The year's activities of the United States Coast Guard dealing with the saving of life and property may be summarized by stating that there were 9,383 instances of lives being saved and vessels assisted, this being 958 more instances than during the previous year; the total value of the vessels assisted, including cargoes, was $63,723,506, and the number of persons on board the vessels assisted was 32,045. There were 10,615 instances of lives being saved or persons being rescued from peril, and an additional 4,858 instances where assistance of one form or another was rendered.
In carrying out its functions as the Federal maritime police agency and its duties of law enforcement, the Coast Guard boarded and examined the papers of 32,055 vessels, and it seized six vessels. The fines and penalties incurred by vessels reported amounted to $470,081. Coast Guard vessels removed or destroyed 266 derelicts; they patrolled 443 marine parades and regattas; and Coast Guard officers examined 3,495 persons for certificates as lifeboat men.
In the hurricane which struck the New Zealand coast in September 1938, the Coast Guard rendered assistance with all equipment available, rescuing, 1,911 persons from positions of peril, and aiding 509 vessels. Emergency radio communication was provided, mail was transported, vessels and automobiles were recovered, and aerial surveys made. Three members of the Service lost their lives incident to rescue activities.
The Coast Guard provided an armed detail for the guarding and supervision of the transfer of approximately 77,000,000 pounds of silver bullion by the Treasury Department from New York City to the depository at West Point, N. Y. Coast Guard cutters maintained the International Ice Patrol on the North Atlantic during the iceberg season, a duty to which they have been assigned since 1913, and while on this duty cooperated with the Weather Bureau in the study of the upper air conditions as a means of promoting greater safety in air navigation.
The present Coast Guard fleet consists of 34 cruising cutters, 125 patrol boats, 52 harbor craft, 86 picket boats, 5 special craft, 64 lighthouse tenders, 28 light vessels and 10 relief light vessels. The aviation wing comprises 10 air stations and 63 planes. The shore establishment includes 197 active Coast Guard stations, 47 inactive stations and 3 houses of refuge. Training facilities include the Coast Guard Academy, 4 Maritime Service Training Stations and the Coast Guard Institute. In addition to these there are the Coast Guard Depot for construction and repair of boats and vessels — radio stations — besides the administrative offices, stores and bases. About 1,700 small boats are attached to the ships and stations of the Service.
Personnel of the Coast Guard includes 530 commissioned officers, 208 cadets, 542 warrant officers, 11,000 enlisted men, 430 civilian employees and 5,500 employees of the former Lighthouse Service, a large number of which will be inducted into the military establishment of the Coast Guard.
Under President Roosevelt's Reorganization Plan No. II, the Lighthouse Service, of the Department of Commerce, was transferred to and consolidated with the United States Coast Guard, in the Treasury Department. This consolidation, made in the interests of efficiency and economy, resulted in the transfer of the system of approximately 30,000 aids to marine navigation, including lighthouses, lightships, radio beacons, fog signals, buoys, and beacons. These aids are maintained upon the sea and lake coasts of the United States, on the navigable rivers of the country, and upon the coasts of all other territory under the jurisdiction of the United States with the exception of the Philippine Islands and the Panama Canal proper. Plans were in progress at the close of the fiscal year providing for a complete integration with the Coast Guard of the personnel of the Lighthouse Service, numbering about 5,200. See also UNITED STATES: National Defense.
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