNE 21, 2015

 

WALHALLA, N.D. (AP) - 

A Minnesota man is dead and his passenger injured after their motorcycle collided with a deer in northeastern North Dakota.

The North Dakota Highway Patrol says the two were traveling west on a Pembina County road from Cavalier to Walhalla when their motorcycle hit a deer on the road and went into the ditch at 10:30 p.m. Friday.

Both riders were thrown from the bike. Neither was wearing a helmet.
The driver, a 50-year-old man from East Grand Forks, Minnesota, was pronounced dead at Pembina County Memorial Hospital in Cavalier. 

His passenger, a 47-year-old woman, also from East Grand Forks, suffered serious injuries and was later transported to Altru Hospital in Grand Forks.

Names of the victims are being withheld until relatives are notified.

2 Killed in Arleta in Los Angeles, California by Drunk Driver

JUNE 20, 2015

 

ARLETA, LOS ANGELES, CA

 

An alleged DUI driver was detained after a two-vehicle crash left two people dead in Arleta on Saturday, officials said.

Two people were initially thought to be critically injured when two vehicles crashed at 13641 Branford St. (map) around 9:10 p.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department tweeted.

Officials worked to extricate the two individuals, and later said they had died.

A third person was hospitalized and said to be in fair condition, LAFD tweeted.

An individual who was allegedly under the influence was detained following the fatal incident, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Granadas said.

The individual allegedly crashed into one or two vehicles as well as a fence, police said.

The two people who died were not believed to have been in the same car as the alleged DUI driver.