MIAMI — The U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies interdicted about 1,500 packages testing positive for cocaine on a 72-foot motor vessel approximately 46 miles northeast of Panama on June 8, the Coast Guard 7th District said. 

While on routine patrol, a Coast Guard HC-130 maritime patrol aircraft crew detected a suspect motor vessel traveling northeast of Panama. The Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant crew launched an over-the-horizon small boat with an embarked law enforcement team, who proceeded to board the vessel and discovered that it was taking on water. 

The Vigilant sent a rescue and assistance team aboard, who were able to contain the source of flooding at the request of the motor vessel crew. The Vigilant’s law enforcement team continued the boarding and discovered general cargo that was suspected of containing contraband. After completing the initial boarding, the crew recommended a further inspection be completed in port due to sea-state and safety concerns and to more fully access the cargo and cargo holds. 

Coordinating with Colombian authorities, the Vigilant crew placed the motor vessel, which had experienced a mechanical problem, in tow and transferred it to the Colombian coast guard and navy. 

The Colombian navy continued the boarding pier side and discovered over 16,700 pounds of suspected contraband. Lab test reports yielded positive hits for cocaine, which validated both the efforts of the Vigilant crew and the Colombian partners. As final lab testing continues, this drug seizure is predicted to be worth up to $286 million. 

“Despite the various challenges our crew faced during this multi-day boarding, they demonstrated the utmost professionalism and resiliency, identifying numerous indicators of contraband in arduous conditions while preserving the seaworthiness of the vessel,” said Cmdr. Fred Bertsch, commanding officer of the Vigilant. 

“We are extremely appreciative of the coordination and substantial efforts undertaken by our Colombian partners to continue the law enforcement efforts where we left off. As transnational criminal organizations continue to adapt their techniques and procedures, we will continue to work with our partner nations to thwart their illicit activities is the region.”  

“As we address the persistent threats our nation faces across our maritime approaches, the success of this highly collaborative operation speaks to the value of our relationship with our valued international partner, Colombia, and of the mutual successes we achieve when we coordinate our efforts,” said Rear Adm. Eric C. Jones, commanding officer of the Coast Guard’s 7th District. 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant crew returned home to Cape Canaveral on June 24 following a 40-day counter-drug patrol in the western Caribbean, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release. 

During their patrol, the Vigilant’s crew participated in a four-day multinational counter narcotics joint operation with the Honduran armed forces and later worked with the Colombian navy in the interdictions of three suspected drug-smuggling vessels around the Colombian Basin. 

The cutter was augmented by a Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron armed helicopter crew capable of disabling drug-smuggling vessels. The aircrew assisted in the interdiction of two suspected drug-smuggling vessels in a period of less than 24 hours, which resulted in interdiction of about 6,800 pounds of cocaine with an estimated wholesale value of $118.3 million. 

The Vigilant’s patrol efforts were in direct support of the president’s enhanced counter-narcotics surge announced in early April. The U.S. Coast Guard, working with U.S. Southern Command, began this surge effort in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, putting increased pressure on the drug trafficking organizations operating in Central and South America. 

Before returning home, the crew conducted the narcotics offload in Port Everglades, Florida, on June 23.  

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

WASHINGTON — The commandant of the Coast Guard saluted the cutter John Midgett as the ship heads for decommissioning after 48 years of service.  

In a June 23 message to the Coast Guard, Adm. Karl L. Schultz commended the John Midgett crew as having embodied the cutter’s motto — dedication, service, excellence.   

“The John Midgett was named in honor of Chief Warrant Officer John Allen Midgett Jr., who served for nearly 40 years with the U.S. Lifesaving Service and the Coast Guard,” the commandant said.

“He was one of five Midgett family members awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for heroic action during the rescue of 36 crewmen from the torpedoed British tanker Mirlo in 1918.” 

The high-endurance cutter — the 12th and final of the Hamilton class — is in an “In-Commission Special” status as it is prepared for transfer to another nation. It was named simply “Midgett” until a new Legend-class national security cutter, the Midgett, was commissioned, upon which the older Midgett’s name was changed to John Midgett. 

The John Midgett was built by Avondale Shipyard in Louisiana and commissioned on March 17, 1972. The cutter was homeported in Alameda, California, until it was temporarily decommissioned in 1991 to undergo fleet renovation and modernization (FRAM). Upon completion of FRAM in 1992, the cutter changed its homeport to Seattle. 

“Throughout the cutter’s distinguished career, John Midgett served in domestic and international theaters, from the Bering Sea to the South China Sea, and from the eastern Pacific Ocean to the Arabian Gulf,” the commandant’s message said. 

Schultz said that the John Midgett’s “proud legacy of honorable service to the nation spanned nearly five decades.” He noted some highlights of that service: 

• On Christmas Day 1996, the cutter’s crew conducted a “power rudder” tandem tow of the disabled M/V Banasea to Adak, Alaska, with the tug Agnes Foss.  
• In 1999, John Midgett became the first Coast Guard cutter to deploy to the Arabian Gulf with a U.S. Navy battle group, helping to enforce U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iraq.  
• From September 2006 to March 2007, the cutter deployed as part of Expeditionary Strike Group 5 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, circumnavigating the globe and transiting the Suez and Panama canals.  
• While deployed to the eastern Pacific in support of Joint Interagency Task Force South from December 2016 to March 2017, John Midgett’s crew seized more than three tons of cocaine.  
• During the cutter’s last year of service, it patrolled the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska for more than 200 days, boarding 67 fishing vessels and prosecuting 16 search-and-rescue cases, ultimately assisting 20 mariners and four vessels in distress. 

JACKSONVILLE — The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Valiant (WMEC-621) returned home to Naval Station Mayport, Florida, June 22, after completing a nine-week patrol conducting operations in the Windward Passage between Haiti and Cuba in support of Coast Guard 7th District and Operation Southeast Watch, the 7th District said in a release.  

Coast Guard Cutter Valiant patrolled over 11,000 nautical miles in the Caribbean, working closely with the Navy and Coast Guard cutters Diligence (WMEC-616), Resolute (WMEC-620), Kathleen Moore (WPC-1109), William Trump (WPC-1111) and Raymond Evans (WPC-1110). 

Valiant increased Coast Guard presence along the northern coasts of Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Windward Passage, working to prevent an anticipated surge of illegal immigration and human smuggling amid the COVID-19 global pandemic. Throughout this patrol, Valiant served as the Cutter Tasking Unit, directing all Coast Guard assets supporting Operation Southeast Watch in the Windward Passage. In order to deter an illegal exodus from Haiti, Valiant maintained an overt presence by frequently transiting the Canal de la Tortue, a heavily trafficked, deepwater passage between the Tortuga Island and the Northern Haitian coastline.    

Early in the patrol, Valiant conducted vital training with two MH-65 Dolphin helicopters from Air Station Miami. The first evolution involved a vertical replenishment between the cutter and an airborne helicopter and aided in the qualification of Valiant’s flight deck crew as well as two pilots for shipboard operations in preparation for hurricane season. The second evolution included multiple day and night touch and go landings, as well as a helicopter in-flight refueling, ultimately leading to the qualification of numerous crew members.  

Valiant unloaded nearly 14,000 pounds of cocaine and marijuana and nine detained suspected drug smugglers during the patrol. The contraband and detainees were seized by multiple Coast Guard and Navy assets and transferred to other Coast Guard cutters for future disposition stateside. 

Valiant also assisted in the transfer of a Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat-Medium (RB-M) from Coast Guard Sector Miami to Coast Guard Sector San Juan. The Valiant crew took on the tow of the RB-M from Coast Guard Cutter Diligence in the Windward Passage and towed the vessel the remaining 360 nautical miles to Sector San Juan, saving the Coast Guard over $100,000 in shipping costs. 

“Valiant’s crew has a unique ability to be at their best in the most challenging of times, and this patrol was no exception,” said Cmdr. Matthew Waldron, Valiant’s commanding officer. “Demonstrating exceptional fortitude, they adapted and overcame all challenges associated with the worldwide pandemic to safely conduct a two-month patrol in the Windward Passage. Using overt presence to deter migrant departures from Haiti, we prevented attempts of dangerous and illegal maritime voyages to the Bahamas and Florida. The crew’s efforts proved highly effective, as migrant departures from Haiti were kept well below historic norms during this period, allowing first responders in the U.S. and the Bahamas to focus on pandemic response efforts.” 

The Valiant is a multimission 210-foot medium-endurance cutter. Missions include search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, marine environmental protection, homeland security. and national defense operations.  

CARIBBEAN SEA — The Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant (WMEC-617) crew seized a total of 122 bales of cocaine June 15 in back-to-back interdictions of go-fast vessels just off the coast of Limon, Costa Rica, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a June 19 release. 

The forward-deployed Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew aboard the Vigilant successfully disabled the first go-fast vessel and observed the crew throwing packages overboard. 

Once on scene, the boarding team discovered four people aboard and recovered 77 bales, or approximately 4,200 pounds, of cocaine from the water. Immediately following the first interdiction, the helicopter crew and a separate cutter boarding team were vectored to a 34-foot go-fast vessel with five people aboard. 

The helicopter crew successfully disabled the second go-fast vessel and also observed the crew throwing packages overboard. Vigilant’s boarding team arrived on scene, apprehended five people and recovered 45 bales or approximately 2,600 pounds of cocaine from the water. 

The cocaine recovered during both interdictions has an estimated wholesale value of approximately $118.3 million. The nine people will be prosecuted by the Middle District of Florida and the seized contraband will be transferred to the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

“Every high-speed interdiction of drug-laden vessels presents unique challenges, so for us to simultaneously interdict two overpowered go-fast vessels in the middle of the night is extraordinary,” said Cmdr. Fred Bertsch, commanding officer of the Vigilant. “I am very proud of our crew and could not have asked anything more from them. These efforts, combined with those of our partner agencies and nations, will help ensure stability in the Western Hemisphere.” 

Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, all detainees 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 detainees were reported to be sick or to have any COVID-19 related symptoms.  

CARIBBEAN SEA — The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Lassen (DDG 82) and the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Detroit (LCS 7) with embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) teams disrupted a combined 112 bales of suspected contraband worth over $79.6 million from May 24-27, the U.S. 4th Fleet/U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command Public Affairs said in a June 19 release. 

While on routine patrol May 24 and 26, Lassen, along with embarked helicopters assigned to the “Proud Warriors” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 72, made two separate interdictions. 

Lassen was able to intercept the vessels with coordination of the ship’s embarked LEDET and Lassen small boats. The embarked helicopters onboard were instrumental in ensuring the compliance of the go fast vessels (GFV) until the small boat teams arrived to achieve positive control of the vessels. 

“It has been an absolute pleasure serving onboard USS Lassen,”  said Lt. Kevin Painten, officer in charge, U.S. Coast Guard LEDET 403. “The crew is unmatched in professional expertise and combined with the LEDET and HSM-60 airborne use of force capability.” 

“Lassen is making a large impact in the SOUTHCOM [area of responsibility],” Painten continued. “This most recent interdiction is just one of the many examples of how Lassen and the embarked LEDET are combating transnational organized crime.” 

Additionally, on May 24 and 27 Detroit made two separate interdictions: 

A U.S. Navy maritime patrol aircraft, assigned to the “Tridents” of Patrol Squadron VP 26, spotted an additional GFV, Detroit was vectored for a long-range intercept. Upon intercept, Detroit employed one of its embarked helicopters, assigned to the “Sea Knights” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSC) 22, to provide over watch and ensure compliance while the embarked LEDET on Detroit small boats achieved positive control of the GFV.  

Lassen and Detroit recovered 70 bales of suspected cocaine totaling an estimated 2,009 kilograms, worth over an estimated value of about $76 million. 

Additionally, Lassen recovered 42 bales of suspected marijuana totaling an estimated 2,086 pounds, worth over an estimated value of approximately $3.6 million.  

“I could not be more proud of the Sea Devils onboard Lassen.  Lassen continues to excel day-in, day-out,” said Cmdr. Judson Mallory Lassen’s commanding officer. “This most recent success is a testament to my crew’s dedication, focus and self-sufficiency, supported by their seamless integration with our Air Detachment and the embarked USCG LEDET.” 

USS Lassen and USS Detroit are deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations conducting U.S Southern Command and Joint Interagency Task Force South’s enhanced counter drug operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. 

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, U.S. 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. 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The crew of the Coast Guard cutter Donald Horsley offloaded about 150 kilograms of seized cocaine and transferred custody of three suspected smugglers to federal law enforcement authorities on June 13, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release. 

The seized drug shipment has an estimated value of more than $5.6 million. The three men apprehended remain in U.S. custody facing criminal charges for drug smuggling. 

The interdiction was the result of ongoing efforts in support of Operation Unified Resolve, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force (CCSF). Prosecution is being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico. 

“COVID-19 has presented us with tremendous operational and personal challenges over these past few months and yet the great women and men of the United States Coast Guard continue to do an outstanding job safeguarding this great nation,” said Lt. Joel Wyman, commanding officer of the cutter Winslow Griesser, which carried out the interdiction. 

The interdiction and seizure occurred during a patrol the night of June 8, where the crew of a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) maritime patrol aircraft detected a suspected go-fast vessel with three people aboard about 50 nautical miles southwest of Isla Saona, Dominican Republic. Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector San Juan directed the launch of a Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft to acquire the location of the vessel and diverted the Winslow Griesser. 

Once on scene, Winslow Griesser’s over-the-horizon cutter boat stopped the vessel and recovered three bales from the water near it. The recovered bales tested positive for cocaine and weighed about 150 kilograms.  

The detainees and contraband were transferred to the Donald Horsley for transport to Sector San Juan. The cutter’s crew offloaded the contraband and disembarked the suspected smugglers in coordination with CBP officers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, DEA and CCSF special agents in San Juan. 

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter James returned home on June 12 to Charleston following a 75-day counter-drug patrol in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release. 

During their patrol, the James’ crew, augmented by an embarked armed helicopter capable of disabling drug smuggling vessels from the Coast Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, interdicted four drug-smuggling vessels and seized more than 3,800 kilograms of cocaine and 3,300 pounds of marijuana bound for the United States.  

The James’ patrol efforts were in direct support of the president’s enhanced counter-narcotics surge announced in early April. The U.S. Coast Guard, working cooperatively with U.S. Southern Command, began this surge effort in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific, putting increased pressure on the drug trafficking organizations operating in Central and South America. 

Working alongside U.S. Navy crews aboard destroyers and littoral combat ships, the James crew, along with several other Coast Guard cutter crews, seized or disrupted more than 43,000 kilograms of cocaine and nearly 10,000 pounds of marijuana. 

Before returning home, the crew conducted a narcotics offload in Port Everglades, Florida, on June 9. After collecting contraband from other vessels in the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean, the crew offloaded nearly 30,000 pounds of cocaine and marijuana, worth an estimated $400 million, representing seven additional interdictions events by Coast Guard and Navy vessels supporting this enhanced counter-narcotics surge. 

“This patrol highlights our crew’s sincere commitment to protecting the American people from our adversaries amid all the uncertainty caused by COVID-19,” said Capt. Jeffrey Randall, the James’ commanding officer. “The James’ crew demonstrated supreme resilience and performed exceptionally as showcased by the results of this successful patrol.” 

The James is one of two 418-foot national security cutters homeported in Charleston.

ARLINGTON, Va. — President Trump has ordered a review of the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking polar security cutter (PSC) program, with a focus on exploring options for nuclear power, heavy armament and leasing stopgap icebreakers. 

In a June 9 memorandum from the White House to several federal departments, titled “Safeguarding U.S. National Interests in the Arctic and Antarctic Regions,” Trump ordered “a review of requirements for a polar security icebreaking fleet acquisition program to acquire and employ a suitable fleet of polar security icebreakers, and associated assets and resources, capable of ensuring a persistent United States presence in the Arctic and Antarctic regions in support of national interests and in furtherance of the National Security Strategy and the National Defense Strategy, as appropriate.” 

“Separately, the review shall include the ability to provide a persistent United States presence in the Antarctic region, as appropriate, in accordance with the Antarctic Treaty System,” the memo said. 

The Coast Guard awarded a $745 million contract to VT Halter Marine in 2019 to build the lead PSC and has requested funds to construct a second PSC in the 2021 budget. The lead PSC is scheduled for delivery in 2024. The sea service has a requirement for six new icebreakers, including at least three PSCs. 

The Coast Guard has only one serviceable heavy ice breaker, the Polar Star, which was commissioned in 1976, available. The Polar Star makes an annual voyage to Antarctica to help resupply U.S. facilities on that continent. 

Trump also directed officials to study “the comparative operational and fiscal benefits and risks of a polar security icebreaking fleet that consists of at least three heavy [PSCs].” 

The study is to use the full range of missions that may be executed by medium PSCs so that the optimal number and type of PSCs needed to ensure a persistent presence in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.  

The study also will assess expanded capabilities for the PSCs, including unmanned systems, space systems and sensors to achieve maritime domain awareness; secure communications and data transfer systems; and intelligence-collection systems.  

The study also will evaluate “defensive armament adequate to defend against threats by near-peer competitors” such as China and Russia. 

The PSC is slated to be armed with .50-caliber machine guns for close-in defense, but the Coast Guard has in the past said it is open to the idea up-gunning the armament to include heavier weapons, including cruise missiles. 

The study also will look at the “potential for nuclear-powered propulsion” for the PSC fleet. The study also will identify at least two optimal basing locations and at least two international basing locations for the future icebreaker fleet. 

In recognition of the Polar Star’s condition, the study also will look at options to bridge a potential gap between the end of the Polar Star’s worthiness and the commissioning of the PSC fleet, considering leasing options of commercial icebreakers from partner nations. 

“Further, and in advance of any bid solicitation for future polar security icebreaker acquisitions, the Secretary of State shall coordinate with the Secretary of Homeland Security to identify partner nations with proven foreign shipbuilding capability and expertise in icebreaker construction,” the memo said. 

In the memo, the president directed that the secretary of Homeland Security and the director of the Office of Management and Budget shall ensure that the Coast Guard’s offshore patrol cutter acquisition program “is not adversely impacted.”

MIAMI — The Coast Guard Cutter James crew on June 9 offloaded about 23,000 pounds of cocaine and approximately 6,900 pounds of marijuana, all worth more than an estimated $408 million, in Port Everglades, Florida, the Coast Guard said. 

The drugs were interdicted in international waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America and in the Caribbean Sea, including contraband seized and recovered during 11 interdictions of suspected drug smuggling vessels by four Coast Guard cutters and two U.S. Navy ships: 

• The James was responsible for four interdictions, seizing about 8,400 pounds of cocaine and 3,350 pounds of marijuana. 
• The cutter Mohawk was responsible for one interdiction, seizing about 1,700 pounds of cocaine. 
• The cutter Confidence was responsible for one interdiction, seizing approximately 1,089 pounds of cocaine. 
• The cutter Escanaba was responsible for one interdiction, seizing about 2,200 pounds of cocaine. 
• The Navy’s USS Pinckney was responsible for two interdictions, seizing approximately 9,050 pounds of cocaine. 
• The Navy’s USS Lassen was responsible for two interdictions, seizing about 575 pounds of cocaine and 3,575 pounds of marijuana. 

“The roughly 15 tons of illicit narcotics being offloaded here today and the likely ensuing prosecutions, are the results of extraordinary teamwork and intelligence-driven operations,” Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz said. 

“It is important to note that our fellow citizens aren’t the only ones who benefit from these counter-narcotics efforts. Our Central American neighbors face tremendous strain from drug-fueled violence sparked by transnational criminal organizations. Efforts like this enhanced counter-drug operation significantly disrupt the criminal activity destabilizing the region.” 

The James is a 418-foot national security cutter home ported in Charleston, South Carolina. The cutter Mohawk is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Key West, Florida. The Escanaba is a medium-endurance cutter homeported in Boston. The Confidence, a 210-foot medium-endurance cutter, is homeported in Port Canaveral, Florida. The Pinckney is a 510-foot Arleigh Burke-class destroyer homeported in Naval Base San Diego. The Lassen also is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer homeported in Naval Station Mayport, Florida.