Oregon Coast Waves - 1.7 - February/March

for the newer 47- foot motor lifeboats).
It was the Coast Guard’s workhorse out of Newport from the
time it was commissioned until October of last year, when the
13th District commander ordered it and its sister ships’ use
restricted after incidents of equipment failures and breakdowns
at sea.
Lt. Russel Tibbets, a Coast Guard spokesman, told the News-
Times, “We’re worried about their ability to respond in heavy
surf conditions. Over the last few years, our engineers and
operators have expressed concern about the safety of the vessels,
specifically with regard to their ability to tow vessels in heavy
surf,” Tibbets said. For example, he said, the Victory experienced
a generator breakdown at sea, and it lost its radar navigation
capabilities during a mission.
“Right now, we’ve basically restricted the use of all four of our 52-
foot special weather boats here in the Pacific Northwest,” Tibbets
said. “We’re not decommissioning them yet. We still have them
in reserve, and if there was a case where we knew there was life at
stake at sea and only the 52 can do the job right now, we will still
use them with the permission of the 13th District commander.”
Taunette Dixon, co-president of the Newport Fishermen’s Wives,
said the Coast Guard notified her organization of the impending
restriction. The Victory is a familiar sight to the organization’s
members, many of whom have watched it with relief as it entered
port towing friends and family behind it. “Because we have a
large vessel fleet in Newport, the Victory was the boat that was
used the most,” Dixon said.
Given their deep interest in the vessel’s operations, the Coast
Guard invited organization members and elected officials to a
meeting late last year in Newport. Dixon said the Coast Guard
brought in marine engineering experts to explain problems with
the Korean War-era boat and issues surrounding its replacement.
“It was very informative. They let us know the problems they
were having, and why they couldn’t immediately replace the
Victory with a boat that has the same capabilities — they just
don’t have one yet,” Dixon said. She said she understood the
Coast Guard was in the process of designing and building or
acquiring such a vessel but that it could be years yet before one
is in the water (Tibbets would confirm only that the guard is
“studying possibilities for a replacement”).
“In the meantime, they’ve rearranged the fleets in other ports
and brought in extra 47s,” Dixon said.
In conditions where the Victory would have been deployed,
involving larger vessels, the Coast Guard now uses aerial assets
and two 47-foot motor lifeboats. That was the case with Dixon’s
husband’s ship, the F/V Seeker, when it was stranded shortly
after the Victory’s duty was restricted.
Dixon said she was “very happy” the Coast Guard reached out
to the Fishermen’s Wives to make them aware of the change. She
said that wasn’t the case in 2014, when the agency announced
in October it would close the Newport Air Facility, from which
it deploys rescue helicopters, at the end of the following month.
That decision was eventually reversed after outcry from the
community and elected leaders.
“I think it’s very important for everyone to know that unlike
when we had the rescue of the helo, this time the Coast Guard
has been very communicative. We have a full dialogue with
them, and any time we have questions, they’re there to answer
them. And they’ve said that throughout this process of acquiring
a new boat that they will keep updating us as new steps are taken,”
Dixon said. “I also think it’s really important for people to know
that our whole coalition is working on this too. It’s not just us,
it’s our representatives also making sure that our port is safe.”
WRITTEN BY KENNETH LIPP | PHOTOS BY: JEREMY BURKE
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