MIAMI — The Coast Guard Cutter Seneca (WMEC-906) crew offloaded more than 12,000 pounds of cocaine Sept. 20 at Coast Guard Sector Miami, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release. 

The drugs were interdicted in international waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America, including contraband seized and recovered in more than five interdictions of suspected drug smuggling vessels by Coast Guard cutters: 

The cutter Seneca was responsible for two cases, seizing about 2,800 pounds of cocaine. 

The Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma (WMEC-908) was responsible for three interdictions, seizing about 2,500 pounds of cocaine. 

The Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL-757) was responsible for two cases, seizing approximately 5,700 pounds of cocaine. 

The Coast Guard Cutter Valiant (WMEC-621) was responsible for one case, seizing about 1,000 pounds of cocaine. 

“These down-range counter-drug operations are a vital component to the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security’s mission and our national security. These operations enable us to extend our maritime borders, weaken the economic engine of Transnational Criminal Organizations, contribute to enhancing stability and security across our partner nations within Central America, and they combat the drug epidemic within our local communities,” said Cmdr. John Christensen, commanding officer of the cutter Seneca. 

“I am exceptionally proud of this crew. Over the course of the last three months they rose above the challenges of conducting operations at sea, persevered through many personal sacrifices and showed an unwavering dedication to serving our nation.” 

The cutter Seneca’s crew along with those of the other ships conducted operations targeting transnational criminal organizations in conjunction with Joint Interagency Task Force-South, Department of Defense, Customs and Border Protection, Department of Justice, and several other Coast Guard aircraft. The cutter Seneca’s presence and efforts are critical to disrupting and dismantling the transnational criminal organizations that attempt to smuggle these drugs through the ocean and into Central and North America. 

The cutter Seneca is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Boston. The cutter Tahoma is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Kittery, Maine. The cutter Midgett is a 418-foot national security cutter homeported in Honolulu. The cutter Valiant is a 210-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Jacksonville, Florida.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Coast Guard is continuing rescue-and-recovery operations in the Bahamas in the wake of Hurricane Dorian. 

As of 9 a.m. on Sept. 8, Coast Guard forces had rescued 308 people in the Bahamas, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release. 

The Coast Guard has five MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters conducting missions in the area, including search and rescue, logistics and for assessments. The helicopters are staged out of Andros Island, site of the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center, where the U.S. Navy stages helicopters for antisubmarine training such as torpedo drops.  

The Coast Guard also has five cutters providing support in the disaster recovery operations.  

Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters from Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, also are participating in the relief efforts under the auspices of U.S. Northern Command. 

The 7th District said that all ports have been re-opened.

SEATTLE —
The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mellon (WHEC 717), including two Canadian
fishery officers, returned to their homeport of Seattle on Sept. 2 after an
80-day patrol detecting and deterring illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU)
fishing activity in the Pacific Ocean, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a release.

IUU
fishing deprives the international economy of billions of dollars and
undermines the livelihoods of legitimate fish harvesters around the world. It
impacts food security, affecting millions of people, including many vulnerable
coastal communities. Combatting global IUU fishing through international
partnerships is a priority for Canada and the United States.

“IUU
fishing is one of the greatest threats to the ocean’s fish stocks,” said Capt.
Jonathan Musman, Mellon’s commanding officer. “It was an honor to be on the
front lines of enforcement efforts of the distant waters fishing fleets.”

The
fisheries patrol was performed under the auspices of the Western and Central
Pacific Fisheries Commission and the North Pacific Fisheries Commission. During
the patrol, Coast Guard and Canadian fishery officers boarded 45 vessels
flagged in Japan, Russia, South Korea, China, Chinese Taipei and Panama, and
they encountered violations ranging from improper gear to intentionally fishing
for sharks without a license. Boarding officers also found evidence of illegal
shark finning. Altogether, boarding teams detected 68 potential violations.

“Canada is
serious about ending illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing,” said Jonathan
Wilkinson, minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian coast guard. “We are
working with our U.S. partners to achieve this goal. By preventing fish and
seafood products derived from IUU fishing from entering our ports, we will not
only help level the playing field for Canadian harvesters and Canadian
businesses involved in the fish and seafood trade: we are also sending a very
strong message that Canada’s ports have zero tolerance for illegally caught
fish.”

This is
the second joint operation between the U.S. Coast Guard and Fisheries and
Oceans, Canada’s Conservation and Protection program, this year. Along with the
two fishery officers aboard the Mellon, Canada also provided fishery officers
aboard a Dash-8 maritime surveillance aircraft, operated by PAL Aerospace. The
aircrew performed multiple missions over the North Pacific and Bering Sea using
state-of-the-art radars and maritime surveillance tools. Canada shared the data
from these flights with U.S. Coast Guard counterparts to support the Mellon’s
patrol mission.

The ship
also embarked two different helicopter crews from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station
North Bend, who provided 63 flight hours that directly assisted with
enforcement efforts.

Mellon’s
crew members had several port calls in Yokosuka, Japan, near Tokyo, during the
almost three-month long patrol, which covered nearly 19,000 nautical miles.

The USCG Mellon is a
378-foot high endurance cutter, one of two homeported in Seattle. The ship was
built in 1966 and was designed to perform each of the Coast Guard’s missions,
including search and rescue, national defense, law enforcement, and
environmental protection.

SAN JUAN,
Puerto Rico — The Coast Guard Cutter Heriberto Hernandez (WPC-1114) repatriated
12 migrants to the Dominican Republic Navy patrol boat Proción (GC-103) Sept. 1
near Samaná, Dominican Republic, following the interdiction of an illegal
migrant voyage in Mona Passage waters near Puerto Rico, the Coast Guard 7th
District said in a release.

The
interdiction is the result of ongoing efforts in support of Operation Unified
Resolve, Operation Caribbean Guard and the Caribbean Border Interagency Group
(CBIG).

Coast
Guard watchstanders at the Sector San Juan Command Center received a report at
5:30 p.m. Aug. 31 from the aircrew of a Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144
Ocean Sentry aircraft on a routine patrol of the Mona Passage. The aircrew
reported sighting what appeared to be an illegal migrant vessel transiting
eastbound, about 51 nautical miles north of Mona Island, Puerto Rico.

Coast
Guard watchstanders diverted the cutter Heriberto Hernandez to the scene.  Once on scene, the cutter’s crew stopped the
18-foot makeshift boat and safely embarked, for safety of life at sea concerns,
the nine men and three women who were aboard. The interdicted migrants claimed
to be of Dominican nationality.

“I’m proud
of all our Coast Guard crews who quickly returned in full force to protect the
coasts and our citizens in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands following
the passing of Hurricane Dorian through the Eastern Caribbean,” said Capt. Eric
King, commander of Sector San Juan. “Their efforts prevented this illegal
migrant voyage from reaching our shores and saving 12 lives from a highly
dangerous situation, since migrant voyages often take place aboard grossly
overloaded and unseaworthy vessels with little or on no lifesaving equipment
onboard.”

Once
aboard a Coast Guard cutter, all migrants receive food, water, shelter and
basic medical attention.

The Caribbean Border Interagency Group unifies efforts between U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action.

These agencies share a common goal of securing the maritime border of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands against illegal migrant and drug smuggling threats. The Heriberto Hernandez is a 154-foot fast response cutter homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

SAN PEDRO,
Calif. — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Robert Ward (WPC-1130) returned Aug.
29 from their first patrol of the drug transit zones of the eastern Pacific
Ocean with about 2,800 pounds of seized cocaine, the Coast Guard 11th District
said in a release.

The
cocaine, worth an estimated $38.5 million, was seized by the crews of the
Robert Ward and another Coast Guard cutter patrolling the region. An additional
estimated 3,000 pounds of cocaine, seized by the crew of the Robert Ward in
mid-July in the cutter’s first-ever drug bust, was transferred to the Coast
Guard Cutter Steadfast (WMEC-623) and brought ashore in San Diego last month as
part of a 13-ton bulk offload.

“The
Cutter Robert Ward and three other newly commissioned cutters based in San
Pedro are strengthening the Coast Guard’s safety, security and
counter-smuggling efforts along our coast and in the shipping zones off Central
and South America,” said Rear Adm. Peter W. Gautier, the 11th District’s commander.
“I’m proud of the Ward’s crew and applaud their actions to disrupt the cartels
that profit from crime, addiction and ruin American lives.”

The Robert
Ward, commissioned in March, is one of four newly commissioned fast-response cutters
(FRCs) homeported in San Pedro as part of the Coast Guard’s efforts to
strengthen forces in the region and increase safety, security and emergency
response capabilities. 

“This was
a fantastic patrol,” said Lt. Benjamin Davne, Robert Ward’s commanding officer.
“We helped stem the flow of illegal drugs by seizing and disrupting more than
three tons of cocaine. We saved lives by keeping these drugs off the streets.
Our crew is in friendly competition with other fast-response cutter crews
stationed in other parts of the nation and on our first patrol we are already
credited with the second largest cocaine seizure and disruption rate for any
Coast Guard ship in our class.”

The fight
against drug cartels in the eastern Pacific requires unity of effort in all
phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions
by U.S. Attorneys in districts across the nation.

The Coast
Guard increased U.S. and allied presence in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean
Basin, which are known drug transit zones off Central and South America, as
part of its Western Hemisphere Strategy.

During at-sea
interdictions, a suspect vessel is detected and monitored by allied, military
or law enforcement personnel coordinated by Joint Interagency Task Force-South
based in Key West, Florida. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling
operations in the eastern Pacific is conducted under the authority of the 11th
Coast Guard District, headquartered in Alameda.

HONOLULU —
The U.S Coast Guard’s two newest national security cutters were commissioned
Aug. 24 during a ceremony presided over by Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz, the
Coast Guard Pacific area said in a release. 

The Coast
Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756) and the Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL 757)
were “brought to life” at the rare dual-commissioning ceremony in Honolulu,
where the two cutters homeport. Three fast-response cutters also homeport
there. Kimball and Midgett are the seventh and eighth Legend-class national
security cutters in the fleet.

“These
national security cutters will continue our 150 years of partnership and
commitment to the Pacific region — since September 1849, when Revenue Cutter
Lawrence sailed into Honolulu Harbor escorted by Native Hawaiians in outrigger
canoes,” Schultz said. “In today’s complex geostrategic environment with rising
great power competition, the importance and demand for a strong Coast Guard
presence in the Pacific has never been greater.”

Advanced
command-and-control capabilities and a combination of range, speed and ability
to operate in extreme weather enable these ships to confront national security
threats, strengthen maritime governance, support economic prosperity and
promote individual sovereignty.

From the
Bering Sea and the Arctic to patrolling known drug trafficking zones off
Central and South America to working to strengthen the capabilities of our
partners across the Indo-Pacific, national security cutters deploy globally to
conduct essential Coast Guard missions.

Known as the
Legend-class, national security cutters can execute the most challenging
national security missions, including support to U.S. combatant commanders.
They are 418 feet in length, 54 feet in beam and 4,600 long tons in
displacement. They have a top speed of more than 28 knots, a range of 12,000
nautical miles, an endurance of up to 90 days and can hold a crew of up to 150.
These new cutters are replacing the high-endurance Hamilton-class cutters (378
feet) that have been in service since the 1960s.

The Midgett’s
transit to Hawaii was punctuated by two interdictions of suspected low-profile
go-fast vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the first July 25 and a second
July 31. The boardings resulted in a combined seizure of more than 6,700 pounds
of cocaine, estimated to be worth over $89 million.

National
security cutters are responsible for 40% of the 460,000 pounds of cocaine
interdicted by the Coast Guard in the fiscal year 2018. NSC crews have
interdicted more than 92,000 pounds of cocaine to date in the fiscal year 2019.

Midgett is
named to honor all members of the Midgett family who served in the Coast Guard
and its predecessor services. At least 10 members of the family earned high
honors for their heroic lifesaving efforts. Among them, the Coast Guard awarded
various family members seven gold lifesaving medals, the service’s highest
award for saving a life, and three silver lifesaving medals.

The Kimball is the third ship to bear that name, in honor of Sumner Kimball, who served as superintendent of the Revenue Marine and as general superintendent of the Life-Saving Service from 1878 until the two organizations merged in 1915 to become the modern-day U.S. Coast Guard.

“As you take to the seas, you will write the next chapters of the Kimball and Midgett legacies,” Schultz said, addressing the commands and crews of the two cutters on Aug. 24. “I charge you with carrying out the operations of these ships in such a manner as to be worthy of the traditions of self-sacrifice, inspirational leadership and unwavering dedication to duty — traits exemplified by these cutters’ distinguished and storied namesakes.”

JUNEAU, Alaska — The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Mellon
(WHEC-717) continues their North Pacific patrol in support of Operation North
Pacific Guard (NPG) 2019, protecting living marine resources, enforcing
international fisheries agreements and conducting global security missions, the
Coast Guard 17th District said in a statement.

Since June, Mellon’s crew has conducted 40 boardings and
issued 61 violations. A total of 25 were serious violations because of their
potential to severely impact fisheries and/or blatant disregard for
conservation and management measures. Their most frequent violations were
improper vessel marking (9), illegal shark finning (4) and improper use of or
intentional tampering with the vessel monitoring system (2).

“These fisheries patrols are vital to demonstrating the
U.S. commitment to our regional partnerships while strengthening regional
maritime governance and promoting sustainability of living marine resources,”
said Capt. Jonathan Musman, commanding officer of Mellon.

“I’m extremely proud of the work we’ve done this patrol,
and it’s a direct result of the hard work of this crew as well as the continued
support of our international partners. Together, we’ve put in a lot of hours
and a lot of work, and we’ve seen impressive results because of it.”

Mellon’s deployment is in support of U.S. goals for the
conservation and management of high seas fisheries resources to eliminate
illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activity from the North
Pacific.

NPG 2019 showcases a multimission effort between the
Coast Guard, NOAA, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, five Pacific Rim
countries and three regional fisheries management organizations. Unlike
previous years’ operations, Mellon has conducted high-seas boardings and
inspections on the North Pacific Fisheries Commission fishing vessels, while
continuing to conduct Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
boardings.

“We’ve seen a 344% increase in boardings and 867% increase
in violations compared to last year’s operation,” said Lt. Cdr. Kristen
Caldwell, living marine resource program manager for the Pacific Area. “This
increase highlights the significance of employing differing authorities, all
aimed at mitigation of IUU fishing, capitalizing on a highly capable resource
to maximize time on scene and the targeting of IUU vessels.”

NPG 2019 was designed to conduct law-enforcement
operations in support of RFMO in the North Pacific Ocean. Through the North
Pacific Coast Guard Forum and North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission’s
enforcement coordination process, each partner nation contributes to this
at-sea enforcement effort by providing surface patrols and/or air surveillance.

This operation is in direct support of the National
Security Strategy as it aligns with the tenant of “achieving better outcomes in
multilateral forums” as well as by addressing the risks to sovereignty of
developing nations by China identified in the Indo-Pacific Region. The 2018
National Defense Strategy (NDS) also has identified China as a “strategic
competitor using predatory economics to intimidate its neighbors while
militarizing features in the South China Sea.” A goal of the NDS is to “support
U.S. interagency approaches and work by, with, and through our allies and
partners to secure U.S. interests and counteract this coercion.”

Due to the increasing threat, complexity and diversity of
tactics in IUU fishing, it is critical to ensure oversight and enforcement in
regions in which the United States has jurisdiction and authority to mitigate
the rapidly developing influence of specified fleets known to engage in IUU
fishing. Efforts to increase the ability of the United States to check the
threat of IUU fishing in the Pacific Ocean have been continuous, with the
recent success of the adoption of high-seas boarding inspections (HSBI) for the
Northern Pacific Fisheries Commission and continued efforts in the Western and
Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and North Pacific Anadromous Fish
Commission’s Convention Areas.

During NPG 2019, Mellon embarked two Canadian shipriders
from the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans as well as two aircrews
from Coast Guard Air Station North Bend.

Mellon, a 378-foot high-endurance
cutter with a crew of 150, is homeported in Seattle and routinely deploys in
support of counter-drug and alien migrant interdiction, living marine resources
and search-and-rescue missions.

HONOLULU —
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL-757) arrived Aug. 16 at its new
homeport in Honolulu, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a statement. 

The
Midgett is the eighth of the Coast Guard’s national security cutters and the
second to be homeported in Hawaii. Its sister ship, the Cutter Kimball (WMSL-756)
arrived on Dec. 22. Both cutters are scheduled to be commissioned Aug. 24 during
a ceremony presided over by Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz. 

“The
U.S. Coast Guard has an enduring role in the Indo-Pacific Region, going back
over 150 years, and our commitment today is as strong as ever,” Schultz said.
“The national security cutters are the flagships of the fleet, and the
homeporting of the Kimball and Midgett in Hawaii and their future deployments
throughout the Indo-Pacific demonstrate the U.S. Coast Guard’s dedication to
safeguarding the nation’s maritime safety, security and economic interests
throughout the region.”

Advanced
command-and-control capabilities and an unmatched combination of range, speed
and ability to operate in extreme weather enable national security cutters to
deploy globally to confront national security threats, to strengthen maritime
governance, to support economic prosperity and to promote individual
sovereignty.

Known as
the Legend class, national security cutters are capable of executing the most
challenging national security missions, including support to U.S. combatant
commanders. They are 418 feet in length, 54 feet in beam and 4,600 long tons in
displacement. They have a top speed of more than 28 knots, a range of 12,000
nautical miles, an endurance of up to 90 days and can hold a crew of up to 150.
These new cutters are replacing the high endurance Hamilton-class cutters (378
feet) that have been in service since the 1960s.

While
national security cutters possess advanced capabilities, more than 70% of the
Coast Guard’s offshore presence exists in the service’s aging fleet of medium-endurance
cutters. Many of these ships are more than 50 years old and are approaching the
end of their service life. Replacing the fleet with new offshore patrol cutters
is one of the Coast Guard’s top priorities.

Midgett is named to honor all members of the Midgett family who served in the Coast Guard and its predecessor services. At least 10 members of the family earned high honors for their heroic lifesaving efforts. Among them, the Coast Guard awarded various family members seven gold lifesaving medals — the service’s highest award for saving a life — and three silver lifesaving medals.

The Midgett’s transit to Hawaii was punctuated by two interdictions of suspected low-profile go-fast vessels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, the first July 25 and a second July 31. The boardings resulted in a combined seizure of over 6,700 pounds of cocaine, estimated to be worth over $89 million.

HONOLULU —
The Coast Guard Cutter William Hart (WPC-1134) arrived in Honolulu Harbor on
Aug. 17, becoming the third 154-foot fast-response cutter homeported in Hawaii,
the Coast Guard 14th District said in a release.

The FRCs
are some of the newest Coast Guard vessels to come online, replacing the aging
patrol boat fleet currently in use. The FRCs represent the Coast Guard’s
commitment to modernizing service assets to address the increasingly complex
global maritime transportation system.

FRCs boast
advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance systems designed to assist the cutter’s crew
with their primary mission to patrol coastal regions.

Recently,
the FRCs already stationed in Honolulu participated in longer over-the-horizon
voyages to the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Samoa, displaying the
potential of these cutters and their importance to the Coast Guard’s overall
Pacific strategy and regional partnerships.

William
Hart, the cutter’s namesake, was a Gold Lifesaving Medal recipient who rescued
a crew member of the tug Thomas Tracy. In 1927, Hart dove into the water in a
70-mph gale off Absecon, New Jersey, to save the mariner, who went overboard in
the storm.

Throughout
the 1930s, Hart served in the Army Corps of Engineers before returning to the
Coast Guard in 1939, advancing to chief petty officer and serving as a
boatswain’s mate. Once the United States entered World War II, Hart was
commissioned as a lieutenant junior grade and served in both the Atlantic and
Pacific theaters. He retired from the Coast Guard in 1950.

William Hart is the last of the three FRCs to be stationed in Hawaii. The crew transited the vessel from Key West, Florida, following delivery and preparation for sailing. Three more are scheduled to be homeported in Guam, increasing the Coast Guard 14th District’s total number of FRCs to six.

The Coast Guard is acquiring a total of 56 FRCs to replace the 110-foot Island-class patrol boats. Coast Guard Sector Honolulu, to whom the cutter crew will report, plans to commission the William Hart in a ceremony Sept. 26.

ALAMEDA,
Calif. — Crews aboard the precommissioned U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL-757)
interdicted a suspected low-profile go-fast vessel July 31 and seized more than
4,600 pounds of cocaine during a boarding in international waters of the eastern
Pacific Ocean, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a release.

This was
the second at-sea cocaine seizure made by Midgett’s crew within five days.

Midgett’s
crew seized more than 2,100 pounds of cocaine July 25 from a low-profile
go-fast boat, the cutter’s first cocaine seizure ever since departing the
Pascagoula, Mississippi, shipyard in June following acceptance by the Coast
Guard.

The July 25
and July 31 boardings resulted in a combined seizure of more than 6,700 pounds
of cocaine with an estimated street value of over $89 million.

Low-profile
go-fast vessels are built by cartels for smuggling large quantities of
contraband by riding low in the water to avoid detection. They are designed to
be quickly sunk by using their integrated scuttling valves, a dangerous
practice that jeopardizes the safety of smugglers and the Coast Guard boarding
teams.

Nearly 80%
of all known illegal narcotics coming into North America are smuggled by
international cartels through the eastern Pacific corridor, an area greater in
size than the continental United States. The profits from cocaine manufacture allow
drug cartels to diversify and fund other illicit trafficking activities such as
the smuggling of opioids, synthetics, methamphetamines, people and weapons.

One metric
ton of cocaine (2,204.6 pounds or 1,000,000 milligrams) is equal to 20 million
individual doses upon arrival in the United States. The Coast Guard removed more
than 2 million pounds (923 metric tons) of cocaine with an uncut wholesale
value of more than $27 billion over the last five years.

“The
national security cutter gets you further, faster and delivers more capability
once on scene than any other cutter in the history of our service,” said Capt.
Alan McCabe, Midgett’s commanding officer. “I am incredibly proud of the crew’s
efforts who made these two seizures possible, and we are eager to conduct
future operations throughout the Pacific.”

Midgett, the Coast Guard’s
eighth national security cutter, is sailing toward its future homeport in
Honolulu, where it will be commissioned Aug. 24 along with its sister ship, the
Coast Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL-756), in a ceremony presided over by Coast
Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz.