BOSTON — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Seneca departed Coast Guard Base Boston on Sept. 2, en route to their new homeport in Portsmouth, Virginia, the Coast Guard 1st District said in a release. 

After 33 years homeported in Boston, Seneca will continue service with six other 270-foot, medium-endurance cutters, homeported at Coast Guard Base Portsmouth. This will allow the Coast Guard to better leverage efficiencies gained by clustering vessels of the same class. 

Seneca was formally commissioned in Boston on May 9, 1987. Since then, Seneca’s crew has conducted nearly all of the Coast Guard’s missions throughout New England, the Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, all while calling Boston home. 

In the late 1990s, Coast Guard Cutter Seneca, along with Coast Guard Cutter Galatin, was part of Operation New Frontier, a counter-narcotics operation that tested the use of high-speed pursuit boats and armed helicopters. The operation was successfully completed March 13, 2000, and lead to the creation of the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron in Jacksonville, Florida. 

More recently, Seneca’s crew assisted in the rescue of 187 Haitian migrants approximately 17 miles southwest of Turks and Caicos Islands on December 22, 2019. The Coast Guard, Royal Bahamas Defense Force, and Turks and Caicos Islands Police worked together to rescue all 187 people after they were spotted onboard a single 30-foot vessel. 

Seneca shares its name with the Revenue Cutter Seneca, the first cutter to engage in official ice patrol duties after the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, and one of five Coast Guard cutters that made up Squadron 2 of Division 6 of the Atlantic Fleet Patrol Forces during World War I. 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Coast Guard, Navy and U.S. law enforcement partners seized 225 kilograms of cocaine and apprehended three suspected smugglers following the interdiction of a drug smuggling go-fast in the Caribbean Sea on Aug. 24, the Coast Guard 7th District said in an Aug. 29 release. 

Two suspected smugglers are Dominican Republic nationals, and one is Colombian, while the seized cocaine has a wholesale value of approximately $6 million. 

The interdiction is the result of an international, multi-agency law enforcement effort in support of Operation Unified Resolve, Operation Caribbean Guard, Campaign Martillo (a joint, interagency, 20-nation collaborative counter narcotic effort), and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force (CCSF), will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico. 

“The strong relationship and collaboration between the Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy continuously yields positive outcomes as evidenced by this case,” said Rear Adm. Eric Jones, commander of Coast Guard Seventh District. “The shared unwavering resolve and daily interaction between our Department of Defense and local and federal law enforcement partners in the region help safeguard and strengthen the Caribbean region against this threat. We are committed to the protection of our nation’s southernmost maritime border and of our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.” 

During a routine patrol in support of Joint Interagency Task Force – South’s mission to detect attempts to transport contraband into the U.S. and partner nations, the USS Kidd’s (DDG 100) helicopter crew sighted a suspicious go-fast vessel in the Caribbean Sea. The USS Kidd, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer operating with U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 401 onboard, coordinated with the Coast Guard Seventh District to interdict the suspect vessel. 

The helicopter crew observed the suspected smugglers jettison multiple bales into the water as the go-fast continued to evade capture. The USS Kidd successfully interdicted and boarded the go-fast with the assistance of the CG LEDET 401. The USS Kidd’s crew and CG LEDET 401 apprehended the suspected smugglers and recovered eight jettisoned bales from the water. The seized contraband tested positive for cocaine. 

The Coast Guard Cutter Resolute (WMEC-620) embarked and transported the suspected smugglers and seized contraband to San Juan, Puerto Rico Saturday, where awaiting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)-HSI, and DEA special agents received custody. 

Cutter Resolute is a 210-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in St. Petersburg Fla. 

The USS Kidd is homeported in Naval Station Everett, Washington. 

NEW ORLEANS — The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Reliance (WMEC-615) arrived Monday at the cutter’s new homeport in Pensacola, Florida, following a dry dock period and Caribbean patrol, the Coast Guard 8th District said in an Aug. 31 release. 

The Reliance crew oversaw repairs to the cutter followed by migrant repatriation efforts in the Windward Pass supporting Coast Guard 7th District operations. 

The cutter and crew departed their former homeport at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, on July 6, 2020, sailing for the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Maryland, to effect repairs to the propulsion shafts. On Aug. 5, the crew sailed from the Coast Guard Yard to begin a patrol of the Windward Pass between Cuba, the Bahamas and Haiti, alongside interagency and international partners to prevent dangerous, illegal maritime migration. 

The patrol included the repatriation of 16 Haitian migrants, participation in a search for survivors of a capsized Haitian vessel, shipboard training and storm avoidance. 

“Reliance’s departure from Kittery, Maine, brings an end to 31 years of faithful service in the North Atlantic,” said Cmdr. Robert Hill, commanding officer of the cutter Reliance. “The crew has performed exceptionally during our patrol amidst the challenges faced by COVID-19 and multiple tropical storms that arose. I could not be prouder of this crew and know that we are ready to continue our service in Pensacola, where the Coast Guard has strategically clustered part of its 210-foot cutter fleet for logistical support and proximity to our mission area of responsibility.” 

The homeport shift to Pensacola marks the second time Reliance has been homeported in Florida; Reliance was homeported in Port Canaveral from 1982 until 1987. 

The Reliance is a 210-foot medium-endurance cutter. It is the first of the 210-foot medium-endurance cutter fleet and the fourth Revenue Cutter/Coast Guard cutter to bear the name Reliance. 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. 

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton (WMSL-753) returned home Friday to Charleston after completing a 60-day patrol throughout the Eastern Pacific Ocean, the Coast Guard 7th District said in an Aug. 28 release.  

The crew offloaded $228 million worth of cocaine and marijuana Thursday at Port Everglades.    

Hamilton’s crew interdicted nine drug-laden vessels while patrolling the Eastern Pacific Ocean.  Described as “go-fast” vessels, they intentionally travel at high speeds trying to avoid interdiction. Hamilton’s law enforcement team detained all 25 suspects, transferred six others and handed them all over to Federal authorities for potential prosecution.  

During one of the interdictions, Hamilton’s crew worked alongside the USS Nitze, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer homeported in Norfolk, Virginia to interdict a go-fast vessel 76 miles South of Panama. The Nitze deployed with a Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment Team which enables Navy ships to conduct counter-drug operations and enforce U.S. laws. Nitze launched their MH-60 Seahawk helicopter to provide airborne support and disable the vessel while Hamilton’s boarding team conducted the law enforcement boarding. The teamwork between Nitze and Hamilton led to the seizure of 1,500 kilograms of cocaine and apprehension of three suspected drug smugglers.  

“We are proud to support the President’s national security strategy by keeping illegal drugs off American streets. Our efforts also degrade transnational criminal organizations, bring stability to Central America, and increase interoperability with our partner nations,” said Capt. Timothy Cronin, commanding officer of Hamilton. “I am extremely proud of this crew how they managed to sail short-handed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and still deliver tremendous results.”   

The Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton is one of two 418-foot National Security Cutters (NSC) homeported in Charleston. With its robust command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment, the NSC is the most technologically advanced ship in the Coast Guard’s fleet. NSCs are equipped with three state-of-the-art small boats and a stern boat launch system, dual aviation facilities, and serve as an afloat command and control platform for complex law enforcement and national security missions involving the Coast Guard and numerous partner agencies.  

Hamilton’s crew, along with an aviation detachment from the Coast Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, began her deployment in early July as part of a partnership falling under Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) South, a component of U.S. Southern Command. JIATF South, located in Key West, oversees the detection and monitoring of illicit traffickers and assists U.S. and multi-national law enforcement agencies with the interdiction of these activities. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Coast Guard’s Pacific Area commander says she does not know yet how long it will take, or how much it will cost, to repair fire damage to the only U.S. ice breaker patrolling the Arctic.  

The temporary loss of the Coast Guard Cutter Healy underscores the need for more ice breaking capability in the waters of the “high latitudes,” where “presence equals influence,” Vice Adm. Linda Fagan said Aug. 27 at the Surface Navy Association’s First Virtual Waterfront Symposium. 

The Healy was 60 nautical miles off Seward, Alaska, heading into the second half of its deployment to the Arctic, when an electrical fire broke out in one of the ship’s main propulsion motors on Aug. 18. No injuries were reported, and the blaze was extinguished quickly. With the starboard propulsion motor and shaft no longer operational, the Healy returned to its homeport in Seattle for repairs and the Coast Guard canceled further Arctic operations with no indication when they will resume. That leaves just one sea-going U.S. icebreaker, the 44-year-old Polar Star, to serve both the Arctic and Antarctic.  

The Healy had completed 103 days in the Arctic, Fagan said, and was heading back to continue a combined mission of supporting scientific research and patrolling the maritime boundary with Russia in the Far North. The Healy’s absence in the Arctic emphasized the Coast Guard’s need for the polar security cutter (PSC) program. 

The planned 460-foot PSCs will serve as heavy ice breakers as well as performing other Coast Guard missions in the Arctic such as maritime safety and search and rescue operations.  

“The United States is an Arctic nation,” Fagan said, “and polar capability is the cornerstone of a whole of government approach and strengthens our interoperability with [the Defense Department].” Construction is slated to begin on the first PSC early next year and “we hope to have the first one in the 2024 timeframe,” Fagan said, adding “This is a critical investment for the nation.” 

In her live streamed appearance at the symposium, Fagan praised another Coast Guard investment: small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS). She said the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle drone, deployed with five of the National Security Cutters (NSCs), Stratton, James, Munro, Kimball and Waesche, has been a “key enabler” in the Western Pacific and the High Latitudes. In addition to adding ScanEagles to three more of the 418-foot NSCs, Bertholf, Hamilton and Midgett, Fagan said the Coast Guard is exploring the need for a land-based UAS, on the U.S. southwest border, possibly in partnership with Customs and Border Protection.

MIAMI —The Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton (WMSL 753) crew offloaded approximately 11,500 pounds of cocaine and approximately 17,000 pounds of marijuana, worth more than $228 million, on Aug. 27, in Port Eveglades, Florida. 

The drugs were interdicted in the international waters off the coasts of Mexico, Central, and South America and in the Caribbean Sea. Coast Guard cutters and U.S. Navy ships seized and recovered contraband during 13 interdictions of suspected drug smuggling vessels: 

• The cutter Hamilton crew was responsible for nine interdictions, seizing approximately 9,700 pounds of cocaine and 9,000 pounds of marijuana. 
• The cutter Resolute (WMEC 620) crew was responsible for one interdiction, seizing approximately 1,100 pounds of marijuana. 
• The USS Nitze (DDG 94) crew with embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment Team 406 was responsible for two interdictions seizing approximately 1,700 pounds of cocaine and approximately 6,100 pounds of marijuana. 
• The USS Shamal crew with an embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment Team 109 was responsible for one interdiction, seizing approximately 800 pounds of marijuana.  

“We are proud to support the president’s national security strategy by keeping illegal drugs off American streets,” said Capt. Timothy Cronin, commanding officer of Coast Guard Cutter (CGC) Hamilton. “I am extremely proud of this crew as they sailed short-handed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and delivered tremendous results.” 

On April 1, U.S. Southern Command began enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere to disrupt the flow of drugs in support of presidential national security objectives. Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security cooperated in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, play a role in counter-drug operations. 

The Hamilton is a 418-foot national security cutter homeported in Charleston, South Carolina. The Resolute is a 210-foot medium-endurance cutter home-ported in St. Petersburg, Florida. The USS Nitze is a 510-foot Arleigh Burke-class destroyer homeported in Norfolk, Virginia. The USS Shamal is 179-foot coastal patrol ship homeported in Jacksonville, Florida. 

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy suffered a fire in one of the ship’s main propulsion motors on Aug. 18 while underway for operations in the Arctic, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in an Aug. 25 release. No injuries were reported. 

The Healy was 60 nautical miles off of Seward, Alaska, en route to the Arctic when an electrical fire was reported at 9:30 p.m. A fire team disconnected the affected motor, and the fire was confirmed extinguished by 9:56 p.m. The cause of the fire is unknown. 

The propulsion motors are critical equipment that use the power generated by the ship’s main diesel engines to spin the shaft and propeller. This design protects the engines from variations in shaft speeds inherent to ice operations. 

Due to the fire, Healy’s starboard propulsion motor and shaft are no longer operational, and the ship is headed back to its homeport in Seattle for further inspection and repairs. 

Prior to the fire, the Healy completed a 26-day patrol in support of Operation Arctic Shield, demonstrating U.S. presence and influence in the Bering Sea, along the U.S.-Russian Maritime Boundary Line, and in the Arctic. 

On Aug. 15, the Healy was in Seward and embarked 11 scientists before departing on Aug. 18 to ensure national security and conduct science operations in the Arctic. As a result of the fire, all Arctic operations have been cancelled. 

“I commend the crew of the Healy for their quick actions to safely combat the fire,” said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, the Pacific Area commander. “This casualty, however, means that the United States is limited in icebreaking capability until the Healy can be repaired, and it highlights the nation’s critical need for polar security cutters.” 

In April 2019, the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard awarded a contract to VT Halter Marine, of Pascagoula, Mississippi, for the detail design and construction of the polar security cutter. The initial award includes nonrecurring engineering, detail design and construction of the first PSC and has options for the construction of two additional hulls. Construction of the first PSC is scheduled to begin in early 2021 with delivery in 2024. The president’s fiscal year 2021 budget requests full funding for the construction of a second PSC.

MIAMI — The U.S. Coast Guard repatriated 20 Cuban migrants after law enforcement teams stopped two illegal voyages off the Florida Keys, the Coast Guard 7th District said in an Aug. 22 release. 

Coast Guard Station Islamorada and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operation teams interdicted a 27-foot cabin cruiser after a CBP aircraft spotted the boat about 19 miles south of Long Key.  

Two of the migrants were transferred ashore to Homeland Security Investigation agents and 11 transferred to Coast Guard Cutter Charles David Jr. and were repatriated to Cabanas, Cuba. 

In the other illegal voyage, a Coast Guard Cutter Resolute law enforcement team interdicted a 27-foot rowboat on Aug. 19 about 43 miles off Marathon. 

Nine of the migrants were transferred to Coast Guard Cutter Charles David Jr. and were repatriated to Cabanas, Cuba.  

“Attempting to smuggle yourself into the country via the maritime environment is both extremely dangerous and illegal,” said Lt. Charles Sanderson, chief of enforcement for Sector Key West. “With the consistent danger these smuggling ventures present, our crews and partner agencies remain persistently vigilant to protect lives and enforce federal laws.” 

The Coast Guard has interdicted about 140 Cuban 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 482 Cuban 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 crew members were equipped with personal protective equipment to minimize potential exposure to any possible case of COVID-19.

SEATTLE — The U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned the cutter Mellon during an Aug. 21 ceremony at Coast Guard Base Seattle that was presided over by Rear Adm. Peter Gautier, the deputy commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area. 

Mellon was one of the Coast Guard’s two remaining 378-foot Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters. The fleet of high-endurance cutters is being replaced by 418-foot Legend-class national security cutters, which serve as the Coast Guard’s primary long-range asset.  

Commissioned in 1968, the Mellon was the third of 12 high-endurance cutters built for long-range missions, including maritime security roles, drug interdiction, illegal immigrant interception and fisheries patrols. 

“While Mellon’s service to the U.S. Coast Guard now ends, the ship will continue its legacy of good maritime governance after transfer to the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Royal Naval Force,” Gautier said. “I am incredibly confident in the Coast Guard’s future, because in … Mellon’s crew and proud history, I see the attributes that have made our Coast Guard ‘Always Ready’ for more than two centuries.” 

Mellon’s keel was laid on July 25, 1966, at Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans. Mellon was launched Feb. 11, 1967, and commissioned on Jan. 9, 1968. The cutter was named after Andrew W. Mellon, the 49th U.S. Treasury secretary, who served from 1921 to 1932. 

Over the past 52 years of service, Mellon’s crews conducted a wide range of operations in all parts of the world. From 1969 through 1972, Mellon’s crews participated in the Vietnam War, performing several naval gunfire support missions and patrolling Southeast Asian waters to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Vietnam. Mellon’s participation in the Vietnam War earned the ship the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation.  

In the late-1970s and 1980s, the Mellon responded to numerous major search-and-rescue operations, including their assistance in the rescue of 510 passengers and crew members from the burning luxury liner Prinsendam in 1980.  

In 1985, the Mellon entered the Fleet Renovation and Modernization program, a dry-dock program designed to prolong the high-endurance cutters’ service lives. Mellon was recommissioned on March 3, 1989. 

Living up to the Mellon’s motto “Primus Inter Pares,” meaning first among equals, the cutter established several Coast Guard firsts, including the first of five Hamilton-class cutters to have a Harpoon anti-ship missile system installed. Mellon was also the first — and only — Coast Guard cutter to test fire a Harpoon missile. 

During Bering Sea patrols, Mellon conducted search-and-rescue operations and enforced laws and regulations that preserved vital Alaskan fisheries. In the eastern Pacific, the Mellon’s boarding teams interdicted illegal narcotics trafficked over the high seas.  

During the cutter’s last year of service, 20 officers and 160 enlisted crew members patrolled the Bering Sea and the northern Pacific near Japan for more than a combined 230 days, collectively conducting 100 safety and fisheries boardings of U.S.-, Chinese-, Korean-, Japanese- and Russian-flagged fishing vessels and participating in five search-and-rescue cases.  

“It has truly been an honor to serve as the final commanding officer for Coast Guard Cutter Mellon,” said Capt. Jonathan Musman. “The officers, chiefs and crew for this final year have been truly remarkable and can hold their heads high as they operated Mellon with distinction across the North Pacific on three deployments serving our nation.

“The reliability of the cutter is a product of years and years of properly taking care of this beloved cutter. The legacy of Mellon has been those fantastic memories that have been made and the knowledge that has passed from one shipmate to another. The future generations of cuttermen were here this last deployment learning, teaching and making their shipboard memories, and they are ready to carry on and continue the Coast Guard’s seagoing heritage.”

MIAMI — The U.S. Coast Guard, along with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (CBP AMO), halted a migrant smuggling operation on Aug. 13 about 14 miles east of Haulover Inlet, Florida, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release. 

A CBP AMO aircraft crew spotted a 25-foot pleasure craft traveling about 14 miles east of Haulover Inlet and vectored two CBP surface asset crews to the scene. The CBP crews embarked the 11 Haitian males, four Haitian females, one Bahamian male, one Bahamian female and transferred them to the Coast Guard Cutter Manatee crew. 

The smuggler was transferred ashore to CBP custody and the interdicted migrants were repatriated to Freeport, Bahamas. 

“People should never trust these criminal organizations with their lives,” said Lt. Cmdr. Juan Carlos Avila, Coast Guard Sector Miami chief of enforcement. “Attempting to smuggle yourself into the country via the maritime environment is both extremely dangerous and illegal. With the consistent danger these smuggling ventures present, our crews and partner agencies remain persistently vigilant to protect lives and enforce federal laws.” 

The Coast Guard has interdicted about 400 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 885 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 crew members were equipped with personal protective equipment to minimize potential exposure to any possible case of COVID-19.