MIAMI — The Coast Guard interdicted 12 Chinese migrants and two
suspected smugglers on July 23 about 13 miles east
of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release.

The Coast Guard Cutter Paul Clark (WPC-1101) crew located the motor yacht, Carefree, with 14 people aboard during a patrol and safely embarked the 12 Chinese migrants and two potential smugglers. 

The two suspected smugglers were taken into U.S. Department of Homeland Security custody and the 12 migrants were transferred to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations custody.

“The Coast Guard maintains a focused and coordinated effort with multiple agency assets to interdict criminals in any attempt to unlawfully smuggle migrants by sea to the United States,” said Lt. Ray Lopez, chief of enforcement at Coast Guard Sector Miami. “Migrants should not attempt to smuggle themselves into the country. They not only risk going to jail but also endanger their lives by entrusting smugglers to bring them across the water with little or no lifesaving equipment on board.”

SEATTLE — U.S.
Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB-20) departed for a months-long deployment to the
Arctic Ocean on July 22, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a release.

The cutter
will support multiple science missions as well as Operation Arctic Shield, the
service’s annual operation to execute Coast Guard missions, enhance maritime
domain awareness, strengthen partnerships and build preparedness, prevention,
and response capabilities across the Arctic domain.

As the nation’s
primary maritime presence in the polar regions, the Coast Guard advances U.S.
national interests through a unique blend of polar operational capability,
regulatory authority, and international leadership across the full spectrum of
maritime governance.

Earlier
this year the Coast Guard released the Arctic Strategic Outlook, reaffirming
the service’s commitment to American leadership in the region through
partnership, unity of effort, and continuous innovation.

“While we
focus our efforts on creating a peaceful and collaborative environment in the
Arctic, we’re also responding to the impacts of increased competition in this
strategically important region,” Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz said.
“Our continued presence will enable us to reinforce positive opportunities and
mitigate negative consequences today and tomorrow.”

The Coast
Guard has been a leader in the Arctic for over 150 years and the sole provider
of the nation’s polar icebreaking capability since 1965. Presently, the Coast
Guard maintains two icebreakers — Healy, a medium icebreaker, and Polar Star,
the only heavy U.S. icebreaker.

While the
Healy deploys annually to the Arctic, the 43-year-old Polar Star is the only
cutter capable of supporting Operation Deep Freeze, the annual mission to
maintain U.S. presence in Antarctica.

If a
catastrophic event, such as a shipboard fire or getting stuck in the ice, were
to strand the Healy in the Arctic or the Polar Star near Antarctica, the Coast
Guard is left without a self-rescue capability.

By
contrast, Russia currently operates more than 40 icebreakers — several of which
are nuclear-powered.

The Coast
Guard is seeking to increase its icebreaking fleet with six new polar security
cutters (PSC) to ensure continued national presence and access to the polar regions.

“The polar security cutters will support the full range of Coast Guard missions, to include search and rescue, law enforcement, environmental response, and national defense,” said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area commander. “This investment will enable America to project presence in the polar regions.”

In April, the Coast Guard awarded VT Halter Marine Inc. of Pascagoula, Mississippi, a contract for the design and construction of the Coast Guard’s lead PSC, which will be homeported in Seattle. The contract also includes options for the construction of two additional PSCs.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Coast Guard
Cutter Richard Dixon (WPC-1113) repatriated 14 Dominican migrants to a
Dominican navy patrol vessel Saturday near Samaná, Dominican Republic,
following the interdiction of an illegal migrant voyage June 11 off the coast
of Añasco, Puerto Rico. 

Two
other Dominican men traveling in the group remain in federal custody facing
possible prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto
Rico on potential charges of attempted illegal re-entry into a U.S. territory.

The
interdiction is the result of ongoing efforts in support of Operation Unified
Resolve, Operation Caribbean Guard and the Caribbean Border Interagency Group
(CBIG). Since October 2018, the Coast Guard and CBIG partner federal and state
agencies have interdicted over 1,550 migrants at sea near Puerto Rico.

Coast
Guard Sector San Juan Command Center watchstanders were contacted on the
morning of June 11 by Puerto Rico Police, who notified that a Joint Forces of
Rapid Action (FURA) marine unit had just interdicted a 20-foot migrant boat
half a mile off the coast of Añasco.

Coast
Guard watchstanders diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Heriberto Hernandez
(WPC-1114) to the scene. Once there, Heriberto Hernandez crew members
safely embarked all 14 men and two women from the makeshift vessel.

“We
commend our Puerto Rico Police partners who prevented this illegal voyage from
making landfall as well as their close collaboration with the Hernandez crew in
safely removing all the migrants from a dangerous situation,” said Lt. Andrew
Russo, commanding officer of Heriberto Hernandez. “These illegal migrant
voyages are very dangerous, often aboard unsafe and unseaworthy vessels, which
present a life-threatening situation to everyone aboard.” 

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

The
cutter Heriberto Hernandez later transferred the migrants to the cutter Richard
Dixon for their repatriation to the Dominican Republic. The two migrants facing
prosecution are in custody of Ramey Sector Border Patrol agents in Puerto Rico.

The
Heriberto Hernandez and Richard Dixon are 154-foot fast-response cutters
homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

SAN DIEGO
— Vice President Mike Pence attended a U.S. Coast Guard drug offload July 11 in
San Diego, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a release.

The crew of
the Coast Guard Cutter Munro offloaded more than 39,000 pounds of cocaine and
933 pounds of marijuana worth a combined $569 million, which was seized in
international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The drugs
represent 14 separate suspected drug smuggling vessel interdictions and
disruptions off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America by three
Coast Guard cutters between May and July. This was the Munro’s first deployment
to the region.

Pence,
James W. Carroll, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, DEA
acting administrator Uttam Dhillon, and Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander of
Coast Guard Pacific Area, spent time aboard Munro and talked to the crew and
media.

“Let me
commend you especially for your new deployment to the Eastern Pacific
corridor,” Pence said. “Even though this is a new area of deployment for this
cutter, you’ve already proven yourselves more than up to the task … 14
operations went into this offload, and one of them was of a self-propelled,
semi-submersible vessel (SPPS), which resulted in the largest Coast Guard
removal in four years. The Coast Guard is seizing illegal drugs at a faster
rate than ever before. And you all have been at the tip of the spear, making
that happen.”

Munro
interdicted the SPPS on June 18, in international waters west of South America.
It was carrying more than 17,000 pounds of cocaine. In fiscal year 2019 to date,
the U.S. Coast Guard has interdicted more than 143 metric tons of cocaine,
worth more than $4.2 billion.

These
drugs are smuggled by international cartels, said Fagan, whose actions “which
left unchecked, fuels violence and instability that corrodes our hemisphere’s
social and economic fabric, and directly contributes to historically high
drug-related deaths in neighborhoods across North America.”

While the
Munro, a national security cutter, was commissioned in 2017, 70% of the Coast
Guard’s offshore presence is the service’s aging fleet of medium-endurance
cutters, many of which are more than 50 years old.

“Our Coast
Guard deserves better,” Pence said. “And that’s why we are committed to fully
funding our Coast Guard, including replacing old ships with new ones, just like
the Cutter Munro.”

ASTORIA,
Ore. — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Elm is scheduled to cross the Columbia River
bar and arrive in Astoria, its new homeport, for the first time on July 15 at
10 a.m., the Coast Guard’s 13th District said in a release.

The
Elm, a Juniper Class 225-foot seagoing buoy tender, is operated by the same
crew that operated the Coast Guard Cutter Fir, which left Astoria in June 2018
as part of a Coast Guard-wide hull swap.

The Elm
is coming out of a midlife, dry-dock, major-overhaul period at the Coast Guard
Yard in Baltimore. The major overhaul began in January 2018. 

The
Elm, commissioned in 1998, was previously homeported in Atlantic Beach, North
Carolina, as part of Sector Field Office Macon. It spent the last 20 years
maintaining more than 250 floating aids to navigation from central New Jersey
to the border of North and South Carolina.

The
Elm’s primary mission will continue to be servicing aids to navigation, but its
new area of responsibility stretches along the Pacific coasts of Oregon and
Washington as well as in the Columbia River. Its area extends from the
Oregon/California border north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and east in the
Columbia River to Longview, Washington.

The
aids to navigation that its crew will service and maintain are essential to
commercial vessel traffic in shipping ports such as Coos Bay, Newport, Astoria,
Portland, Longview and Seattle.

The
Elm’s crew will be responsible for 114 floating aids. The buoys, which the crew
normally service, range in size from 13 feet tall and 5 feet wide to 35 feet
tall and 9 feet wide and weigh up to 18,000 pounds. The Elm has heavy-lift
capabilities with a crane that can extend to 60 feet and lift up to 40,000
pounds.

BOSTON —
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba returned to Boston on July 11 following
a three-month patrol conducting drug and migrant interdiction operations in the
Caribbean Sea, the Coast Guard 1st District said in a release.

Throughout
the patrol, Escanaba’s crew focused their efforts on law enforcement, completed
a three-week training assessment of mission capabilities in Portsmouth,
Virginia, and held a change-of-command ceremony.

Escanaba’s
crew partnered with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol within the Mona Passage for
migrant interdiction operations. Crews terminated three illegal migrant
ventures and repatriated more than 100 migrants.

The crew’s
counter-narcotics efforts resulted in the disruption of more than 5,500 pounds
of cocaine illegally trafficked by transnational criminal organizations.

During
Escanaba’s change-of-command ceremony, Cmdr. Michael Nalli relieved Capt.
Michael Turdo as the cutter’s commanding officer.

“It is an
honor and privilege to serve as the commanding officer of such a capable ship,”
Nalli said. “The crew is well-trained, and we are excited to get underway to
conduct the missions of the Coast Guard.”

Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba
— known as “The Pride of Boston” — is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter with a
crew complement of 100.

MIAMI — The
Coast Guard interdicted 14 Haitian migrants, a Dominican migrant and a
suspected smuggler on July 3 about 12 miles east of Boynton Beach, the Coast
Guard 7th District said in a release.

Coast Guard
7th District watchstanders received a report from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s
Office of a Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations aircraft
detecting an unlit 30-foot cabin cruiser heading towards West Palm Beach.

Watchstanders
launched a Coast Guard Station Lake Worth Inlet 33-foot Special Purpose Craft-Law
Enforcement crew and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Bernard C. Webber
(WPC-1101) crew. The cutter Webber crew safely embarked the six Haitian male
adults, three Haitian female adults, one Haitian male minor, four Haitian
female minors one Dominican male and one Bahamian male. The cutter Webber crew
transferred five Haitian adults and five Haitian minors to Bahamas authorities
and social services. The suspected smuggler, Dominican adult and four Haitian
adults were transferred into Homeland Security Investigations custody.

“The
Coast Guard maintains a focused and coordinated effort with multiple agency
assets to interdict any attempt to unlawfully immigrate to the United States by
sea,” said Lt. Matthew Pinhey, Coast Guard 7th District surface
operations. “Attempting to enter the country this way is not worth the risk and
we discourage people from try to embark on these dangerous voyages.”

A total of
3,027 Haitian migrants have attempted to illegally enter the U.S. via the
maritime environment in fiscal year 2019 compared to 2,727 Haitian migrants in
fiscal year 2018. A total of 1,456 Dominican migrants have attempted to
illegally enter the U.S. via the maritime environment in fiscal year 2019
compared to 829 Dominican migrants in fiscal year 2018. These numbers represent
the total number of at-sea interdictions, landings and disruptions in the
Florida Straits, the Caribbean and the Atlantic.

ALAMEDA,
Calif. — The crew aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL 750)
returned July 2 to their homeport of Alameda following a 164-day deployment to
the western Pacific, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a release.

The crew
steamed nearly 32,000 nautical miles since they departed Alameda Jan. 20 amid
the partial government shutdown.

Under the
tactical control of commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, the crew patrolled and conducted
operations as directed, including enforcing United Nations Security Council resolution
sanctions against North Korea by monitoring and gathering intelligence on
vessels conducting ship-to-ship transfers in the East China, South China and
Yellow Seas.

Bertholf’s
crew made history March 24-25 as the first U.S. Coast Guard cutter to transit
the Taiwan Strait.

Bertholf’s
crew engaged in professional exchanges, community relations events and
capacity-building exercises with navies and coast guards in Japan, South Korea
and the Philippines, including at-sea joint search-and-rescue and interdiction
exercises.

Bertholf also
made a multiday port call to Hong Kong, marking the first U.S. Coast Guard
cutter to visit the city in 17 years.

The Coast
Guard has an ongoing role in the Indo-Pacific, going back more than 150 years.
The service’s ongoing deployment of resources directly supports U.S. foreign
policy and national security objectives in the Indo-Pacific region.

“The U.S.
Coast Guard is proud to operate with our Pacific counterparts, and together we
are dedicated to enhancing our capabilities and strengthening maritime
governance and security while promoting individual sovereignty,” said Vice Adm.
Linda Fagan, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Pacific Area.

Commissioned
in 2008, Bertholf is the first of the Coast Guard’s Legend-class national
security cutters and the first NSC to deploy to the western Pacific.
Alameda-based U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton departed June 5 for a
months-long deployment in the same region.

“The
U.S. Coast Guard’s unique authorities, capabilities, and missions make us the
maritime safety and security partner of choice for sea-going countries around
the world,” Fagan said. “Our increased presence throughout the Indo-Pacific
will enhance regional stability and improve maritime governance and security.”

MIAMI
— The Coast Guard interdicted 49 Haitian migrants Saturday approximately 21
miles northeast of Punta Maisi, Cuba, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a
July 1 release.

The
crew of the Royal Netherlands Navy ship HNLMS
Groningen (P-843) with a Coast Guard law enforcement team interdicted a 35-foot
Haitian sail freighter with 49 migrants aboard, three of those being
unaccompanied children. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Tampa (WMEC-902)
was diverted to assist.

The
cutter Tampa crew arrived on scene and embarked the 49 migrants — 39 males and
10 females, due to safety concerns with the vessel.

“The Coast Guard continues to maintain a focused and coordinated
effort with multiple agency assets to interdict any attempt to dangerously and
unlawfully immigrate by sea to the United States,” said Cmdr. Michael Vega,
Coast Guard 7th District enforcement branch. “Those who are interdicted at
sea attempting to illegally immigrate will be repatriated to their country in
accordance with existing U.S. immigration policy.”

Approximately 2,932 Haitian migrants have attempted to illegally
enter the U.S. via the maritime environment in fiscal year 2019 compared to
2,727 Haitian migrants in fiscal year 2018. These numbers represent the total
number of at-sea interdictions, landings and disruptions in the Florida
Straits, the Caribbean and Atlantic. Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, all
migrants receive food, water, shelter and basic medical attention.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Donald Horsley (WPC-1117) repatriated 44 Dominican migrants and transferred them to Dominican naval authorities June 28 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, following the interdiction of two illegal migrant voyages June 25 and 26 in the Mona Passage, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a June 28 release.

Six other
migrants interdicted in both voyages are facing possible federal prosecution in
Puerto Rico on charges of attempted illegal re-entry into the United States.

The
interdictions are the result of ongoing efforts in support of Operation Unified
Resolve, Operation Caribbean Guard and the Caribbean Border Interagency Group
(CBIG). Since October 2018, the Coast Guard and CBIG federal and state partner
agencies have interdicted over 1,573 migrants at sea near Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Islands.

The first
interdiction took place the night of June 25 after the crew of a Customs and
Border Protection DHC-8 maritime patrol aircraft detected a 25-foot migrant boat
transiting toward Puerto Rico, approximately 17 nautical miles north-northwest
of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

Coast Guard
watchstanders in Sector San Juan diverted the cutter Donald Horsley to
interdict the suspect vessel. Upon arriving on scene, the Donald Horsley crew
stopped the blue makeshift boat with 25 Dominican migrants aboard — 19 men and
five women, and a 16-year-old boy. Horsley crewmembers proceeded to embark all
the migrants from the makeshift boat.

The crew of
the DHC-8 maritime patrol aircraft detected a second illegal migrant voyage on
the night of June 26, approximately nine nautical miles north of Mona Island.

Coast Guard
watchstanders in Sector San Juan diverted the cutter Donald Horsley to
interdict the suspect vessel. Upon arriving on scene, the Donald Horsley crew
stopped the 35-foot blue fiberglass boat with 25 adult Dominican migrants
aboard — 20 men and five women. Horsley crewmembers embarked all the migrants
for safety of life at sea.

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

“I am
extremely proud of the crew of cutter Donald Horsley for their tremendous
efforts which culminated in the interdiction of 50 migrants during two
different cases this week,” said Lt. Christopher Martin, Coast Guard Cutter
Donald Horsley commanding officer. “These illicit ventures put migrants in
extremely dangerous situations at sea and our crew along with our other DHS
partners did an excellent job detecting and intercepting these vessels to stem
the flow of illegal migration to Puerto Rico and ensure the safety of all the
migrants involved in these voyages.”

The cutter
Donald Horsley transferred custody of the six migrants facing federal
prosecution to Ramey Sector Border Patrol agents in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

The CBIG
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 cutter
Donald Horsley is a 154-foot fast-response cutter homeported in San Juan,
Puerto Rico.