Coast Guard offloads $51 million in cocaine in San Juan, Puerto Rico, following at-sea drug bust near the British Virgin Islands. The Coast Guard Cutter Richard Etheridge crew offloaded approximately 1,700 kilograms of seized cocaine at Coast Guard Base San Juan, following the disruption go-fast vessel smuggling attempt by Coast Guard and British Virgin Islands authorities. This disruption and seizure were the result of multi-agency efforts involving the Caribbean Border Interagency Group and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force. “Despite the challenging sea state conditions and thanks to the close collaboration and coordination with our Royal Virgin Islands Police partners, our crews did an outstanding job in disrupting a major shipment of cocaine and keeping it from ever reaching the streets,” said Capt. Gregory H. Magee, Sector San Juan commander. “Our strong partnerships, as in the case of the British Virgin Islands and island nations throughout our area of responsibility, are key to achieving safe and secure maritime borders from drug trafficking and other smuggling threats in the Eastern Caribbean.” Learn more.
Coast Guard rescues stranded man off rocks near Greyhound Rock County Park. On Sept. 6, a bystander contacted Coast Guard Station Monterey watchstanders reporting a person was stranded on Greyhound Rock, San Francisco. Sector San Francisco launched a helicopter from Air Station San Francisco. Once the helicopter crew arrived on scene, they lowered the rescue swimmer to the rock and hoisted the man into the helicopter. The helicopter crew then transported the man to awaiting California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection personnel in a nearby parking lot with no reported injuries. Learn more.
Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, “America’s Tall Ship,” is scheduled to arrive in Portsmouth on Sept. 17, 2021. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle will be moored at High Street Landing Sept. 17 – Sept. 20 and will be open for free public tours. At 295 feet in length, Cutter Eagle is the largest tall ship flying the stars and stripes and the only active square-rigger in United States government service. Eagle has served as a classroom at sea to future Coast Guard officers since 1946, offering an at-sea leadership and professional development experience as part of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy curriculum. This summer, Coast Guard Academy Cadets completed a transatlantic voyage and experienced port calls in Azores, Iceland, and Bermuda. Learn more.
Coast Guard, partner agencies manage oil clean up in Delaware. The Coast Guard, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and Environmental Protection Agency are managing cleanup efforts from an oil discharge, on Sept. 8, at the NRG Indian River Power Plant in Dagsboro, Delaware. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay received a National Response Center report of approximately 30,000 gallons of No.2 fuel oil discharged into a secondary containment area at the facility. There is no evidence of oil impacting the waterway. The cause remains under investigation. Learn more.