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With hurricane season underway and maritime traffic near record levels on Maryland's Chesapeake Bay, the U.S. Coast Guard's job is more important than ever. But what exactly do they do? WJZ got a firsthand look at how the Coast Guard crews in Curtis Bay, Baltimore, ensure public safety, maritime infrastructure, and environmental protection throughout our nation's waterways. For nine years, Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Robert Fleshman has called the Baltimore waterways home. "I get to make sure that our waterways and the marine transportation system and the marine environment in the Chesapeake Bay are protected and secure," Fleshman said. Fleshman is part of the U.S. Coast Guard and works at the Curtis Bay station. His job and mission are what you call the "brains" of their entire operation. "Operations at Coast Guard Sector Maryland, NCR, are so important because they are aimed at keeping the Port of Baltimore and the greater marine transportation system open 27/7, 365 days a year," he explained. "We have direct authority over the stations," Fleshman said. "So, if we get a notification that there is some sort of distress happening in our area of responsibility, we'll issue the urgent Marine Information Broadcast, or the MIB, and launch our assets and then notify all of our government agency and port partner assets that are in the area." The team manages all 11 Coast Guard statutory missions, including emergency response. This means any distress call that happens on the water goes to the Maryland sector. "We disperse the information from there to different departments and divisions that need to know about that information," Fleshman said. If there is an emergency or distress call, the focus shifts to the water, where a small boat crew and people like Seaman (SN) Jackson Cumberworth are waiting to respond. Cumberworth said that when someone is in distress, the group hops on a small boat to assist. The boat can do a little bit of everything, including search and rescue. A minimum of three Coast Guard members are required to operate the vessel. This can include a coxswain (a person to steer the boat), a machinery technician and a seaman. "We have designated routes and waypoints for us to get to where we need to go, the most efficient and safest way for us to be," said Cumberworth. It's a job they can't do without Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Ed Nygren and the crew aboard the cutter, the USCGC James Rankin. "We are a 175-foot coastal buoy tender," Nygren explained. "We serve the Baltimore region and the northern section of the Chesapeake Bay." The ship's main mission is safety and navigation for everyone on Maryland's waterways. "Our primary mission is to serve aids to navigation within the Port of Baltimore and the northern Chesapeake Bay," Nygren said. " And then, secondarily, we would also conduct ice operations, search and rescue, Marine Environmental Protection and port waterways and coast security missions." The ship is maintained at the Curtis Bay station, just a short boat ride from the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. "When the Francis Scott Key Bridge went down a couple of years ago," Nygren said. "James Raskin was on scene, re-establishing those channels, ensuring that commerce was still able to flow in and out of the Port of Baltimore." A crew of 24 works on the Rankin, and their job includes placing and maintaining buoys throughout the Chesapeake Bay all year round. "These buoys are responsible for ensuring that the traffic system that we are marking is safe for a mariner to go through," Nygren said. "It's been called the streetlights marking the highway. This is the road system of the waterway." "But the most important asset we have on the boats are ourselves," Cumberworth said. "We are the most important tools and ways to help people." No matter what, their mission to protect Maryland's waterways never stops. "We don't know if a situation like the Francis Scott Key Bridge might happen, and now, you're working for four to five days straight, even though it's supposed to be your off time, it's never done," Cumberworth said. "Our dedication to the people of this community is evidenced by everything that we do every single day," Nygren said.
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Cartoon by Tom Stiglich
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