Vessel Profile

The Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast, based in Astoria, Oregon, has returned home after a 10,000 mile, 49-day counter-narcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean with over 2,400 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $33 million. The Coast Guard also brought three suspected drug traffickers who were detained during the interdiction from a single suspect vessel. The Steadfast was serving as a law enforcement asset in support of U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force South and Coast Guard District 11, with a focus on drug and migrant interdiction, search and rescue and international relations. They were joined by Coasties from other Coast Guard units, including the USCGC Waesche, Maritime Safety and Security Teams LA/LB and San Francisco, Sector Field Office Southwest Maine, and ...

The Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf has returned home to Alameda, California, after 50 days patrolling the Eastern Pacific Ocean on a counter-narcotics mission, returning with some 6,200 pounds of confiscated cocaine valued at over $107 million. Commanding officer Capt. Brian Anderson said that early in the patrol, the 418-foot Bertholf interdicted three go-fast vessels over a span of six hours using three pursuit boats, their helicopter and a Scan Eagle drone to apprehend four suspected drug smugglers and seize over 1,700 pounds of cocaine. The Bertholf mobilized its advanced capabilities, including a small, unmanned aircraft system, an attached Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron MH-65 helicopter and air crew, and an embarked Law Enforcement Detachment from the Pacific Tactical Law E...

An annual joint military mission in Antarctica is where the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star normally spends winter months. This year the nation’s only operational heavy icebreaker will instead be conducting an 82-day deployment in the Arctic, tasked with reducing regional maritime risks and advancing national security objectives. Coast Guard officials said the Polar Star will operate primarily in the Bering and Chukchi seas to project U.S. sovereignty along the U.S.-Russia Maritime Boundary Line, strengthening international intergovernmental and community partnerships, and improving maritime domain awareness in this remote region. Although plans are still to be finalized, they tentatively will include engagement and training with local communities and Polar Region allies including Canad...

U.S. Coast Guard officials say they will evaluate the feasibility of basing fast response cutters in American Samoa in the western Pacific, due to alleged predatory activities of Chinese fishing vessels and also to ensure freedom of navigation. “The U.S. is a Pacific power,” said National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien. “ People’s Republic of China’s illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and harassment of vessels operating in the exclusive economic zones of other countries in the Indo-Pacific, threatens our sovereignty, as well as the sovereignty of our Pacific neighbors and endangers regional stability,” he said. “Efforts of the United States government, including the United States Coast Guard are critical to countering these destabilizing and malign actions.” O’Brien noted that...

Crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Munro have returned their vessel to Alameda, California, following a three-month, 15,000-mile multi-mission patrol that took them from fisheries enforcement in the Bering Sea to participation in the Rim of the Pacific 2020 exercise in Hawaii. During their 37 days in the Bering Sea, the Munro crew boarded 11 commercial fishing vessels to ensure compliance with U.S. fishery and safety regulations. The Munro also patrolled the maritime boundary line separating U.S. and Russia waters to prevent foreign fishing vessels from entering U.S. waters, and joined a Russian Border Guard vessel in a joint border patrol to promote the economic security of both countries. The Munro then represented the Coast Guard In the at-sea-only biennial Rim of the Pacific 2020 (RIMPAC...