LOCKPORT, La. — Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Henry in Key West, Florida, the company said in a July 30 release. 

This is the 163rd vessel Bollinger has delivered to the Coast Guard over a 35-year period and the 40th fast-response cutter (FRC) under the current program.  

The Oliver Henry is the second of three FRCs to be homeported in Apra Harbor, Guam, increasing the presence for the Coast Guard in the Indo-Pacific theater. Additionally, later in 2020, Bollinger deliver the first of six FRCs that will be based in Manama, Bahrain, which will replace the Island-class patrol boats supporting the Patrol Forces Southwest Asia, the Coast Guard’s largest unit outside of the U.S. 

“Bollinger is proud to continue enhancing and supporting the Coast Guard’s operational presence and mission in the Indo-Pacific region with the delivery of the USCGC Oliver Henry,” said Ben Bordelon, Bollinger’s president and CEO. 

Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who distinguished himself or herself in the line of duty. Oliver Henry was the first minority service member to move from the wardroom to the engine room and rose rapidly through the ranks of enlisted mechanics. 

He was one of the Coast Guard’s first minority warrant officers and served over 15 years of his 26-year career as a warrant. As a leader and role model, he mentored many of the next generation of service leaders, including officers and enlisted men. 

The homeporting of three FRCs in Guam is part of the Coast Guard’s “doubling down on Oceania,” allowing more frequent and longer patrols in an area where the Coast Guard has increased its presence over the past 18 months and is aligned with the U.S. position on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific. 

In a speech last year, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl L. Schultz stressed the strategic importance of the service’s presence in the region saying, “We’re on a trajectory where the geostrategic importance of the Oceania region has not been higher here in decades, and it’s a place that the Coast Guard’s looking to be part of the whole-of-government solution set.”  

While the last 20 weeks of the Oliver Henry’s build occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bollinger took precautions to ensure the health and safety of employees and keep its delivery schedule. In addition to enhanced sanitization practices across the shipyard, Bollinger enacted more liberal leave and remote work policies as well as altered shift schedules to promote social distancing. 

Bordelon continued, “Delivering vessels on schedule and on budget to the Coast Guard in these unprecedented times given the COVID-19 challenges that we are all facing shows the resiliency and dedication of our incredibly capable workforce.” 

FRCs are consistently being deployed in support of the full range of missions within the Coast Guard and other branches of the U.S. armed services. 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, ultramodern command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and stern launch and recovery ramp for a 26-foot, over-the-horizon interceptor cutter boat.

NEW ORLEANS — The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Diligence arrived at the cutter’s new homeport in Pensacola, Florida, at the end of a 64-day patrol in the Caribbean, July 27, the Coast Guard 8th District said in a release.

The Diligence crew performed counter-drug, search and rescue, and migrant interdiction operations in support of the Coast Guard’s 7th District.

This patrol began May 25 when the ship departed Wilmington, North Carolina, for the last time. The Diligence spent the prior 28 years homeported on Wilmington’s historic downtown Riverwalk, along the bank of the Cape Fear River. The cutter marked the completion of its third homeport shift throughout its service history after mooring on July 27 at Naval Air Station Pensacola.

The Diligence crew patrolled the Windward Pass between Cuba, the Bahamas, and Haiti alongside interagency and international partners to prevent and respond to dangerous illegal maritime migration and narcotics smuggling from Central and South America. The crew also completed necessary shipboard training to maintain qualifications and operational readiness during a summer period that featured an approximate one-third turnover of the ship’s crew.

“Diligence’s departure from Wilmington, North Carolina, was bittersweet, and we look forward to starting the next chapter of Diligence’s long and storied history in Pensacola,” said Cmdr. Luke Slivinski, Diligence’s commanding officer. “The crew’s commendable professionalism and proficiency enabled Diligence’s successful patrol execution amidst the challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Diligence is a 56-year-old, 210-foot medium-endurance cutter and has a crew of 70 personnel. The cutter’s primary missions are counter-drug operations, migrant interdiction, enforcing federal fishery laws, and search and rescue in support of Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere.

CARIBBEAN SEA — The Cyclone-class patrol ship USS Shamal with an embarked U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachment (LEDET) recovered more than 3,900 pounds of suspected marijuana on July 4, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet public affairs said in a July 27 release.

While on routine patrol in the Caribbean Sea, Shamal spotted the go-fast vessel. Once detected, the crew observed suspected drug smugglers aboard jettisoning packages overboard.

In a coordinated effort, Shamal launched their small boat and the LEDET was deployed to the scene to further investigate.

Upon arriving on scene, the Shamal and the embarked LEDET recovered a total of 708 bales of suspected marijuana, totaling more than 3,940 pounds worth over an estimated wholesale value of $6.9 million.

“The Shamal team performed very well during the interdiction and safely boarded the vessel,” said Shamal’s commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Daniel O’Neill. “We received outstanding training in preparation for this patrol, and it really motivates the Shamal team when we’re able to demonstrate our abilities with a successful bust.”

USS Shamal is deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations supporting U.S. Southern Command’s enhanced counter drug operations mission in the Caribbean.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The crew of the Coast Guard Heriberto Hernandez (WPC-1114) offloaded approximately 1,375 kilograms of cocaine at Sector San Juan on July 22, following the disruption of a drug smuggling go-fast in the Caribbean Sea, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release. 

The seized drug shipment is estimated to have a wholesale value of more than $38.5 million. 

The interdiction was the result of multi-agency efforts in support of U.S. Southern Command’s enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere and during Operation CASTNET II, in coordination with Joint Task Force East. 

“I’m extremely proud of my crew as well as the performance and reliability of the Coast Guard fast response cutter,” said Lt. Russo, cutter Heriberto Hernandez commanding officer.  “The crew’s proficiency in using all of the cutter’s systems and capabilities throughout our patrol gave us the ability to effectively operate deep inside the Caribbean Sea, which led to this successful outcome and prevented over a ton of cocaine from ever reaching the streets.” 

The disruption and seizure occurred during a patrol the afternoon of July 16, 2020, when the crew of the cutter Heriberto Hernandez came upon a suspect go-fast vessel.  

As the cutter Heriberto Hernandez closed in to interdict the go-fast, the smugglers detected the cutter’s presence and began to jettison multiple bales of suspected contraband while fleeing the area at high speed. The crew of the Heriberto Hernandez conducted a thorough sweep of the area where the jettison occurred, and they were able to recover 55 bales of suspected contraband. The recovered bales tested positive for cocaine. 

The cutter Heriberto Hernandez transported the seized contraband to Sector San Juan, where it was received by awaiting federal law enforcement agents in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

Cutter Heriberto Hernandez is a 154-foot fast response cutter homeported in San Juan. 

MIAMI — Coast Guard and Customs and Border Patrol teams halted an illegal voyage, Thursday, about 8 miles east of Delray Beach, Florida, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a July 20 release.  

Coast Guard Station Lake Worth Inlet, Coast Guard Cutter Ibis and CBP law enforcement teams stopped the 25-foot boat. The cutter crew safely embarked 23 Haitian migrants, two who were medically transported for symptoms of severe dehydration.  

The interdicted migrants were turned over to Bahamian authorities for repatriation back to Haiti. 

“These illegal ventures attempting to immigrate to the United States are extremely dangerous because weather and sea conditions can dramatically change and the vessels are not equipped with the required safety equipment for passenger operations putting lives at higher risk of being lost at sea,” said Lt. j.g. Karolina Del Hierro Vega, 7th Seventh District, Enforcement. “Migrants caught attempting to gain access into the U.S. through these illegal voyages will be repatriated to their country in accordance with existing U.S. immigration policy.” 

The Coast Guard and CBP have interdicted approximately 2,500 Haitian migrants who have attempted to illegally enter the U.S via the maritime environment in fiscal year 2020, which began Oct. 1, 2019, compared to 3,499 Haitian migrants in fiscal year 2019. These numbers represent the total number of at-sea interdictions, landings and disruptions in the Florida Straits, the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean. 

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. 

SEATTLE — The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Mellon (WHEC 717) returned to their homeport July 7 after completing the final patrol for the 52-year-old ship, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a July 20 release. 

The 150-person crew left Seattle April 17 to conduct missions throughout the Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea. 

During the patrol the crew conducted 38 law enforcement boardings, four search and rescue cases, and enforced federal regulations governing Alaska’s $13.9 billion commercial fishing industry. 

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mellon crew instituted protective measures to ensure crew safety and the safety of the commercial fishing fleet and Alaskan public. 

The Mellon is one the last remaining 378-foot high-endurance cutters built for extended offshore patrols. Its capabilities span from helicopter operations to pursuit boat operations and served as a key asset for the Department of Homeland Security and humanitarian missions at sea. 

The Mellon was the third of the 378-foot high-endurance class to be completed and the first cutter to be named after Andrew W. Mellon, the 49th secretary of the treasury, who served between 1921 and 1932. The cutter’s keel was laid July 25, 1966, and the ship was launched Feb. 11, 1967.  It was commissioned 11 months after its launching on Jan. 9, 1968. The construction cost for the vessel totaled approximately $14.5 million. 

Its namesake, Andrew W. Mellon, was born in 1855 in Pittsburg and was a successful businessman and banker prior to his appointment as secretary of the treasury by President Warren G. Harding in 1921. Mellon actively worked for tax reform in order to reduce public debt and tax burden. The “Mellon Plan” became law as the Revenue Act of 1924 and successfully reduced public debt and taxes until 1930 when the depression caused debt to rise again. In addition to serving in the cabinet of President Harding, Mellon was secretary of the treasury under Presidents Coolidge and Hoover and served one year as the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain. 

The Mellon was originally homeported in Honolulu and spent 12 years patrolling the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii to Alaska. It was then transferred to Seattle in 1981. 

The Mellon returned to Hawaii after service in Vietnam. Many rescue efforts took place during its Hawaii patrol. In 1974, crew members of the Italian supertanker Giovanna Lolli-Ghetti survived an explosion, fire and subsequent sinking of the vessel off the coast of Hawaii. The Mellon responded and played a key role in rescuing the crew members. 

The rescue was successful in two ways – first, it involved close cooperation between crews and vessels from Norway, Russia and the United States, and second, the rescue was a positive event that involved cooperation between Cold War nations. 

The Mellon and its crew also experienced tragedy and damage while stationed in Hawaii. 

The vessel was docked in the Dillingham Shipyard for repairs and maintenance on Sept. 7, 1971, when an explosion occurred aboard, which resulted in the death of a civilian who was installing insulation. Extensive damage to the vessel included buckling of the deck, hull and frame. More damage occurred in April 1972, while unmooring in Kodiak Harbor. The vessel touched bottom and sustained damage to the sonar dome and the bow thruster unit. 

Awards that the Mellon and its crew members received include the Meritorious Unit Commendation for operations conducted between June 28, 1975, and Feb. 2, 1976. 

The award was given to the Mellon crew for their response to four search-and-rescue cases, investigating and disproving allegations of violations of the Unimak Island Crab Sanctuary. Crew members of the vessel also reported the illegal discharge of oil into the sea by two Russian trawlers to authorities. Gunnery operations on the Mellon earned the unit the Commandant’s Gunnery Award in October 1999. 

The Mellon crew spent 1980 participating with the Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell (WHEC-719) in search-and-rescue operations. 

Two notable rescue efforts were accomplished in 1982. The first rescue was conducted with the Boutwell crew, other military units and a merchant ship. The Mellon rescued passengers from the burning luxury liner Prindsendam off the Alaskan coast. The combined effort rescued a total of 510 passengers and crew members from lifeboats after they abandoned ship. The second rescue effort saved four crash survivors from a Coast Guard C-130 aircraft on Attu Island. 

The Mellon operated in areas 150 miles from the Soviet Union to areas off the coast of California after it was recommissioned. It patrolled areas in the North Pacific from the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands into the Bering Sea. It spent three months of the year engaged in extensive training and exercises with the U.S. Navy off the coast of Southern California. 

In January of 1990, the Mellon was the first of five Coast Guard cutters to become fitted with an anti-ship missile. The cutter also received an antisubmarine warfare suite that included the AN/SQS-38 sonar and Mark 46 torpedoes. The suite and anti-ship missile served as proof of capability for all Coast Guard cutters; however, they were later removed due to budget constraints. 

HOUSTON — The U.S. Coast Guard held a commissioning ceremony for the Coast Guard Cutter Harold Miller, the service’s 38th fast-response cutter, at Sector Field Office Galveston, Texas, on July 15, the Coast Guard 8th District said.

The district commander, Rear Adm. John Nadeau, presided over the ceremony, along with Lt. Michael Salerno, the Harold Miller’s commanding officer.

Harold Miller, the cutter’s namesake, was a Coast Guard boatswain’s mate second class and a Silver Star recipient for his heroic actions that led to the victory at Tulagi Island during World War II.

On Aug. 7, 1942, while stationed aboard the USS McKean, Miller piloted the first wave of landing craft on Tulagi Island in the Pacific theater against a Japanese force on Guadalcanal Island. Miller then made repeated trips despite heavy enemy fire to affect the landing of his embarked troops, equipment ammunition and supplies.

The Harold Miller’s patrol area will encompass 900 miles of coastline for the 8th District, from Carrabelle, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas. Fast-response cutters are named after Coast Guard enlisted heroes and will replace the service’s 110-foot patrol boats.

These vessels feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Coast Guard’s Atlantic and Pacific area commanders have praised the service’s fleet of Legend-class national security cutters (NSCs) in their role as platforms for drug interdiction. 

Speaking July 14 at a webinar co-sponsored by the organization, NatSec 2020: Coronavirus and Beyond, sponsored by the Navy League of the United States, the Association of the United States Army and Government Matters, were Vice Adm. Linda L. Fagan, commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area, and Vice Adm. Steven D. Poulin, commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area.  

The NSC “is game-changing for us in countering the narcotics flow in the eastern Pacific,” Fagan said. 

She said the interdiction of drugs at sea is especially advantageous because they are seized in large quantities before the drug supply chain can break the loads into smaller quantities. 

Speaking of the “incredible capability” of the NSCs, Poulin said, “I’ve seen that time and time again. The capacity, the technological edge that those Coast Guard cutters bring to the fight … that is an incredible platform.” 

Poulin said the Coast Guard also is looking forward to accepting delivery of the future offshore patrol cutter, 25 of which will replace the service’s medium-endurance cutters, some of which are more than 60 years old.  

NSCs are built by Huntington Ingalls in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The Coast Guard has accepted delivery of nine, with two more under construction. 

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard is naming the 11th Legend-class national security cutter in honor of pioneering code-breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman, the sea service said in a July 7 release. 

Friedman was a code-breaker for the Coast Guard during the Prohibition Era and World War II, serving within Cryptanalytic Unit-387. She’s been dubbed “America’s first female cryptanalyst” and in many ways could be considered the founder of the modern-day Coast Guard Intelligence Program.  

Her work with the Coast Guard began soon after the passage of the Volstead Act, which prohibited the manufacture, sale or trade of alcoholic beverages in the United States. Liquor smugglers frequently made use of radios to coordinate their activities and began to encode their messages. 

Friedman was detailed by the Department of Treasury to the Coast Guard, thus beginning a remarkable career. Between 1927 and 1930, she is estimated to have solved over 12,000 smuggling messages in hundreds of different code systems, all by hand, with just pencil and paper. Her work led to 650 federal prosecutions and she personally testified in 33 cases. 

During World War II, she was part of the team that broke the codes generated by the formidable Enigma machine used by Nazi Germany. Friedman exposed a ring of German spies in South America, effectively denying them a foothold in the Western Hemisphere during the war. Her unit eventually moved from Treasury and evolved into the modern Coast Guard Intelligence Program. Only recently was her legacy fully appreciated when a journalist researched declassified papers to learn that she was pivotal in code-breaking the Enigma as well as the Customs prohibition operations. 

The NSC is one of the largest and most technologically sophisticated vessels in the Coast Guard fleet. The 418-foot cutter can operate in the most demanding open ocean environments around the globe, from the hazardous fishing grounds of the North Pacific to the vast approaches of the Eastern Pacific where its crews battle transnational crime.  

With robust command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment, multiple small boat and aviation capabilities including unmanned aerial systems, the NSCs are exceptionally well-suited for complex law enforcement and national security missions while integrating multiple Coast Guard and partner agencies. 

Legend-class cutters honor women and men who have a renowned status in the Coast Guard’s rich history.  

NSCs are replacing 378-foot high-endurance cutters, which have been in service since the 1960s. There are eight Legend-class NSCs in service. The Coast Guard Cutters Bertholf, Waesche, Stratton and Munro are stationed in Alameda, California, Hamilton and James are in Charleston, South Carolina, and Kimball and Midgett are homeported in Honolulu. The ninth cutter, Stone, is slated for delivery in fiscal year 2021. On Dec. 21, 2018, the Coast Guard awarded a fixed-price contract option for the production of the 10th cutter, Calhoun, and the 11th cutter, Friedman.

MIAMI — The Coast Guard interdicted 14 Haitian migrants approximately 26 miles east of St. Lucie County, Florida, July 2, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a July 6 release. 

Coast Guard 7th District watchstanders received a report of a disabled 21-foot pleasure craft with 14 migrants aboard. Watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce 33-foot Special Purpose Craft—Law Enforcement crew, a Coast Guard Station Lake Worth Inlet 45-foot Response Boat—Medium crew and a Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane crew to search.  

The Air Station Miami airplane crew located the disabled vessel and vectored in Station Fort Pierce, Station Lake Worth Inlet and the Coast Guard Cutter Manatee (WPB-87363) crew. After determining there were no COVID-19 concerns, the cutter Manatee crew embarked the 10 Haitian men and four women. While aboard the cutter Manatee, two Haitian women fainted and were medevaced to a higher level of care. 

The cutter Manatee crew transferred 10 Haitian migrants to Bahamian authorities in Freeport, Bahamas, and two Haitian migrants to U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Lake Worth Inlet, Florida. 

“The Coast Guard and our partner agencies’ first priority is safety of life at sea and these voyages, in many situations, aren’t safe,” said Cmdr. Rick DeTar, Sector Miami response department head. “The Coast Guard and our partner agencies maintain their focused and coordinated efforts to interdict and stop these unlawful migration attempts in to the United States.” 

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