BELOIT, Wis. — Fairbanks Morse, a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management, was awarded a six-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract by the U.S. Coast Guard, the company said in a Jan. 26 release.

The agreement, worth approximately $53 million, enables Fairbanks Morse to maximize and improve engine lifecycle support for the Coast Guard’s 270-foot Famous-class cutters.      

As part of the Famous class service life-extension program (SLEP), Fairbanks Morse was awarded this contract to provide services, personnel, facilities, expertise, technological information, special tools, supplies and incidental materials necessary to ensure the longevity of the fleet’s 18-cylinder FM 251F engines. The contract also includes delivery and installation of new engines, spare parts and nonrecurring engineering work. 

“Fairbanks Morse has been a trusted engine and service provider to the U.S. Coast Guard for many decades, and it’s an immense honor to be selected to provide engines and services for its vessels,” said George Whittier, chief executive officer of Fairbanks Morse. “We are fully committed to supporting our country’s national defense by delivering reliable products and quality service that facilitate mission-critical operations.” 

Through an IDIQ contract, pricing for support services is streamlined under a single agreement, eliminating the administrative, time and cost burdens associated with working through an intermediate party. Fairbanks Morse provides factory certified original equipment manufacturer technicians who undergo rigorous qualifications to meet the company’s high standards for delivering best-in-class support. These technicians will deliver enhanced performance and improved service life while ensuring the highest level of reliability and efficiency for Famous-class cutters. 

The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy have turned to Fairbanks Morse for over 70 years to provide quality diesel engines for marine propulsion and ship service systems. Today, Fairbanks Morse engines are installed on approximately 80% of U.S. Navy ships with a medium speed power application. 

PORTSMOUTH, Va.,— The USCGC Charles Moulthrope (WPC 1141), Patrol Forces Southwest Asia’s first Sentinel-class fast response cutter, was commissioned into service at Coast Guard Base Portsmouth, Jan. 22, the Coast Guard Atlantic Area said in a release. 

Adm. Karl Shultz, commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, presided over the 41st Sentinel-class cutter ceremony. Moulthrope is the first of six FRCs to be homeported in Manama, Bahrain. 

The cutter’s sponsor is Mrs. Dawn Schultz, spouse of Adm. Karl Schultz. 

The Charles Moulthrope is the first of six FRCs planned for service in Manama, Bahrain. Stationing FRCs in Bahrain supports Patrol Force, South-West Asia (PATFORSWA), the Coast Guard’s largest unit outside of the U.S., and its mission to train, organize, equip, support and deploy combat-ready Coast Guard forces in support of Central Command and national security objectives. 

PATFORSWA works with Naval Forces Central Command to conduct maritime operations to forward U.S. interests, deter, and counter disruptive countries, defeat violent extremism, and strengthen partner nations’ maritime capabilities to secure the maritime environment in the Central Command area of responsibility. 

The cutter is named after Seaman Charles Moulthrope, remembered for heroic and selfless service as a member of the Revenue Cutter Service cutter Commodore Perry, en route to patrol Alaska, when he rescued multiple shipmates who ended up in the sea. They had attempted to rescue another crewman who was swept overboard during heavy seas. Moulthrope “grabbed a line and leaped over the side” into the freezing water to save the four men. Not long after, he lost his life in the performance of duties in Unalaska, Alaska, in 1896, when he fell from a mast while trying to free a fouled pennant. This ship will be the first modern Coast Guard cutter named for an enlisted man of the Revenue Cutter Service, bringing recognition to the service and sacrifice of hundreds of sailors who served their country aboard the ships of this precursor of the Coast Guard. 

The Coast Guard has ordered 64 FRCs to date. Forty are in service: 12 in Florida, seven in Puerto Rico; four in California; three each in Hawaii, Texas, and New Jersey, and two each in Alaska, Mississippi, and North Carolina. Two FRCs arrived in their homeport of Apra Harbor, Guam, in 2020, with one more to come.  

The Coast Guard took delivery of Charles Moulthrope on Oct. 22, 2020, in Key West. They will transit to Bahrain later this year with their sister ship, the Robert Goldman (WPC 1142), delivered Dec. 22, 2020, and due to be commissioned in February in Key West.  

The fast response cutters were designed to patrol coastal regions and are operating in an increasingly expeditionary manner. They feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment, and launch and recover standardized small boats from the stern. 

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The crew of USCGC Resolute (WMEC 620) returned to St. Petersburg, Florida, on Jan. 14, following a 42-day patrol in support of Operation Southeast Watch and others, the Coast Guard Atlantic Area said in a Jan. 21 release.  
 
Resolute traveled over 5,000 miles, rescued and repatriated 110 Haitian migrants and stopped 500 kilograms of contraband. 
 
The crew departed Florida, Dec. 4, 2020, to Windward Pass, patrolling off Haiti’s northern coast to deter illegal immigration and promote regional stability. They responded to a report of a dangerously overcrowded and unseaworthy vessel received from a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter on station off the coast of Haiti. From the air, the Jayhawk crew described the boat as having approximately 50 to 80 people aboard.  
 
The Jayhawk crew guided Resolute’s small boats to the vessel, and once on the scene, the boarding team embarked on the 40-foot wooden boat and discovered 110 Haitian migrants. Working through the night, the small boat crews safely rescued all 110 migrants, including six children, and ferried them back to the cutter, where they received food, water, and medical attention. All 110 migrants were subsequently repatriated back to Cap Haitian with the Coast Guard liaison officer’s assistance in Haiti and the Haitian coast guard.  
 
Transitioning to the Caribbean Sea, the crew intercepted a northbound vessel, resulting in more than 500 kilograms of contraband. Coast Guard boarding teams detained the suspected smugglers and took positive control of the boat. The contraband, detainees, and vessel were transported to the United States for final case disposition.   
 
Resolute’s crew conducted numerous at-sea transfers of contraband and detainees with other U.S. Coast Guard and Navy surface assets, including cutters William Trump, Raymond Evans, Mohawk, James, Decisive, Richard Etheridge, and the U.S. naval warship USS Comstock (LSD 45). Resolute’s crew worked closely with these units to safely embark and transport suspected smugglers and contraband to the United States, ensuring numerous cases’ timely disposition.  
 
Resolute completed more than 40 shipboard-helicopter evolutions with Coast Guard Air Station Miami’s assistance before returning home. Conducting these flight operations helped Air Station Miami pilots maintain critical flight currencies and allowed Resolute to train new crew and maintain shipboard-helicopter proficiency for future patrols. 
 
Through this patrol, Resolute supported international, multi-agency operations, including Operation Unified Resolve, Operation Southeast Watch, Operation Caribbean Guard, Enhanced Counternarcotics Operations, Campaign Martillo, and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force.  
 
“Working for the Coast Guard’s 7th District was a rewarding experience for the crew of Resolute,” said Cmdr. Justin Vanden Heuvel, commanding officer of Resolute. “We stood the watch throughout the holiday season and into the new year, transitioning seamlessly between alien-migration interdiction operations to enforcing counter drug regulations on the high seas.”  
 
“The crew of the Resolute has done a fantastic job during this recent patrol, and their successes illustrate the vital partnerships that are essential in combating transnational criminal organizations that threaten global security and prosperity,” said Rear Adm. Douglas Fears, director of Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF)-South. “The U.S. Coast Guard and JIATF-South work together every day, as well as with our other U.S. and international partners, to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs that are a major funding source for criminal organizations operating within the Western Hemisphere.”  

Resolute homeported in St. Petersburg, is a 210-foot Reliance-class cutter and has a crew of 78. Their motto is Fama Extendere Factis, fame through good deeds. 
 
 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Coast Guard will bring a less militaristic face to the persistent global presence of U.S. naval power outlined in the new Tri-Service Maritime Strategy, the Coast Guard’s commandant says.

The strategy, unveiled in mid-December, seeks an integrated, all-domain naval power consisting of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, that will maintain freedom of navigation globally, defend the homeland and “prevail across a continuum of competition — composed of interactions with other nations from cooperation to conflict.”

The Tri-Services strategy focuses on an emerging China and resurgent Russia as “the most significant threats” to the rules-based international system that existed since the end of World War II.

“The Coast Guard is poised today, more than ever, to seamlessly integrate into our nation’s joint maritime naval force,  as captured in this document,” Adm. Karl L. Schultz, the Coast Guard’s commandant, said Jan. 13 at the Surface Navy Association’s Virtual Symposium.

With its unique law enforcement and military authorities, multi-mission capabilities, wealth of multilateral and bilateral agreements and partnerships, the Coast Guard has unfettered access to the global commons, he added, making the agency “a perfect complement to the lethality of the Navy and Marine Corps.  And united, we bring a range of maritime capabilities to employ across the cooperation, competition, lethality continuum.”

The Coast Guard operates generally below the level of conflict or lethality and that’s the bridge between “State Department diplomacy and Defense Department lethality,” Schultz said. “Coast Guards offer a less militaristic face of state power in disputed maritime areas. They present options. They’re like Swiss Army Knives,” he said.

Other maritime nations have also recognized the agility and capability of their coast guards to operate along this continuum below lethality, Schultz said. Between 2010 and 2016, China increased the tonnage of its Coast Guard by 73% percent, and Japan did so by 50%, he said, citing RAND Corp. research.

While the U.S. Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security, charged with law enforcement at sea, fisheries protection, marine safety and maritime security, the tri-service strategy noted Navy and Coast Guard ships conduct freedom of navigation operations globally, challenging excessive and illegal maritime claims. Coast Guard cutters and law enforcement detachments aboard Navy and allied ships exercise unique authorities to counter terrorism, weapons proliferation, transnational crime and piracy, the strategy document stated.

Coast Guard cutters have supported all six combatant commands from Indo-Pacific Command to Africa Command, Schultz said, noting the next commissioned Fast Response Cutter will be the first of that class sent to Bahrain. “We’ve been operating in that theater since 2003 and we will bring additional capabilities and additional capacity with these new cutters,” he said. 

The Coast Guard’s fleet modernization, including acquisition of the Offshore Patrol Cutter, Polar Security Cutter, Arctic Security Cutter and Waterways Commerce Cutter, will provide the capacity and capabilities necessary to facilitate advancing maritime governance and protecting U.S. maritime sovereignty, according to the strategy document.

HONOLULU — The Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Gerczak (WPC 1126) conducted a port call in Honolulu after completing the first stage of its expeditionary patrol in the Pacific to curtail illegal fishing and strengthen maritime law enforcement self-sufficiency with Kiribati partners, the Coast Guard 14th District said in a Jan. 12 release.  

The crew of the Joseph Gerczak traveled from Dec. 28, 2020, to Jan. 3, 2021, from Hawaii to Kiribati, covering a distance of approximately 2,400 miles.   

“We’re working to increase awareness of unlawful fishing operations in remote territories of the United States, the Pacific, and the Republic of Kiribati’s exclusive economic zones,” said Lt. James Provost, commanding officer of the Joseph Gerczak. “Over the course of our patrol we queried one Chinese fishing vessel while enforcing Kiribati’s sovereignty.” 

As part of Operation Blue Pacific Task Force, the crew of the Joseph Gerczak deployed in support of strategic national security goals of stability and security throughout the Indo-Pacific.  

The crew of the Joseph Gerczak used intelligence-driven enforcement actions, counter predatory and irresponsible maritime behavior, and expanded multilateral fisheries enforcement cooperation. 

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing results in tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue to legal fishers every year. IUU operates without legal constraints, avoids overhead licensing costs, and often falsifies their documentation creating an unfair advantage.  

The Coast Guard combats illegal fishing and other maritime threats across the Pacific to protect the United States and Pacific Island Countries resource security and sovereignty. Combating illegal fishing is part of promoting maritime governance and a rules-based international order that is essential to a free and open Oceania.  

Oceania covers an area of 3.3 million square miles and has a population of approximately 40 million diverse people.  

“Effective maritime domain awareness requires unprecedented information sharing,” said Cmdr. Jason Brand, chief of enforcement, Coast Guard District 14. “We are eager to collaborate with Kiribati on initiatives of common interest.” 

Fast Response Cutters, such as the Joseph Gerczak, are outfitted with new and advanced command, communications, control, computers, intelligence, and surveillance systems and boast greater range and endurance compared to their forerunner, the 30-year old 110-foot Island-class patrol boats. Like their predecessors, the FRCs are designed as multi-mission platforms ranging from maritime law enforcement to search and rescue. 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Heriberto Hernandez transferred custody of a man wanted for an alleged murder to the U.S. Marshals Jan. 7 in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, following the interdiction of a makeshift vessel in Mona Passage waters near Puerto Rico. 

Gustavo Guerrero-Reyes, 37, was arrested on an outstanding Puerto Rico state warrant, following his apprehension while traveling aboard a makeshift boat with two other men, whom all claimed to be Dominican Republic Nationals.  

The interdiction is the result of ongoing Caribbean Border Interagency Group multiagency efforts in their common goal of securing the borders of Puerto Rico against illegal threats. 

“This case was complex and the crew of the cutter Heriberto Hernandez did an outstanding job interdicting this voyage and working with our partners from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Marshals, which led to the apprehension of a wanted fugitive with a standing warrant for murder,” said Cmdr. Beau Powers, Sector San Juan chief of response. “This case is a testament to the professionalism of all interdicting agencies in securing and defending the United States’ southeastern border.” 

Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan received a call Jan. 5 from a CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO) agent, who reported the crew of an AMO maritime patrol aircraft detected a suspect vessel approximately 37 nautical miles north of Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico. Coast Guard watchstanders diverted the cutter Heriberto Hernandez to assess the situation.  

Once on scene, the cutter’s over the horizon small boat launched and approached the suspect vessel. The Coast Guard boat crew identified the 22-foot white colored makeshift vessel was of wooden construction, unseaworthy, and had no markings or indication of nationality.  The passengers onboard were also unable to provide a registration for the vessel. 

The crew of the Heriberto Hernandez embarked the three men for safety of life at sea concerns and conducted biometrics processing, which revealed one of the men wanted in connection to a murder allegedly committed in March 2020. 

The cutter Heriberto Hernandez rendezvoused with a Dominican Republic navy patrol boat Jan. 6 just off the Dominican Republic and transferred the two other passengers of the makeshift vessel for their return to the Dominican Republic. 

Cutter Heriberto Hernandez is a 154-foot fast response cutter homeported in Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — While in transit to conduct joint operations off the coast of Guyana as part of Operation Southern Cross, USCGC Stone (WMSL 758) encountered and interdicted a suspected narcotic trafficking vessel south of the Dominican Republic Jan. 7, the Coast Guard Atlantic Area said in a Jan. 11 release.   
   
Having stopped the illicit activity, Stone handed off the case to the USCGC Raymond Evans (WPC 1110), a fast response cutter from Key West, Florida, and continued its patrol south.  
   
Early on Jan. 7, acting on information from a maritime patrol aircraft, the Stone crew approached the vessel of interest and exercised U.S. Coast Guard authorities to stop their transit and interdict illicit maritime trade.  
   
The USCGC Raymond Evans arrived on the scene shortly after. A Coast Guard boarding team from the Raymond Evans conducted a law enforcement boarding, testing packages found aboard the vessel, revealing bales of cocaine estimated at 2,148.5 pounds (970 kilograms) total.  
 
Stone’s crew remained on scene during the search of the vessel to assist if need. Following the boarding, the Raymond Evans crew took possession of the contraband and detained the four suspected narcotics trafficking vessel members. They are working with the U.S. Coast Guard 7th District and Department of Justice on the next steps.  

“I’m very proud of the crew for completing this evolution safely and making an immediate impact on our first patrol,” said Capt. Adam Morrison, commanding officer of USCGC Stone (WMSL 758). “This case illustrates that Stone is a competent partner, and our crew is ready for the front-lines. We look forward to our upcoming engagements, first with Guyana.” 
   
Vice Adm. Steven Poulin, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area, said USCGC Stone “is a highly-capable multipurpose platform and ready to conduct missions to save lives, support lawful activities on the high seas, and highlight and build Coast Guard partnerships with other nations.

“I am not surprised that Stone interdicted drug smugglers – it is what the captain, crew, and every U.S. Coast Guard member is prepared to do every day underway.  Stone’s crew is exhibiting the highest professional competence, reinforcing that Stone is well-suited to help our partners in the South Atlantic expose and address illicit activities in the maritime domain. These transnational criminal activities – be it illegal fishing or the trafficking of people, drugs, money, etc.  – challenge global security, and only together can we combat these threats.” 

“Our teammates aboard USCGC Stone are helping keep our shared neighborhood, the Western Hemisphere, safe, successfully stopping illicit narcotics smuggling, while continuing their equally important mission to counter predatory and irresponsible IUU fishing, a growing threat to our partner nations’ sovereignty and our collective regional security,” said Rear Adm. Andrew J. Tiongson, director of operations, U.S. Southern Command. 

Operation Southern Cross is a multi-month deployment to the South Atlantic countering illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing while strengthening relationships for maritime sovereignty and security throughout the region.  
 
 

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — The U.S Coast Guard’s Polar Security Cutter (PSC) is rapidly progressing through the detailed design phase, and Halter Marine is actively preparing for its construction, the company said in a Jan. 6 release.  

In July 2021, Halter Marine will complete upgrades to the launch way area where the PSC will be constructed. The 460-foot icebreaker is the heaviest vessel per foot of length that Halter Marine has constructed at its Pascagoula, Mississippi, shipyard. The launch way has been fortified to accommodate the PSC’s 19,000-ton launch weight.  

The Crowley Taino and El Coqui were the heaviest vessels previously to launch from the company’s dock. These two vessels are 720 feet in length, providing a greater distance to leverage their weight. 

“Based on weight per foot, the PSC outweighs those vessels,” said Bob Merchent, president and CEO of Halter Marine. “The PSC needs 22 tons of capacity per linear foot of rail line, and we have designed the new launch way to accommodate 27 tons per linear foot. We are preparing for our newest vessel while also looking forward to future, larger vessels.”  

The upgrade project began in July by removing 11 launch way rail lines. Next, crews dug 1,283 holes that were filled with grout and concrete to serve as new piles. These piles will transfer the PSC’s heavy load to a deeper level than previously possible.  

“Each drilled hole is 110 feet long, and we are pouring 27 miles of piles,” said Kevin Amis, executive vice president of operations for Halter Marine. “We are completing this project with a perfect safety record. I’m proud of the women and men at Halter Marine and Malouf Construction for accomplishing this invaluable project with a true focus on safety.”  

The launch way upgrade project is funded with a generous grant from the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA).  

“We appreciate the continued support of the MDA along with our federal, state and local officials,” Merchent said. “We are thankful for that, and we are all proud to support the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard by providing them with better capabilities to operate in the Arctic.” 

LOCKPORT, La. — President Trump on Dec. 27 signed into law the omnibus spending bill for fiscal Year 2021, which included funding for four more Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs), allowing Bollinger Shipyards to build and deliver four more FRCs to the U.S. Coast Guard, the company said in an Dec. 28 release. This increases the total number of funded boats to 64.  

“It’s a great honor to have the confidence of the U.S. Congress to continue the work we’re doing in support of the U.S. Coast Guard,” said Ben Bordelon, Bollinger Shipyards president and CEO. “The Fast Response Cutter program is something we’re all proud of here in Louisiana. Delivering vessels on schedule and on budget to the Coast Guard during these challenging times shows the determination and resiliency of our workforce.” 

All four of the newly appropriated FRCs will be built at Bollinger’s Lockport, Louisiana, facility. 

Earlier this month, Bordelon wrote an opinion piece on how an expanded U.S. Coast Guard presence around the globe can “help further the regional partnerships and alliances necessary to curb the creeping influence of America’s strategic competitors and adversaries.” Bordelon argues that the Coast Guard has the opportunity to establish itself as the preferred regional partner through its work with Patrol Forces Southwest Asia, Operation Aiga and elsewhere. Bordelon concludes that “white-hull diplomacy should be looked to more and more as a complementary arrow in the whole-of-government quiver.” 

The FRC program has had a total economic impact of $1.2 billion since inception and directly supports 650 jobs in Southeast Louisiana. The program has indirectly created 1,690 new jobs from operations and capital investment and has an annual economic impact on GDP of $202 million, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Maritime Administration on the economic importance of the U.S. Shipbuilding and Repair Industry. Bollinger sources over 271,000 different items for the FRC consisting of 282 million components and parts from 965 suppliers in 37 states. 

“We’re proud that Bollinger continues to be an economic pillar and job creator in south Louisiana,” Bordelon said. “More than 600 of our 1,500-plus employees have important roles related to the FRC program. Without the support of the Coast Guard and Congress for the continuation of this critical program, the security of these jobs would be thrown into question.”  

The FRC is one of many U.S. government shipbuilding programs Bollinger is proud to support. In addition to construction of the FRC, Bollinger is now participating in industry studies for five programs, including the U.S. Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter program, the U.S. Navy’s Common Hull Auxiliary Multi-Mission Platform program, the U.S. Navy’s Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance (T-AGOS(X)) program, the U.S. Navy’s Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle program and the U.S. Navy’s Light Amphibious Warship program. 

The FRC is an operational “game changer,” according to senior Coast Guard officials. FRCs are consistently being deployed in support of the full range of missions within the United States Coast Guard and other branches of our armed services. This is due to its exceptional performance, expanded operational reach and capabilities, and ability to transform and adapt to the mission. FRCs have conducted operations all over the globe and embarked on journeys as far as 10,620 nautical miles from its port of origin. Measuring in at 154-feet, FRCs have a flank speed of 28 knots, state of the art C4ISR suite (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), and stern launch and recovery ramp for a 26-foot, over-the-horizon interceptor cutter boat. 

The U.S. Coast Guard announced a spate of activities around the holidays, most recently that the brand-new Coast Guard Cutter Stone (WMSL 758), having just been delivered from builder Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding, has embarked on a multi-month deployment to the South Atlantic.

There, Stone will counter illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing while strengthening relationships for maritime sovereignty and security throughout the region.

The brand new Legend-class national security cutter, one of the U.S. Coast Guard’s flagships, will provide a presence and support national security objectives throughout the Atlantic. This patrol is the cutter’s initial shakedown cruise following its delivery in November. 

This the service’s first patrol to South America in recent memory, engaging partners including Guyana, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Portugal. The cutter also embarked an observer from the Portuguese navy for the operation’s duration.

Operation Southern Cross is conducted in conjunction with U.S. Southern Command, charged with managing operations in Central and South America by working collaboratively to ensure the Western Hemisphere is secure, free, and prosperous. 

Christmas Rescue

On Christmas Day, the Coast Guard rescued four boaters Friday from Yamani Islets, 27 miles south of Sitka, Alaska. 

A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew hoisted the four boaters, a 50-year-old female, and her three children, ages 21, 17, and 13, from shore after their 15-foot vessel capsized. The helicopter crew transported them to Coast Guard Air Station Sitka where they were reported to be in stable condition.

Watchstanders in the Sector Juneau command center received initial notification from a friend at approximately 11 p.m. of an overdue vessel. Sector watchstanders directed the launch of an aircrew from Air Station Sitka and the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Bailey Barco. 

During their search, the aircrew received a distress call over VHF radio channel 16 at the entrance of Necker Bay and was able to make contact with the boaters confirming they were all ashore after their vessel capsized.

Counter-Drug Deployment

The week before, Coast Guard Cutter Active returned to its homeport of Port Angeles following a 46-day deployment to the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Nicknamed “Lil Tough Guy,” the Active’s crew patrolled 10,056 total nautical miles off the coast of Central America, deployed with an armed Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) in Jacksonville, Florida.

HITRON helped Active search for, detect and stop, drug smuggling vessels.

Pacific Area Tactical Law Enforcement Team (TACLET) personnel sailed with the Active and augmented the unit’s law enforcement capabilities, proving critical during interdictions. TACLET are Coast Guard members that specialize in counter-narcotics tactics and procedures and deploy aboard U.S. and allied navy ships that transit drug trafficking areas.

In just 72 hours, the Active crew interdicted two vessels suspected of drug smuggling and seized approximately 4,200 kilograms of cocaine worth $159 million. These efforts resulted in the detainment of 13 suspected narcotics traffickers.

The Active is a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Port Angeles and routinely deploys in support of counter-drug, migrant interdiction, fisheries, and search and rescue and homeland security missions.

Repatriation

On Dec. 18, the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Resolute repatriated 110 Haitian migrants after stopping a voyage approximately 50 miles north of Cap-Haitien, Haiti.

A forward-deployed Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew spotted a 40-foot vessel overloaded with people. Resolute’s crew diverted and brought the people aboard out of abundance of caution for safety of life at sea.

“I could not be prouder of the crew for safely interdicting and deterring migrant ventures through coordinated efforts to enforce U.S and partner nation treaties and laws,” Cmdr. Justin Vanden Heuvel, commander, Coast Guard Cutter Resolute. “Resolute’s crew was exceptional in ensuring safety of life at sea, as well as providing around-the-clock care for 110 guests and creating an atmosphere of compassion and dignity prior to repatriation.”

IUU Fishing

Earlier in the month, the crew of the Palau Division of Marine Law Enforcement patrol boat PSS President HI Remeliik II coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard to apprehend a suspected illegal fishing vessel off Helen Reef. 

The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched resources that included an Air Station Barbers Point HC-130 Hercules search plane and the Coast Guard Cutter Myrtle Hazard, from Sector Guam, to support the government of Palau to protect their sovereignty and natural resources. The law enforcement action by the crew of the Remeliik II represents the continued cooperation between the Republic of Palau, United States, Australia, Japan, and other partners to halt IUU fishing in the Pacific.

“Our bilateral agreements with Palau and other island nations are proving highly impactful,” said Cmdr. Jason Brand, the Coast Guard Fourteenth District Chief of Enforcement. “IUU fishing has replaced piracy as the leading global maritime security threat. If IUU fishing continues unchecked, we can expect a deterioration of fragile coastal States, collapse of critical fish stock populations and increased tension among foreign-fishing nations, threatening geopolitical stability around the world.” 

On Dec. 9, Palau Rangers near Helen Reef reported witnessing an 80-foot vessel illegally fishing nearby. In coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Global Defense Reform Program contractor assigned to Palau’s Maritime Law Center, the crew of the Remeliik II was dispatched from Koror to apprehend the vessel.