Coast Guard commissions 47th Sentinel-class cutter. The Coast Guard commissioned the Coast Guard Cutter Clarence Sutphin Jr., Patrol Forces Southwest Asia's (PATFORSWA) sixth 154-foot Sentinel-class cutter, into service at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City April 21. Vice Adm. Steven Poulin, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area commander, presided over the ceremony. The coast Guard officially received the Clarence Sutphin Jr., Jan. 6 in Key West, Fla., and is the 47th Sentinel-class fast response cutter. Each of these cutters carries the name of a U.S. Coast Guard enlisted hero. While the ship is commissioning in New York City, it will be homeport in Manama, Bahrain, part of PATFORSWA, a maritime humanitarian presence on the seas, providing U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet with combat-ready assets. Read more.
Coast Guard offloads $11.7 million in cocaine, transfers 6 suspected smugglers in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Coast Guard Cutters’ Joseph Tezanos and Heriberto Hernandez crews offloaded approximately 1,289 pounds of cocaine and transferred custody of six suspected smugglers at Coast Guard Base San Juan April 18, following two separate vessel interdictions near Puerto Rico. These interdictions are the result of multi-agency efforts involving the Caribbean Border Interagency Group and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force. The seized cocaine has an estimated wholesale value of approximately $11.7 million dollars. “Safeguarding the nation’s southernmost maritime border is among our top priorities,” said Capt. Gregory H. Magee, Coast Guard Sector San Juan commander. “You can expect to see many more of these interdictions from the Coast Guard and from our local and federal partners as we work together to stop drug smuggling go-fast vessels from making landfall in Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands.” Read more.
Coast Guard Cutter Legare crew stops drugs, rescues Colombian fishers on 3-month patrol in Eastern Pacific, Caribbean. The Coast Guard Cutter Legare returned home April 18 after a 12-week counter-narcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The Legare crew patrolled over 19,500 miles throughout the heart of the Eastern Pacific Ocean in support of Campaign Martillo, working in conjunction with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, and other partner nation agencies. "This was a highly successful patrol, resulting from our crew's tireless preparation and hard work,” said Cmdr. Malcolm Belt, Legare’s commanding officer. “I am extremely proud of the crew's professionalism, mission execution, and teamwork to prevent these drugs from crossing our borders."
Coast Guard hosts Army Corps of Engineers for site survey and future projects in San Francisco Bay. The Coast Guard hosted nine members from the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) District Nine Regional Office at Coast Guard Island in Alameda. Calif., March 29. Members of the Eleventh Coast Guard District waterways management branch and ACOE got underway aboard a Coast Guard Station San Francisco 45-foot Response Boat–Medium to discuss current waterway conditions and potential waterway improvement projects near Coast Guard Island in Alameda. “Working with the U.S. Corps of Engineers is always an honor with their extensive knowledge and program management with navigation and port development,” said Tyrone Conner, the Coast Guard Eleventh District deputy chief of waterways. “This was a great opportunity to continue the professional exchange of ideas and provide the service expected by our maritime community and local citizens of Oakland and the Bay Area." Read more.