NEW ORLEANS — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Decisive (WMEC-210) returned to their homeport of Pensacola, Florida, Nov. 3, after completing a 40-day counter-drug patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and offloading $20.3 million worth of cocaine and marijuana in southern Florida, the Coast Guard 8th District said in a Nov. 10 release.  

The crew began their deployment in late September, partnering with Joint Interagency Task Force South and Tactical Law Enforcement Team-South, Law Enforcement Detachment 403.  

In the Eastern Pacific Ocean, the crew of the Decisive interdicted two go-fast vessels and a low-profile vessel, carrying a combined total of approximately 900 pounds of cocaine and 2,735 pounds of marijuana, with an estimated street value of $20.3 million of illegal narcotics 

Decisive’s law enforcement team detained nine suspected smugglers aboard the three interdicted vessels and transferred them to federal partner agencies for prosecution.  

“Overcoming Hurricane Sally destruction at home, team Decisive set sail and performed exceptionally down range,” said Cmdr. John McWhite, Decisive’s commanding officer. “Counter narcotic operations and tactics are ever evolving, and our time in the operational area was short but we were highly efficient, relying heavily on each other and remaining adaptable. We maintained our ready posture with a continued focus on team over self; the key to our success.”  

To ensure the safety of Decisive’s crew during the COVID-19 global pandemic, the crew conducted pre-deployment COVID-19 testing, followed by a 14-day monitoring period. Throughout their patrol, Decisive’s crew maintained strict health precautions during all interactions with the public, including wearing N95 masks at all times and undergoing intensive health screenings prior to each boarding. 

KODIAK, Alaska — The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley returned to homeport in Kodiak, Alaska, Thursday, following an 85-day deployment throughout the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea, the Coast Guard 17th District said in a Nov. 3 release. 

The crew patrolled more than 11,000 miles for approximately three months and safeguarded a $5.9 billion fishing industry, and enabled search and rescue coverage in an area spanning 890,000 square miles. 

During the patrol, the Alex Haley crew conducted 20 boardings in partnership with six different fisheries. 

In addition to patrolling the Maritime Boundary Line, the Alex Haley crew joined the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel, Kashima, for a high-latitude exercise in early September. The two vessels completed tactical formation maneuvering and visual communication exercises in a show of international cooperation and goodwill.  

On Aug. 26, Russian Naval vessels and aircraft participating in the Russian military exercise Ocean Shield without authority directed U.S. fishing vessels that were legally fishing within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to depart the area. Alex Haley was sent to the exercise area within the EEZ to provide U.S. military presence, gather information on the incident, and educate the fishing fleet on U.S. sovereign rights.  Alex Haley boarded four of the five fishing vessels known to have interacted with the Russian Navy. The information Alex Haley collected was critical to developing an appropriate diplomatic response to the Russian military interaction with the fishing fleet.  

The Alex Haley is a 282-foot medium-endurance cutter that has been homeported in Kodiak since 1999. The crew of the Alex Haley performs a multitude of the Coast Guards missions.  

“Despite the extraordinary challenges imposed by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the crew of the Alex Haley displayed remarkable perseverance throughout the duration of the patrol,” said Capt. Benjamin Golightly, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley. “While nearly three months away from home can be daunting, the enthusiasm, maturity, and dedication from all hands made this patrol a resounding success.” 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant returned to Cape Canaveral Wednesday after completing a counter-drug patrol in the Caribbean, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a Nov. 4 release.   

The crew of Vigilant spent 48 days patrolling the Caribbean, promoting maritime safety and security in support of Operation Southeast Watch and Operation Unified Resolve. The crew’s efforts focused on ensuring the safety of life at sea while also enforcing border security by conducting counter-drug and alien migrant interdiction operations. 

Patrolling the Windward Passage, the waterway located between Cuba and Haiti, as well as the northern coast of Haiti, Vigilant led the execution of Operation Southeast Watch for 13 days. Providing continuous overt presence along the Haitian coast, Vigilant discouraged illegal migrants from attempting the dangerous sea-going voyage in overloaded and unsafe vessels that put their lives at risk.  

While deployed, the crew also worked alongside Coast Guard units and federal law enforcement agencies to disrupt illicit drug and migrant ventures in the Mona Passage as part of Operation Unified Resolve.

Operating in the waterway located between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, the crew supported the ongoing multiagency efforts of the Caribbean Border Interagency Group by interdicting, caring for, and repatriating suspected drug smugglers and illegal migrants. The collaborative efforts of the crew with the partner units and agencies enabled the interdiction, repatriation, and disposition of 166 migrants, who were endangered by the unsafe conditions of traveling aboard grossly overloaded and unseaworthy makeshift boats.  

 “I am extremely proud of how well our crew continues to respond to mission needs during these challenging times,” said Cmdr. Fred Bertsch, Vigilant’s commanding officer. “The Coast Guard’s primary responsibilities of protecting mariners on the seas and securing our homeland are vital and continue despite the impacts of the pandemic. Our crew worked together to overcome the hazards presented by the coronavirus so that they could continue to carry out and meet those responsibilities and duties. They are truly remarkable in the sacrifices they make and their devotion to duty.” 

The cutter Vigilant is a 210-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Cape Canaveral. The cutter crew’s primary missions include search and rescue, illegal drug interdictions, alien migrant interdictions ensuring the safety of life at sea and enforcing international and domestic maritime laws. 

MIAMI — The Coast Guard assisted Bahamian authorities in interdicting 22 Cuban migrants at Cay Sal Bank, Bahamas, Oct. 28, the Coast Guard 7^th District said in a Nov. 2 release. 

A Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane crew located 22 Cuban migrants on land at Cay Sal Bank.  

The Coast Guard Cutter Isaac Mayo (WPC-1112) crew embarked the 21 adult Cuban males and one adult female and safely transferred one migrant to the Coast Guard Cutter Robert Yered (WPC-1104) crew. 

“Our crew was proud to serve such an important mission,” said Lt. Cmdr. Nick Zieser, commanding officer of the cutter Isaac Mayo. “Rescuing these migrants, who were stranded for 10 days, was challenging but rewarding as we are always ready to protect those in need on the water. We continue to discourage migrants from taking part in illegal voyages at sea. These ventures risk the lives of everyone on board in the dangerous and unforgiving Florida Straits, especially when doing so in overloaded and unseaworthy vessels with inadequate lifesaving equipment aboard.” 

The Isaac Mayo crew transferred 21 Cuban migrants and the Robert Yered crew transferred one migrant to Bahamian authorities in Freeport, Grand Bahama. 

The Coast Guard acted on behalf of Bahamian authorities in keeping with the comprehensive maritime agreement, a bilateral agreement between the United States and Bahamas. 

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

HONOLULU — The Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Berry (WPC-1124) returned to homeport in Honolulu after a mission in the Pacific to curtail illegal fishing and increase maritime law enforcement self-sufficiency with international partners, the Coast Guard 14^th District said in an Oct. 30 release.  

The crew of the Oliver Berry traveled in a first-of-its-kind round-trip patrol spanning from Sept. 12 to Oct. 27, 2020, from Hawaii to Guam, covering a distance of approximately 9,300 miles during their journey.  

“Traveling just under 10,000 nautical miles, we [CGC Oliver Berry] operated further from our homeport than any other FRC to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in portions of Oceania,” said Ensign Michael Meisenger, weapons officer on the Oliver Berry. 

The Oliver Berry collaborated with the governments of Republic of the Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia, strengthening maritime domain awareness and resource security within their Exclusive Economic Zones. An EEZ is an area of coastal water within a certain distance of a country’s coastline for which the country claims exclusive rights for drilling, fishing, and other economic ventures. 

The Oliver Berry aided international enforcement efforts by sending observational reports and imagery to the Maritime Security Advisors and the Pacific Island Forum Fisheries Agency, Regional Fisheries Surveillance Center, thereby increasing mission success and showcasing the Coast Guard’s unwavering commitment to partner nations during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“We worked to increase awareness of unlawful fishing operations in remote portions of the United States, Republic of Marshall Islands, and Federated States of Micronesia’s EEZs, and on the high seas,” said Meisenger. “We executed 19 observation reports on fishing vessels, six of which had not been previously contacted by the Coast Guard.”  

Fast Response Cutters are equipped with new advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems, and boast greater range and endurance compared to their predecessors, the 110-foot Island-class patrol boats.  

The FRCs represent the Coast Guard’s commitment to modernizing service assets and maintaining a strong presence and support for a free and open Indo-Pacific. Oceania covers an area of 3.3 million square miles and has a population of approximately 40 million people. Its melting pot of cultures depends on the living marine resources and maritime commerce to allow their people to thrive.  

The Coast Guard combats illegal fishing and other maritime threats across the Pacific to protect their resource security and sovereignty. Combating illegal fishing is part of promoting maritime governance and a rules-based international order that is essential to a free and open Oceania. 

SANTA RITA, Guam — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Sequoia (WLB 215) returned Nov. 1 from a deployment that furthered maritime safety and security improvements with the Republic of Palau in late September and October, the Coast Guard 14th District said in a Nov. 2 release. 
 
The mission was an ongoing effort between the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Embassy Koror, U.S. Department of the Interior, and Palau to improve the aids to navigation infrastructure and further Palau’s maritime transportation system. 
 
“Palau and the Coast Guard have a long, sustained partnership and the Sequoia’s deployment furthered this relationship,” said Capt. Christopher Chase, commander, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Guam. “Through teamwork between ourselves and Palau we overcame COVID-19 limitations allowing Palau to become the first country to welcome U.S. military deployments to conduct critical aids to navigation, maritime law enforcement, and humanitarian assistance missions.” 
 
During the 21-day patrol, the crew of the Sequoia established or serviced 12 aids to navigation in Palau while also working closely with the Palau Ministry of Justice’s Department of Maritime Law Enforcement during the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Operation Kurukuru to protect Palau’s National Marine Sanctuary and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU).   
 
Aids to navigation perform a vital function by providing navigational markers facilitating safe movement of private, commercial, and government vessels through Palau’s waters while contributing to the overall safety of the global marine transportation system. 
 
Prior to the mission, the crew of the Sequoia, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army dive teams undertook extensive COVID-19 precautions including testing and quarantine to ensure the safety of both the crews and the people of Palau. 
 
An important goal of both the United States and Palau is the protection of the Pacific Ocean’s fish stocks. IUU fishing poses a serious threat to the Pacific’s fish population and throughout the patrol the Sequoia’s crew worked closely with the Palau Ministry of Justice’s Department of Maritime Law Enforcement to protect the country’s EEZ including jointly participating in the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Operation Kurukuru. 
 
Operation Kurukuru is a coordinated maritime surveillance operation between partners in the region. The operation’s success depends on the ability of partners like Palau and the United States to work together. 
 
Throughout the cutter’s time in Palau the crew of the Sequoia partnered with Palau’s Maritime Law Enforcement officers to monitor fishing vessels within Palau’s EEZ. This collaboration enhanced Palau’s maritime domain awareness and vessel monitoring to help protect the county’s fisheries from IUU. 
 
The cutter’s crew completed five vessel sightings throughout the operation, relaying the information back to Palau’s Maritime Law Enforcement officers for future fisheries patrols. 
 
The Sequoia also engaged in a humanitarian mission to the island of Sonsorol during the patrol, delivering supplies including food, fuel, and medicine from the Palau Ministry of Health to the island. 
 
Accompanying the Sequoia to Sonsorol was the Sonsorol State Gov. Nicholas Aquino, Delegate Yutaka Gibbons, Jr., U.S. Ambassador John Hennessey-Niland, Lt. Cmdr. Clint Moore of the Royal Australian Navy, and Lt. Cmdr. Tommy Tomika of the Japan Coast Guard. 
 
The visit to Sonsorol served dual purposes. While the crew delivered the supplies, the dignitaries surveyed the island for possible future civil and defense building projects. 
 
“This patrol has showcased the flexibility and multi-mission nature of Sequoia,” said Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Adams, the commanding officer of the Sequoia. “We completed aids to navigation maintenance in the waters of Guam, Rota, and Saipan and patrolled the high seas west of the Mariana Islands to detect and deter IUU fishing. We also worked closely with our partners in Palau on missions to establish aids to navigation with the support of Coast Guard and Army divers and enhance Palau’s maritime domain awareness capabilities. I am proud of the skill, resilience, and determination demonstrated by the crew of Sequoia throughout this patrol.” 

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB-10) will deploy to the Arctic this winter to help protect the nation’s maritime sovereignty and security in the region, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in an Oct. 29 release.  

Typically, the Polar Star travels to Antarctica each year in support of Operation Deep Freeze, the annual military mission to resupply the United States’ Antarctic stations, in support of the National Science Foundation. 

This year’s maritime resupply at McMurdo Station was canceled due to COVID safety precautions, and a limited resupply will be conducted via aircraft. However, Operation Deep Freeze is an enduring mission that requires a heavy icebreaker for a full resupply, and the Coast Guard anticipates resuming this critical deployment next year. 

The United States is an Arctic nation, and the Coast Guard has served as the lead federal agency for homeland security, safety, and environmental stewardship in the Arctic region for more than 150 years. 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. 

In April 2019, the Coast Guard released the Arctic Strategic Outlook, which reaffirms the service’s commitment to American leadership in the region through partnership, unity of effort, and continuous innovation. 

“The Arctic is no longer an emerging frontier, but is instead a region of growing national importance,” said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area. “The Coast Guard is committed to protecting U.S. sovereignty and working with our partners to uphold a safe, secure, and rules-based Arctic.”   

ASTORIA, Ore. — The crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Alert (WMEC-630) returned to their home port Tuesday following a 60-day living marine resources patrol that began in late August.  

The cutter and crew patrolled the California coast, spanning from Humboldt County to the Southern Maritime Border with Mexico, enforcing federal, state and local policies aboard U.S. commercial fishing vessels.  

In direct support of the Coast Guard’s Ocean Steward and Ocean Guardian strategic guidance, the Alert completed 38 vessel boardings that enforced fisheries regulations and reporting compliance resulting in 47 violations.  

The Alert crew discovered 30 safety violations and terminated the voyages of three commercial fishing vessels, which were determined to be unsafe to continue operating. The vessel terminations were due to overdue survival craft servicing, expired hydrostatic releases on survival craft and expired flares. At-sea boardings are critical to ensuring safety of life for fleets operating on offshore fishing grounds. These efforts identified potential life-threating situations and required the three vessel operators to correct these deficiencies before continuing their voyage.  

In addition to safety inspections, the Alert’s crew also checked for fisheries regulation compliance, and issued 17 living marine resources violations, that primarily consisted of fishing vessels not broadcasting vessel monitoring system codes, declaring incorrect vessel monitoring codes, fishing in closed areas and not having required vessel markings or logbooks aboard.  

The Coast Guard plays a critical role in helping the nation recover and maintain healthy populations of marine-protected species through its statutory mission of living marine resources.  

The nation’s maritime ecosystems are key to the United States’ economy and well-being and ensuring the country enjoys a diverse and sustainable marine environment is an important Coast Guard mission. This effort includes aiding in the prevention and decline of protected marine species populations, promoting the recovery of endangered marine habitats and partnering with other agencies to enhance the sustainment of marine ecosystems. 

“It was amazing safeguarding the waterways and channels so close to where I grew up,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Riley Wright, a boatswain’s mate aboard the Alert and a native of Murrieta, California. “It felt great knowing that we identified multiple dangerous situations with on-board safety gear and that our actions during this patrol potentially saved several lives.” 

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, numerous safety measures and precautions were put into place aboard the Alert.  

The boat crews and boarding team members followed both Coast Guard and CDC guidelines to protect the fishing fleets and crews. All personal protective equipment was worn and the Alert’s small boats were decontaminated after every boarding. 

The 51-year old ship overcame several disabling equipment casualties during the patrol.  

The crew also embarked two California Fish and Game Wardens in an effort to build upon standing federal and state level law enforcement partnerships and improve maritime domain awareness for those tasked with regulating safety and oversight of the California commercial fishing industry.  

“I’m extremely proud of the Alert crew for their dedication and devotion to duty during our living marine resources patrol off the coast of California,” said Cmdr. Tyson Scofield, the Alert’s commanding officer. “The fishing industry is a vital component of the West Coast economy, and the Coast Guard is ready to keep the industry safe and sustainable. Alert’s first District 11 Living Marine Resources patrol in several years was a resounding success, paving the way for future major cutter operations in the region.” 

The Coast Guard Cutter Alert is a 210-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Astoria.  

The 11^th Coast Guard District is headquartered in Alameda, California and encompasses the states of California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah, along with the coastal and offshore waters from the California-Oregon border south including Mexico, Central America and down to South America. 

LOCKPORT, La. — U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien recently announced plans to conduct a feasibility study on whether to base U.S. Coast Guard Sentinel Class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) in American Samoa to counter “destabilizing and malign actions” by China in the Indo-Pacific region. Together with the FRCs currently based in Apra Harbor, Guam, these Cutters will help the United States challenge Chinese aggression, maintain the United States’ commitment to peace and prosperity, and ensure that America remains the partner of choice in the region, Bollinger Shipyards announced in an Oct 22 release. 

“As the Coast Guard continues to evolve to meet the most pressing maritime and national security threats of the day — be it IUU fishing, piracy, drug or human trafficking — a larger fleet and expanded presence of American-made white hulls with red racing stripes around the globe will help further the regional partnerships and alliances necessary to curb the creeping influence of America’s strategic competitors and adversaries and reaffirm its continued leadership and commitment to rules-based order and maritime governance around the world,” said Ben Bordelon, president and chief executive officer of Bollinger Shipyards and chairman of the Shipbuilders Council of America.

“Should the proposed feasibility study demonstrate a need for additional FRCs, Bollinger Shipyards and the maritime defense industrial base stand ready to construct and deliver the high-quality and high-endurance vessels necessary to carry out and perform the mission at hand.” 

Earlier this year, Bollinger Shipyards delivered the USCGC Oliver Henry to the U.S. Coast Guard, which is the second of three FRCs to be home-ported in Apra Harbor, Guam, in support of Operation Aiga, which is an effort to strengthen island nations in Oceania, including through fishery patrols and enforcement. This USCGC marked the 163rd vessel Bollinger has delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard in its 35-year period and the 40th FRC delivered under the current program. Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Karl Schultz has acknowledged the importance of the Guam homeporting, saying, “by placing an ocean-going Coast Guard buoy tender and FRCs, we will promote ‘rules-based order,’ build capacity and affirm the United States’ positive and enduring role in the region.”  

In the feasibility study announcement, National Security Advisor O’Brien explained the rationale for the study’s launch by saying, “The USCG continues to modernize and enhance the capabilities of its fleet of major cutters, which play a prominent role in protecting our vital national interests, and where appropriate, those of our partners in the region. To that end, the USCG is strategically homeporting significantly enhanced Fast Response Cutters, built in a proven Louisiana-based shipyard, in the western Pacific.”  

O’Brien states that the new generation of Fast Response Cutters will “conduct maritime security missions, such as fisheries patrols, enhance maritime domain awareness and enforcement efforts in collaboration with regional partners who have limited offshore surveillance and enforcement capacity, and ensure freedom of navigation. … Enhancing the presence of the USCG in the Indo-Pacific ensures the United States will remain the maritime partner of choice in the region.” 

Bordelon continued, “Bollinger is honored to support and enhance the Coast Guard’s operational presence and mission in the Indo-Pacific region. Building quality vessels for the U.S. Coast Guard provides critical assets to bolster our national security interests, both domestic and abroad. We are proud and humbled to be partners in the FRC program.”   

The FRC program has had a total economic impact of $1.2 billion since inception in material spending and directly supports more than 650 jobs in south Louisiana. The program has indirectly created 1,690 new jobs from operations and capital investment and has an annual economic impact on GDP of $202 million, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) on the economic Importance of the U.S. Shipbuilding and Repair Industry. Bollinger sources over 271,000 different items for the FRC consisting of 282 million components and parts from 965 suppliers in 37 states.  

The FRC is one of many U.S. Government shipbuilding programs that Bollinger is proud to support. In addition to the design and construction of the FRC, Bollinger is participating in Industry Studies for five Government programs, including the U.S. Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program, the U.S. Navy’s Common Hull Auxiliary Multi-Mission Platform (CHAMP) program, the U.S. Navy’s Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance (T-AGOS(X)) program, the U.S. Navy’s Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle (LUSV) program and the U.S. Navy’s Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) program. 

The FRC is an operational “game changer,” according to senior Coast Guard officials. FRCs are consistently being deployed in support of the full range of missions within the United States Coast Guard and other branches of our armed services.  This is due to its exceptional performance, expanded operational reach and capabilities, and ability to transform and adapt to the mission. FRCs have conducted operations as far as the Marshall Islands — a 4,400 nautical mile trip from their homeport. Measuring in at 154 feet, FRCs have a flank speed of 28 knots, state of the art C4ISR suite (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), and stern launch and recovery ramp for a 26-foot, over-the-horizon interceptor cutter boat. 

MIAMI — Coast Guard Cutter Thetis’ crew returned home on Oct. 23 to Key West, after completing a 42-day patrol to the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean.

During its patrol, the crew interdicted more than 4,500 pounds of illicit narcotics bound for the maritime domain. In total, the crew prevented more than $8.8 million worth of narcotics from reaching American streets while working in support of U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force-South, Thetis’ crew played a critical role in executing the nation’s counter drug mission.

“By remaining active in the Eastern Pacific, we continue to disrupt the flow of illicit and dangerous narcotics into the United States,” said Cmdr. Justin Nadolny, Thetis’ commanding officer. “The high operational tempo of the mission was demanding, and I am extremely proud of what this outstanding crew accomplished.”   

Thetis’ crew deployed with an MH-65 helicopter aircrew capable of conducting airborne use of force from the Coast Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron based in Jacksonville, Florida. The detachment assisted in the interdiction of a go-fast vessel and a low-profile vessel suspected of smuggling illicit cargo.

Thetis — named for the mother of Achilles from Greek mythology — is a 270-foot famous-class cutter homeported in Key West, with a crew complement of 104.