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.

ST.
PETERSBURG, Fla. — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Venturous (WMEC-625)
returned home to St. Petersburg June 27 following a 62-day patrol in the
Caribbean Sea, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release of the same date.

Venturous’
crew spent the first three weeks of the patrol at Naval Station Mayport for
their biennial Tailored Ship’s Training Availability, which is designed to test
the crew’s ability to respond to various operations and shipboard emergencies.

After
departing Mayport, the Venturous crew transited over 7,000 miles while
operating in the Caribbean Sea enforcing international laws and treaties in
support of the Coast Guard’s Western Hemisphere Strategy by countering
transnational organized criminal networks and deterring human smuggling while
safeguarding life at sea.

On June 12th,
the crew of the Venturous partnered with rotary and fixed wing aircraft from
Coast Guard Air Stations Clearwater and Miami and Royal Bahamian Defense Forces
interceptor and rescued 177 Haitian migrants from an overloaded 40-foot vessel
approximately 20 nautical miles southwest of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos.

“From responding to Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, to completing four consecutive deployments through the Panama Canal to the Eastern Pacific Ocean, to preventing over nine tons of illicit narcotics, valued at over a quarter billion dollars, from reaching our shores, and rescuing 189 migrants and 10 fishermen from the perils of the sea, the crew of Venturous truly upheld her motto, Nemo Supra, None Better.”

Cmdr. Matthew Chong, commanding officer of the Venturous

The Venturous
crew utilized both of the over the horizon cutter boats to safely offload all
177 migrants from the vessel, which was slowly flooding due to its severely
overloaded state and choppy seas. The Royal Bahamian Defense Forces interceptor
provided security on the vessel and the Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk
helicopter provided overflight coverage as Venturous embarked the migrants.
Once aboard Venturous, crewmembers provided the migrants with food, water,
shelter and basic medical care.

On two other
occasions, Venturous intercepted overloaded vessels closer to shore and
directed them to return back to port rather than face the dangerous journey in
open waters.

Six cadets
from the Coast Guard Academy also joined Venturous during the deployment and
worked alongside the crew while earning various shipboard qualifications and
gaining valuable operational experience that will aid in their development as
future Coast Guard officers.

Additionally,
Venturous hosted two ship riders from the Cayman Islands. While on board, the
ship riders attended operations briefings and engaged with crewmembers to
exchange best practices to fight human and narcotics trafficking networks while
strengthening the strategic partnership with an important regional ally.

“As I
complete my final patrol on Venturous, I can’t help but look back on the past
two years with immense pride and awe in all that our crew accomplished.” said
Cmdr. Matthew Chong, commanding officer of the Venturous. “From responding to
Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, to completing four consecutive deployments
through the Panama Canal to the Eastern Pacific Ocean, to preventing over nine
tons of illicit narcotics, valued at over a quarter billion dollars, from
reaching our shores, and rescuing 189 migrants and 10 fishermen from the perils
of the sea, the crew of Venturous truly upheld her motto, Nemo Supra, None
Better.”

The Venturous
is a 210-foot Reliance-class cutter, homeported in St. Petersburg and has a
crew of 76. Medium endurance cutters, like the Venturous, are slated for
replacement by a new class of cutter — the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC). With
the ability to operate more than 50 miles from land, the OPC will be a
multi-mission asset, providing surface and air pursuit capabilities and
interoperability with other military and federal partners.

WASHINGTON – The
U.S. Coast Guard has selected Charleston, South Carolina, as the home of the service’s
newest National Security Cutter, Coast Guard Headquarters announced in a June
26 release.

“I am pleased to
announce that Charleston, South Carolina, will be the home of the Coast Guard’s
11th National Security Cutter,” said Adm. Karl L. Schultz, commandant of the
Coast Guard. Construction on the 11th National Security Cutter is scheduled to
begin by spring of 2020. Charleston is already home to two of the Coast Guard’s
National Security Cutters, the James and Hamilton. In 2017, the Coast Guard
announced that the ninth and 10th National Security Cutters, currently under
construction at Huntington Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, will
join the Charleston-based National Security Cutter fleet in the coming years.
Schultz further noted, “I am confident that the Charleston community is the
right place for our Coast Guardsmen and their families to base these highly
capable National Security Cutters with the global reach to respond to complex
maritime threats and challenges.”

National Security
Cutters are the most technologically advanced vessels in the Coast Guard. They
are capable of supporting maritime homeland security and defense missions. They
safeguard the American people and promote our security in a complex and
persistently evolving maritime environment.

Grouping cutters
of the same class is one critical variable in selecting homeports. Grouping
cutters in the same location improves maintenance proficiency, streamlines
logistics, and provides increased personnel flexibility.

The cutter is
scheduled to arrive in 2024; its name has not yet been selected. This will be
the fifth National Security Cutter assigned to Charleston.

KEY WEST,
Fla. — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk (WMEC-913) returned to their
homeport in Key West following a 90-day counter-smuggling patrol in support of
Joint Interagency Task Force-South and operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean,
the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release.

The Mohawk
crew, along with Coast Guard crews from Tactical Law Enforcement Team-South,
Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron and multiple partner
agencies, interdicted more than 16,500 pounds of cocaine and more than 1,500
pounds of marijuana to counter and disrupt the illegal smuggling operations of
transnational criminal organizations.

The cutter
crew also conducted joint operations with crews from the Costa Rica Servicio
Nacional de Guardacostas, in which they assisted in the rescue of four Costa
Rican mariners. The Mohawk crew also rescued four sea turtles entangled in
fishing gear.

The Coast
Guard increased U.S. and allied presence in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and
Caribbean Basin, which are known drug transit zones off Central and South
America. During at-sea interdictions in international waters, a suspect vessel
is initially located and tracked by allied, military or law-enforcement
personnel coordinated by JIAFT-S. The interdictions, including the actual
boarding, are led and conducted by U.S. Coast Guardsmen. The law-enforcement
phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific is conducted under
the authority of the Coast Guard 11th District headquartered in Alameda,
California.

The cutter Mohawk is a
270-foot medium-endurance cutter, whose missions include search and rescue,
maritime safety and security, and maritime law enforcement operations, such as
illegal migrant and drug interdiction operations.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant returned home June 23 to Cape Canaveral after a two-month Caribbean patrol, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release.

The crew’s
patrol focused on enforcing U.S. federal laws by conducting boardings of U.S.
and international vessels throughout the Caribbean basin while working with
other government agencies and international partners to maintain national
security.

While on
patrol, the crew ensured the safe return of 50 Haitian migrants to their home
country after their illegal and dangerous voyage was disrupted by the crew of
the Coast Guard Cutter Robert Yered, a fast-response cutter homeported in
Miami. The crew was also involved in a search for a person reported to be in
the water after falling overboard from his sailing vessel.

The Vigilant
crew interdicted a go-fast vessel illegally smuggling 7,800 pounds of garlic
from Haiti to the Dominican Republic. Garlic smuggling is a global issue on the
rise and has had negative impacts on the agricultural industry in the Dominican
Republic in the last few years.

Upon hearing
of the interdiction, the Dominican navy sent a ship to meet the Vigilant to
take over the case for the prosecution. The contraband was valued at about
$30,000 and was the largest Coast Guard seizure of its kind.

During their
59-day patrol, the crew worked with agencies such as the Jamaican Defense
Force, Royal Bahamian Defense Force, Dominican navy, U.S. Drug Enforcement
Agency and the U.S. Navy.

The Vigilant
is a multimission 210-foot medium-endurance cutter whose missions include
illegal drug and migrant interdiction as well as search and rescue. The
Vigilant patrols throughout the Caribbean basin and Atlantic seaboard to ensure
safety of life at sea and enforce international and domestic laws.

SAN JUAN,
Puerto Rico — The Coast Guard Cutter Donald Horsley (WPC-1117) repatriated 11
Dominican migrants to a Dominican navy patrol vessel June 19 in waters just off
Samana, Dominican Republic, following the interdiction of an illegal migrant
voyage in the Mona Passage, 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). Since October 2018, the Coast Guard and CBIG partner federal and state
agencies have interdicted over 1,523 migrants at sea near Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Islands.

During a
routine patrol June 17, the crew of patrolling Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry
maritime patrol aircraft detected a 20-foot fiberglass migrant boat transiting
towards Puerto Rico, about 20 nautical miles north northeast of Punta Cana,
Dominican Republic.

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 and white makeshift boat with 11 migrants onboard, nine men and two women,
who claimed Dominican nationality. Horsley crew members proceeded to embark all
the migrants from the makeshift boat that was taking on water and in danger of
sinking.

“I am proud
of my crew for saving 11 people from a small, grossly overloaded boat traveling
in very dangerous sea conditions,” said Lt. Christopher Martin, commanding
officer of the Donald Horsley. “Crossing the Mona Passage is an extremely
dangerous journey, especially in the case of illegal voyages, in which migrants
risk their lives by trusting smugglers who transport them in inhumane
conditions on boats that are not safe to navigate and do not have any safety
equipment on board.”

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

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