‘Bulldog of the Bering’ Returns to Kodiak After 30 Days at Sea

U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley. Photo: Chief Petty Officer Matthew Schofield/U.S. Coast Guard District 17.

The Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley returned to Kodiak, Alaska, in early May after a 30-day patrol in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands to enforce federal fishery laws and ensure mariners are maintaining all required safety equipment.

The crew sailed the 282-foot medium endurance cutter over 2,000 nautical miles from the Alaska Peninsula to Adak and north of the Pribilof Islands, also steaming west to cross the 180th Meridian into the eastern hemisphere, to conduct a time-honored naval ceremony.

Training and drills were performed throughout the patrol to ensure mission readiness. Crewmembers donned firefighting gear for simulated engine room fires, arranged dewatering pumps for flooding drills, and manually navigated the cutter without GPS all of which enhanced proficiency in damage control and navigation.

Alex Haley performs search and rescue, fisheries law enforcement and vessel safety inspections across Alaska and has been home-ported in Kodiak since 1999.