Cutter Walnut News

Responders continue the search for five Army aviators who went missing Tuesday night approximately two miles west of Ka'ena Point, the westernmost tip of land on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. The search began late Tuesday following notification to the Coast Guard from personnel at Wheeler Army Airfield stating they lost communication with one of their UH-60 Black Hawk aircrews. The missing aircrew was reportedly engaged in night time training operations between Ka'ena Point and Dillingham Airfield. None of the aviators have been located yet. No further debris has been recovered. Personnel continue to coordinate efforts at the joint forward operating base at Hale'iwa Boat Harbor.

Responders are continuing the search for five missing Army aviators from a downed Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter approximately two miles west of Ka'ena Point, Oahu, Wednesday. En route is Coast Guard Cutter Walnut (WLB 205) and crew, a 225-foot buoy tender homeported in Honolulu. None of the aviators have been located yet. Debris has been spotted and recovered near Ka'ena Point by responders. A joint forward incident command post has been established at Hale'iwa Boat Harbor to coordinate search and rescue efforts. Debris from the crash should be considered hazardous material and should only be recovered by recovery teams with the proper training and personal protective equipment. The debris poses potential risk and could cause serious bodily harm due to sharp edges.

1796-Congress increased the monthly compensation of Revenue Marine officers: masters $50; first mates $35; second mates $30; third mates $25 and mariners $20. 1896-President Grover Cleveland placed the Lighthouse Service within the classified federal civil service. 1898-The cutter Morrill participated in an engagement at Havana, Cuba on 6 and 7 May 1898 during the Spanish-American War. Her officers were awarded Bronze Medals by the authority of a joint resolution of Congress that was approved on 3 March 1901. 1945-The Coast Guard-manned frigate USS Moberly (PF-63), in concert with USS Atherton, sank the U-853 in the Atlantic off Block Island. There were no survivors.

Crewmembers monitor the oil skimming set-up aboard Coast Guard Cutter Walnut, a 225-ft sea-going buoy tender based in Honolulu, while Coast Guard Cutter Resolute stands off nearby. The Walnut is skimming oil near the BP oil spill site after transiting the Panama Canal. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class John Masson.

1796-Congress increased the monthly compensation of Revenue Marine officers: masters $50; first mates $35; second mates $30; third mates $25 and mariners $20. 1896-President Grover Cleveland placed the Lighthouse Service within the classified federal civil service. 1898-The cutter Morrill participated in an engagement at Havana, Cuba on 6 and 7 May 1898 during the Spanish-American War. Her officers were awarded Bronze Medals by the authority of a joint resolution of Congress that was approved on 3 March 1901. 1945-The Coast Guard-manned frigate USS Moberly (PF-63), in concert with USS Atherton, sank the U-853 in the Atlantic off Block Island. There were no survivors.

1822- Congress authorized the Revenue Cutter Service to protect the natural environment by preventing "scoundrels" from cutting live oak, needed for cutters and Navy vessels, on Florida public lands. 1837-Congress called for an inspection of the coast from Chesapeake Bay to the Sabine River "with regard to the location of additional light-houses, beacons, and buoys."  Captain Napoleon L. Coste, commanding the Revenue cutter Campbell, was dispatched. He reported that the first addition to aids to navigation on this entire coast should be at Egmont Key, Tampa Bay. A lighthouse was authorized immediately and built the next year. 1877-First Lieutenant Dorr F.

(Honolulu) Operations to remove portions of the cement cargo from the Cape Flattery, which is aground near the entrance of Barbers Point Harbor, were suspended Sunday afternoon because of unsafe sea conditions. The Unified Command continues to monitor the efforts to safely remove the Cape Flattery. Prior to suspending operations, salvage crews were able to remove approximately 30 percent of the granular cement necessary to refloat the vessel. Offloading operations will continue when weather conditions permit. The local crane and barge companies assisting with offloading operations are currently moored at Barbers Point Harbor. During routine soundings Sunday, the ship's crew discovered sea water in one of the empty fuel tanks.

USCGC Walnut, one of the newest ships in the USCG's fleet, was formally commissioned at the USCG Integrated Support Command on Sand Island, Hawaii. Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris and Vice Adm. James M. Card, Vice-Commandant of the USCG, were guest speakers at the ceremony. Walnut, a 225-ft. Juniper-class aids to navigation tender, is equipped with the most advanced electronic navigation and propulsion systems of any USCG cutter. In addition to its mission of tending navigational buoys and lights, Walnut may be tasked at any time to conduct law enforcement, search and rescue, oil spill recovery and national defense. This is the second cutter to be named Walnut. The first served in the USCG from 1939 to 1982 and was homeported in Honolulu from 1941 to 1954.

Coast Guard cutter Walnut, a 225-ft. buoy tender homeported in Honolulu, today completed its 20-day humanitarian mission of properly marking the navigational channel of the Khawr Abd Allah waterway leading from the North Arabian Gulf to Iraq’s critical port of Umm Qasr. The Walnut completely replaced 30 buoys and repaired an additional five along the 41-mile waterway, vastly improving the navigational safety of the waterway for humanitarian aid sailing to the port and providing a critical step towards the economic recovery of the people of Iraq. The majority of the equipment used in the navigational improvements was located in a warehouse in Umm Qasr and was inspected and upgraded to ensure that the buoys matched as closely as possible to the charted channel.

Eleven members of the Coast Guard National Strike Force are scheduled to return to the United States this week, after deploying to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The 11 members are assigned to the Pacific Strike Team in Novato, Calif.; the Atlantic Strike Team in Ft. Dix, N.J.; the Gulf Strike Team in Mobile, Ala.; and the National Strike Force Coordination Center in Elizabeth City, N.C. Strike Team Members are trained to respond to oil spills and hazardous chemical releases. At the height of Operation Enduring Freedom, twelve members were deployed. During deployment to the Persian Gulf, they utilized their…

Members of the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA, and the University of Hawaii's Sea Grant Program have just returned from a joint mission to remove thousands of pounds of deadly marine debris from the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. The Coast Guard Cutter Walnut, a 225-ft. buoy tender home ported in Honolulu, departed on Aug. 22 for a 1,000 mile trip to the remote islands of Pearl and Hermes Atoll. Their goal was to remove as much lethal marine debris as possible. Walnut's crew removed 21,110 pounds of fishing net and other marine trash from more than 60 sites across the atoll using the ship's crane, lift bags, divers and just plain elbow grease. The Kukui, another 225-ft. Coast Guard cutter from Honolulu, joined the debris recovery effort on Sept.