ARLINGTON, Va. — The second pair of Sentinel fast-response cutters are soon to depart U.S. waters on a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean bound for permanent basing in the Persian Gulf.

Coast Guard Commandant Karl Schultz, speaking Dec. 8 at a Navy League Special Topic Breakfast, said the two 154-foot-long FRCs will be escorted across the ocean by the USCGC Thetis (WMEC 910), a Famous-class medium-endurance cutter that was topping off with fuel in Puerto Rico. Schultz said that after the escort mission the Thetis will be operating off Africa.

The two FRCs, USCGC Glenn Harris (WPC 1144) and USCGC Emlen Tunnell (WPC 1145), will replace two of the four remaining Island-class 110-foot-long patrol boats in Patrol Forces Southwest Asia at their base in Bahrain.

Earlier this year, the first two FRCs assigned to the Persian Gulf, USCGC Charles Moulthrope (WPC 1141) and USCGC Robert Goldman (WPC 1142), were escorted across the Atlantic by the national security cutter USCGC Hamilton (WMSL 753).

The first two FRCs in the Gulf replaced the Island-class patrol boats USCGC Adak (WPB 1333) and USCGC Aquidneck (WPB 1309), which were decommissioned on June 15 for transfer to Indonesia.

Patrol Forces Southwest Asia conducts maritime security patrols in the Persian Gulf in concert with the U.S. 5th Fleet and other allies and partners

The voyage to Bahrain from the U.S. East Coast covers 9,000 nautical miles.

MIAMI — Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless’ crew offloaded more than $148 million of illegal narcotics at Base Miami Beach, Dec. 7, from three separate interdictions in the Caribbean Sea in the past two weeks, the Coast Guard 7th District said Dec. 9. 

Following the three interdictions, nine suspected drug smugglers with Dominican Republic and Colombian nationalities were apprehended. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave Knight crew seized approximately 1,200 pounds of cocaine, and Coast Guard Cutter William Trump and the His Netherlands Majesty’s Ship Hollands’ crew seized approximately 6,700 pounds of cocaine in two interdictions. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of Puerto Rico, Southern District of Florida and the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting these cases. 

“These successful interdictions are the result of professional partnerships between the Coast Guard, RFA Wave Knight, and HNLMS Holland crews,” said Hansel Pintos, 7th District spokesperson. “The Coast Guard’s strong international partnerships, counter threats in the maritime domain, protect each of our countries from transnational organized crime, and work to stabilize and promote good governance in the region.” 

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. 

The fight against drug cartels in the Caribbean Sea requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by international partners and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in districts across the nation. 

During at-sea interdictions, a suspect vessel is initially 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 operations in the Caribbean Sea is conducted under the authority of the Seventh Coast Guard District, headquartered in Miami. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard. 

HONOLULU — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter William Hart completed its 39-day patrol over 7,000 nautical miles in Oceania in support of the Coast Guard’s Operation Blue Pacific, last week, said the Coast Guard 14th District. 
 
Operation Blue Pacific is an overarching multi-mission Coast Guard endeavor promoting security, safety, sovereignty and economic prosperity in Oceania while strengthening relationships between our partners in the region. 
 
“This patrol had multiple goals, which really displayed the adaptability of our crew,” said Lt. Cmdr. Cynthia Travers, the commanding officer of the William Hart. “While we continued to support international efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the region, we’ve also worked with our partners including New Zealand’s National Maritime Coordination Centre, the nation of Samoa, the National Park Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on a number of joint endeavors.” 
 
In November, the crew of the William Hart, one of the Coast Guard’s new Fast Response Cutters, participated in the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency’s Operation Kurukuru, an annual coordinated maritime surveillance operation with the goal of combating IUU fishing. 
 
IUU fishing presents a direct threat to the efforts of Pacific Island countries and territories to conserve fish stocks, an important renewable resource in the region. 
 
Following the successful conclusion of Operation Kurukuru, the William Hart’s crew continued to patrol the exclusive economic zones of the United States, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati and Fiji to prevent illicit maritime activity. 
 
Upon request from NOAA, the crew visited Fagatele Bay in the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, using the cutter’s small boat to ensure there was no fishing or activity which would damage the coral within the United States’ largest national marine sanctuary. 
 
The crew of the William Hart also supported a National Park Service boat during a transit between Tutuila Island and the Manu’a Islands, providing search and rescue coverage. 
 
The cutter’s crew then departed for Fiji’s EEZ, where they supported New Zealand’s NMCC by locating an adrift Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis buoy and reporting the buoy’s condition to Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand and other stakeholders. 
 
DART buoys are real-time monitoring systems strategically deployed throughout the Pacific to provide important tsunami forecasting data to researchers. 
 
“These expeditionary patrols are important to the continued stability and prosperity of Oceania,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jessica Conway, a Coast Guard 14th District operations planner. “Partnerships are key to promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific. Operation Blue Pacific allows us to coordinate with regional partners and most effectively employ our assets towards shared goals.” 

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Coast Guard law enforcement crews interdicted 78 lanchas, seized 15,484 pounds of catch and detained 208 fishermen during fiscal year 2021 along the Texas coast, the Coast Guard 8^th District said Dec. 5. 

Since the first recorded lancha interdiction in the late 1980s, the Coast Guard has seen a significant uptick in the detection of the vessels, recording close to 300 lancha interdictions in the past three fiscal years combined. 

A noteworthy case from this year was on Aug. 4, when Coast Guard Station South Padre Island worked with Coast Guard Sector and Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Coast Guard Cutter Pelican to interdict four lanchas with a total of 320 pounds of red snapper and 1,160 pounds of shark in one day. 

In cooperation with other law enforcement agencies, the Coast Guard uses a layered approach to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing through aircraft, small boats and cutters, as well as improved technology on those assets, resulting in the drastic increase in lancha interdictions. 

“The crew at Station South Padre Island takes their role of protecting our natural resources from poaching along the Maritime Boundary Line very seriously,” said Lt. Cmdr. Daniel Ippolito, commanding officer of Coast Guard Station South Padre Island. “The last few years of record-breaking lancha interdictions speak to the steadfast commitment, professionalism, and teamwork of the Coast Guard crews and our partners at Texas Parks and Wildlife to this mission. We ask that the public continue to stay vigilant and report any instances of illegal fishing to the Coast Guard or Texas Parks and Wildlife.” 

A lancha is a fishing boat used by Mexican fishermen that is approximately 20-30 feet long with a slender profile. They typically have one outboard motor and are capable of traveling at speeds exceeding 30 mph. Lanchas pose a major threat, usually entering the United States’ exclusive economic zone near the U.S.-Mexico border in the Gulf of Mexico with the intent to smuggle people, drugs, or poach natural resources. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Leonardo DRS Inc. has again been awarded a contract by Eastern Shipbuilding Group to provide the Auxiliary Propulsion System for the fourth shipset in the U.S. Coast Guard’s new fleet of Offshore Patrol Cutters, Leonardo DRS said Dec. 6.

This platform is the first combined diesel electric or diesel propulsion system application for the Coast Guard. Eastern Shipbuilding Group is the prime contractor and builder of these next-generation Offshore Patrol Cutters. 

Under the contract, Leonardo DRS will provide its high-performance, permanent magnet motor-based Auxiliary Propulsion System, which has been optimized to meet the Coast Guard’s operational tempo and provides capability for the ship to operate much more efficiently at slower speeds, increases mission duration capability, reduces emissions, and provides emergency take-home capability in the event of a failure of the main propulsion diesel engines. When coupled to the main propulsion gearbox, the system allows the ship to operate quietly and efficiently during loitering operations while providing superior fuel economy for increased on-station operations and capability. 

Maximizing use of the electric drive increases the platform’s green credentials and reduces operational time on the main propulsion engines, providing additional multiple benefits. Because electric motors are virtually maintenance free, life cycle costs over the planned 40-year vessel life are minimized by reducing maintenance hours needed on the engines. Using propulsion diesel engines at slow speeds adds significant wear and tear on the engines and increases the potential for coking/wet stacking. By adding this electric Auxiliary Propulsion System, the Coast Guard can expect to have a built-in advantage of reducing not only fuel and maintenance requirements, but total lifecycle costs and increased safety for the fleet. The main engine overhaul cycle, typically planned at 15 years, can be extended to 25 years.  

“Leonardo DRS is a leading innovator in the naval hybrid electric drive technology arena, and we are proud to be able to provide our advanced technology to the Coast Guard’s fleet of next-generation Cutters,” said Jon Miller, senior vice president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS Naval Power business. “These new propulsion systems will give operational flexibility while significantly increasing cost savings in yearly maintenance and fuel, enabling crews to put more focus on their missions.” 

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Coast Guard Cutter Aspen (WLB 208) and crew departed the Bay Area Nov. 29 for the last time as a San Francisco-based cutter and are en route to the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore to undergo major maintenance and overhaul, the Coast Guard 11th District said Nov. 30.   
   
This marks the end of two decades of service along the California Coastline for the Aspen as one of 16 of the nation’s Juniper class sea-going buoy tenders. The 225-foot ship and its 48-person crew have been stationed at Yerba Buena Island since Sept. 28, 2001.  
   
Aspen’s area of responsibility encompassed the coastal areas from the Oregon-California border to San Diego. In addition to its primary buoy tender operations, the cutter also has a long history in search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction and marine pollution prevention and response missions. Since 2005, the cutter has worked with U.S. partners in Mexico to interdict tens of millions of dollars in illicit narcotics in support of U.S. Southern Command and Joint Interagency Task Force South objectives, most recently interdicting $3.2 million worth of cocaine in 2017.  In 2007, Aspen responded to the Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 to assist in oil spill cleanup efforts.    
   
The crew is slated to travel approximately 6,000 miles over the course of 40 days and pass from the Pacific to the Atlantic by way of the Panama Canal. The Aspen is scheduled to undergo a $20 million, 12-month major maintenance availability (MMA) overhaul.  
   
The MMA is a planned dry dock event at the Coast Guard Yard, the first such major availability in the life of this class of ship. The availability will recapitalize many of the ship’s critical systems, to include complete crane replacement, topside preservation work and technology modernization. The availability is designed to ensure that the cutter can reach its designed 30-year service life. Aspen will be the 11th 225-foot Juniper Class buoy tender to begin the MMA period.  

The Coast Guard Cutter Alder (WLB 216) formerly homeported in Duluth, Minnesota, is slated to be brought back into service in summer of 2022 by the former Aspen crew and re-homeported in San Francisco. The Aspen’s scheduled final destination will be Homer, Alaska, in early 2023.  

“It has been a privilege to serve along California’s rugged, oftentimes austere coastline; the beauty is without parallel, and the Pacific Ocean’s winds, current, fog and constant swells offshore continue to mold us as the stern teachers they are,” said Lt. Cmdr. Paul Ledbetter, the Aspen’s commanding officer. “The U.S. is and always has been a maritime nation, and my crew relishes the challenges of keeping the maritime transportation system up and running in our capacity as a WLB. We look forward to continuing to serve this great country when we return to San Francisco aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Alder next year.” 
   
Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Team San Francisco will be standing by to perform routine maintenance on the Aspen’s buoys throughout the Bay Area. Additionally, the Coast Guard Cutter George Cobb, a 175-foot buoy tender homeported in San Pedro, is slated to maintain all aids to navigation south of San Francisco and the Coast Guard Cutter Elm, a 225-foot buoy tender homeported in Astoria, Oregon, is also slated to assist throughout Northern California in spring 2022. 

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Legend-class national security cutter USCGC Hamilton (WMSL 753) crew returned home Nov. 24 to Charleston after completing a 72-day patrol throughout the Eastern Pacific Ocean, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release.  

The crew offloaded 26,250 pounds (11,907 kilograms) of cocaine and 3,700 pounds of marijuana worth $504 million Monday at Port Everglades.    

Hamilton’s crew interdicted five drug-laden vessels while patrolling the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Hamilton’s law enforcement team detained all 14 suspects, stopped 199 Haitian migrants, and rescued two people.  

Hamilton’s crew, along with an aviation detachment from the Coast Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, began the deployment in early September anticipating a counter-narcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.  

With changes in the Haitian political climate, Hamilton’s crew transitioned to alien migration interdiction operations in the Windward Pass. Hamilton’s crew focused on dangerous maritime migration voyages, then interdicting 199 Haitian migrants. They also managed tactical control of seven U.S. Coast Guard cutters, which reduced Haitian migration by 93% with no loss of life. 

“We are thrilled to be back in the low country in time for the holidays. The past 72 days have taken us from deterring illegal migration off Haiti to combatting drug trafficking organizations in the Eastern Pacific,” said Capt. Matthew Brown, commanding officer of Hamilton. “Every day brought new challenges but also new opportunities for this crew to come together and solve complex problems. The product of their hard work was the successful deterrence of unsafe migrant ventures from the claw of Haiti and the seizure of nearly 12 tons of illegal drugs destined for North America.”   

Hamilton is one of three 418-foot national security cutters homeported in Charleston under U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command with two more anticipated by 2025. With its robust command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment, they are the most technologically advanced ship in the U.S. Coast Guard’s fleet. These crews regularly work cooperatively under U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area, district commanders and combatant commands. 

NSCs are a worldwide deployable asset that supports the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense and national objectives through drug interdiction, migrant interdiction, national defense, SAR, fisheries enforcement and national intelligence collection.   

U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area command, based in Portsmouth, Virginia, oversees all U.S. Coast Guard operations east of the Rocky Mountains to the Arabian Gulf. Also, they allocate ships to deploy to the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific to combat transnational organized crime and illicit maritime activity. 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless rescued 27 migrants Nov. 27 after the migrants abandoned a disabled vessel Wednesday and ended up stranded on Monito Island, Puerto Rico, the Coast Guard 7^th District said in a release. 

The rescued migrants, 25 Haitian and two others of undetermined nationality, reportedly were traveling with 10 other Haitian migrants who were rescued by the Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless Wednesday from a disabled makeshift vessel near Monito Island. 

Coast Guard rescue crews ended the search for possible migrants in the water Friday afternoon, after confirming the migrants who abandoned the disabled vessel had safely reached Monito Island. 

“This case was a very close call, and I commend the efforts of our partner agencies and all Coast Guard units and personnel who helped save 37 lives from a disabled migrant vessel and from the harsh and dangerous environment of Monito Island, preventing what could have been a major loss of life,” said Cmdr. Beau Powers, Sector San Juan chief of response. “To anyone considering taking part in one of these voyages we urge them to not take to the sea, you are putting your life and the life of others at risk. If caught, you are also risking prosecution for migrating illegally to the United States. Migrants, who are interdicted at sea and not prosecuted, will be returned to the country they departed from.” 

During search efforts Thursday, the crew of a Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Borinquen observed there were more than 20 people stranded on Monito Island.  

The crew of the cutter Dauntless combined efforts with a Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft, U.S. Border Patrol agents and a Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action marine unit Friday to deliver food, water and a hand-held radio to the stranded migrants. Shortly thereafter, the crew of the cutter Dauntless established successful radio communications with the migrants on Monito Island who confirmed, along with statements received from survivors of the disabled migrant vessel, that all the passengers from the illegal voyage were accounted for and safe.  

The following morning, the Dauntless crew used the cutter’s Over the Horizon boats to rescue the stranded migrants from Monito Island, while a Coast Guard helicopter flew rescue support on scene. During the rescue, the Coast Guard boat crews recovered several migrants from the water who jumped from the bottom of the cliff, including a pregnant woman. 

Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, all migrants receive food, water, shelter and basic medical attention. Throughout rescue efforts, Coast Guard crewmembers were equipped with personal protective equipment to minimize potential exposure to any possible case of COVID-19. 

The 27 rescued migrants were transported to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, where they were received by awaiting Border Patrol Agents and Emergency Medical Service personnel. 

The Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless is a 210-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Pensacola, Florida. 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A Station San Juan boat crew offloaded approximately 400 kilograms in seized cocaine and transferred custody of four suspected smugglers to federal agents Nov. 24, following the interdiction of a go-fast vessel near Dorado, Puerto Rico, the Coast Guard 7^th District said in a release.  

The apprehended smugglers are Dominican Republic nationals who are facing federal prosecution in Puerto Rico on drug smuggling criminal charges of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance Aboard a Vessel Subject to the Jurisdiction of the United States. The charges carry a minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a maximum sentence of imprisonment for life. The Transnational Organized Crime Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Martin from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico is leading the prosecution for this case. The seized cocaine has an estimated wholesale value of approximately $12 million. 

During a routine patrol of Puerto Rico’s northern coast, the aircrew of a Customs and Border Protection multirole enforcement aircraft detected a suspicious go-fast vessel, approximately 24 nautical miles north of Dorado, Puerto Rico. 

Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector San Juan directed the launch of a Station San Juan 33-foot Special Purpose Craft–Law Enforcement to interdict the suspect vessel. Once on scene and while in pursuit, the Coast Guard crew compelled the go-fast vessel to stop. Following the interdiction, the Coast Guard crew seized 16 bales of cocaine and apprehended the four suspected smugglers. 

“This successful interdiction is a result of the professionalism, close coordination and swift response displayed by the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection surface, air, and watchstander crews involved in this case,” said Cmdr. Beau Powers, Sector San Juan chief of response. “These professionals respond and work daily to maximize our interagency capabilities and resources to stop drug smuggling vessels at sea. Together, along with the rest of our local and federal law enforcement partners, we seek to safeguard the nation’s maritime border and protect the people of Puerto Rico from this threat.” 

SEATTLE — The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB 20) returned to their Seattle homeport Saturday following a 22,000-mile, 133-day deployment circumnavigating North America, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said Nov. 20. 
 
The crew aboard Healy, a 420-foot medium icebreaker, provided U.S. surface presence in the Arctic, supported high-latitude oceanographic research missions, participated in an international search-and-rescue exercise and engaged in passing exercises with surface vessels from the U.S. Navy, Canadian navy and Mexican navy. 
 
Healy’s crew hosted members of the international science community and institutions from the U.S., Canada, Norway and Denmark who conducted oceanographic research throughout the Arctic, including the Northwest Passage and within Baffin Bay, to monitor environmental change.  
 
Healy crewmembers also facilitated 430 over-the-side casts of various scientific instruments including a conductivity, temperature and depth array that requires the cutter to station keep as wire lowers and recovers the instrument from below the surface. Additionally, Healy mapped over 20,000-square kilometers of the seafloor, including 12,000-square kilometers of previously unmapped regions, throughout the patrol.  
 
Healy transited north of Canada via the Northwest Passage, where the crew rendezvoused with members of the Canadian Coast Guard and Canadian Rangers for a search-and-rescue exercise. The crew transited south of Mexico via the Panama Canal on their way home. Healy’s deployment supported the Coast Guard’s Arctic strategy while providing critical training opportunities for future icebreaker sailors. 
 
“Healy’s crew demonstrated their tremendous dedication to duty while carrying out the Coast Guard’s Arctic mission, operating in some of the harshest regions in the world,” said Coast Guard Cutter Healy’s Commanding Officer Capt. Kenneth Boda. “They assisted teams of scientists in gathering invaluable data and information throughout the deployment. This research will be shared with laboratories, universities and institutions around the world to support research focused on the changing Arctic environment.” 
 
While transiting down the east coast of the United States and back up the west coast of Mexico, Healy engaged in multiple outreach events including passing exercises, professional exchanges and embarking distinguished visitors to bolster relations with other nations.  
 
Healy deploys annually to the Arctic in support of oceanographic research and Operation Arctic Shield, the Service’s annual operation to execute U.S. Coast Guard missions, enhance maritime domain awareness, strengthen partnerships, and build preparedness, prevention, and response capabilities across the Arctic domain. 
 
Commissioned in 2000, Healy is one of two active polar icebreakers in the Coast Guard’s fleet. Healy is capable of breaking four feet of ice continuously and up to eight feet of ice while backing and ramming. 
 
The U.S. Coast Guard is recapitalizing its polar icebreaker fleet to ensure continued access to the Polar Regions and protect the country’s economic, commercial, environmental, and national security interests.  The Coast Guard and U.S. Navy, through an integrated program office, on April 23, 2019, awarded VT Halter Marine Inc., of Pascagoula, Mississippi, a fixed-price incentive contract for the detail, design and construction of the lead Polar security cutter with contract delivery planned for 2025.