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. 

KITTERY, MAINE — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Reliance crew was to depart on patrol from the Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on July 6 and return in August to its new homeport of Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, the Coast Guard’s 1st District said in a release. 

After 32 years homeported in New Hampshire, Reliance will continue service with two other 210-foot medium endurance cutters homeported at Naval Air Station Pensacola, allowing the Coast Guard to better leverage efficiencies gained by clustering vessels of the same class.  

The Reliance has shifted homeports several times since its commissioning in 1964. The cutter has been homeported in Corpus Christi, Texas, Yorktown, Virginia, and Port Canaveral, Florida. More recently, Reliance replaced the utter Vigilant in New Castle, New Hampshire in 1988, and in 1996, shifted berths to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.  

During the time in New Hampshire, Reliance has contributed to the Coast Guard’s missions of search and rescue, living marine resource protection, and safeguarding New England port and waterways. 

In 1989, Reliance acted as the on-scene commander for the Narragansett Bay oil spill. Reliance crews coordinated multiple assets and directed the cleanup of over 300,000 gallons of crude oil from the tanker ship, World Prodigy, that ran aground off the coast of Rhode Island. 

In 1991, a crew of the Reliance assumed tactical command for the intersection of the fishing vessel, Hunter, which was spotted 100 miles south of Long Island and caught smuggling more than 5 tons of cocaine.  

Additionally, a Reliance crew was involved with port security operations during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, responded to numerous search-and-rescue cases saving hundreds of lives at sea, and regulated New England’s fisheries to ensure sustainment of fishery stocks. 

The Reliance was originally designed with a stern exhaust system, a 3-inch gun deck capable of manning a 40 mm anti-submarine cannon, a helicopter pad capable of carrying the out of commission HH-52 rotary wing aircraft, and a power plant system that combined diesel and gas combustion. 

After undergoing a major maintenance availability in 1987, she was modified to include two pitch controlled main diesel engines capable of reaching a max speed of 18 knots, an exhaust stack that is presented amidships, an armament of one 25 mm. automatic machine gun and two .50-caliber machine guns, and a flight deck capable of carrying and deploying an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The U.S. Coast Guard repatriated 86 of 87 migrants to the Dominican Republic navy between June 30 and July 1 following the interdiction of three illegal migrant voyages in the Mona Passage off the west coast of Puerto Rico, the Coast Guard’s 7th District reported. 

The 87 interdicted migrants were Dominican nationals. One remains hospitalized in Puerto Rico after he was medically evacuated due to an existing medical condition. 

The interdictions are the result of ongoing efforts in support of Operation Caribbean Guard and the Caribbean Border Interagency Group CBIG. 

“The strong collaboration between the Coast Guard and our Caribbean Border Interagency Group partner agencies involved in this case, as well as, with our allies in the Dominican Republic navy, led to the interdiction of three migrant vessels and ensured the quick and safe return of 86 migrants,” said Capt. Gregory Magee, commander of Coast Guard Sector San Juan. 

“This same effort allowed for one of the migrants in need of urgent medical care to be transported to a local hospital in Puerto Rico. We are committed to safeguarding our nation’s southernmost maritime border against existing threats and call for anyone thinking of taking part in an illegal voyage to not take to the sea, you are placing your life at great risk as well as the life of everyone else taking part in the voyage.” 

The first illegal voyage was detected June 29 by the crew of a patrolling Air Station Borinquen MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, about 40 nautical miles off Aguadilla. The Coast Guard Cutters Richard Dixon and Heriberto Hernandez diverted to the scene. Richard Dixon arrived on-scene and stopped the 30-foot migrant vessel that was transporting 39 men and six women. The Richard Dixon escorted the migrant vessel back to Dominican territorial waters, where they met with the Dominican navy vessel Bellatrix and completed the repatriation. 

The second illegal voyage was detected the evening of June 29 by the crew of a Customs and Border Protection Marine Enforcement Aircraft, about 22 nautical miles off the southwest coast of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. The Heriberto Hernandez diverted to the scene, while a marine unit from Customs and Border Protection Caribbean Air and Marine also responded to interdict. 

The CBP marine unit stopped the 35-foot vessel that was transporting 31 men and eight women, while the Heriberto Hernandez arrived on scene shortly thereafter and embarked the migrants. 

One of the migrants in this case was medically evacuated to a local hospital in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, while the remaining migrants were transported by the Heriberto Hernandez to Dominican territorial waters, where they met and completed the at-sea repatriation to a Dominican Navy vessel just off Santo Domingo. 

The third illegal voyage was detected the morning of July 1 by the crew of a Customs and Border Protection Dash-8 maritime patrol aircraft, about 12 nautical miles west of Aguadilla. The crew of a responding Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action marine unit interdicted the 21-foot makeshift vessel that was transporting three men. 

Shortly thereafter, the Heriberto Hernandez arrived on scene, embarked the migrants and transported them to waters just of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, where the repatriation was completed to a Dominican navy vessel that afternoon. 

Once aboard a 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. No migrants were reported to have any COVID-19 related symptoms. 

Heriberto Hernandez and Richard Dixon are 154-foot fast-response cutters homeported in San Juan.