KEY WEST, Fla. — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Thetis (WMEC-910) returned to their homeport in Key West, Florida, on May 23 after a three-month U.S. Africa Command patrol, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release.
The Thetis crew concluded their patrol, in which they conducted multiple joint law-enforcement exercises and operations with West African countries with U.S. Africa Command and U.S. 6th Fleet to maintain and strengthen international partnerships and maritime security.
“By conducting joint maritime law-enforcement operations, we were able to establish best practices providing the West African navies and coast guards with the tools to enforce their laws and secure their maritime borders,” said Cmdr. Randall Chong, commanding officer of the Thetis. “The U.S. Coast Guard’s involvement in the African Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership has had a positive impact on the region, and I am proud of all the hard work my crew has put into this mission.”
Thetis crew members and U.S. Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team South worked to build, strengthen and maintain relationships with the African nations of Cabo Verde, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, São Tomé and Príncipe, Togo and Benin. Together, they conducted joint maritime safety, security and law enforcement training and missions in support of Africa Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership 2019 operations.
“The U.S. Coast Guard’s involvement in the African Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership has had a positive impact on the region, and I am proud of all the hard work my crew has put into this mission.”
Cmdr. Randall Chong, commanding officer of the Thetis
While at sea, the crew conducted joint fisheries and law-enforcement boardings with Nigerian navy and Cabo Verde coast guard law-enforcement teams. The Thetis crew saved the lives of two men who were lost at sea for three days and safely transferred them to the Sierra Leone maritime authority. The crew also rescued two loggerhead sea turtles that were entangled in fishing nets in the Gulf of Guinea.
Thetis is the first U.S. Coast Guard cutter to support U.S. 6th Fleet and deploy to U.S. Africa Command since 2012.
U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts a full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, to advance U.S. national interests, security and stability in Europe and Africa. The Thetis is a multimission 270-foot medium-endurance cutter whose missions include illegal drug and migrant interdiction as well as search and rescue. The Thetis patrols throughout the Caribbean basin, eastern Pacific and Atlantic seaboard.
