Coast Guard seizes 168 pounds of marijuana near South Padre Island, Texas. A Coast Guard Station South Padre Island 33-foot Special Purpose Craft–Law Enforcement boat crew observed three people swimming across the Brownsville Ship Channel with bundles on their backs at approximately 5 a.m., April 29. The Station South Padre Island SPC–LE boat crew intercepted the people, seized the marijuana in their possession, and transported the people and the bundles to Station South Padre Island, then transferred them to U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel. Read more.
Coast Guard Sector Miami holds change of command ceremony. Capt. Christopher Cederholm relieved Capt. Jo-Ann Burdian as the commander of Coast Guard Sector Miami, April 29, at Miami Beach, Fla., during a change-of-command ceremony. Cederholm reported to Sector Miami from Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound where he was the deputy sector commander since 2019. Burdian, the first Latina sector commander, will transfer to Coast Guard headquarters as the assistant commandant for response policy. Rear Adm. Brendan C. McPherson, the Coast Guard’s Seventh District commander, presided over the event. Read more.
Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg will receive first 154-foot fast response cutter. The Coast Guard Cutter Pablo Valent, a Sentinel-class vessel, arrived at its new homeport of St. Petersburg, Fla, May 1, and will begin training for certification in law enforcement and rescue operations. The official commissioning of Pablo Valent is set for May 11. Pablo Valent will be active in the Gulf of Mexico as well as the Florida Keys. In Florida, there are 12 more FRCs that operate across the Caribbean Sea. Read more.
Coast Guard, partners rescue missing mariners near Chuuk State, Santa Rita, Guam. The Coast Guard and partner agencies rescued five adults and one child aboard a missing vessel near Etal Atoll in Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia, April 26. "The Sector Guam Command Center did an excellent job communicating with interagency and international partners to put limited resources in the right location and at the right time, which is very difficult in these remote locations," said Capt. Nicholas Simmons, the commander of Coast Guard Forces Micronesia, Sector Guam. Read more.
Coast Guard repatriates 84 people to Cuba. Coast Guard Cutter Paul Clark's crew repatriated 84 Cubans to Cuba, April 27, following five interdictions off the Florida Keys. "These voyages are dangerous on makeshift, rustic vessels without food, water, or safety equipment," said Lt. Travis Poulos, Coast Guard District Seven legal representative. "Our air and surface crews, along with our local and federal law enforcement partners, work together every day maintaining an active presence through the Florida Straits, and Mona and Windward passages to help save lives by deterring these voyages." Read more.