Coast Guard Island News

After more than 30 years of active service, U.S. Coast Guard Island-class patrol boats USCGC Aquidneck (WPB 1309) and USCGC Adak (WPB 1333) were decommissioned in a ceremony aboard Naval Support Activity Bahrain, Tuesday.Vice Adm. Steven Poulin, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area, was in attendance to honor the years of service Aquidneck, Adak, and their crews, provided to the Coast Guard.“Thank you to every single crew member who has ever served aboard Aquidneck and Adak, from the plank owners to the final crew and all the crews in between,” Poulin said.

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter's patrol in the Eastern Pacific has been cut short following a coronavirus outbreak on board, the Coast Guard said Wednesday.Legend-class cutter Stratton (WMSL-752) returned to its homeport Wednesday at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, Calif. after 11 crew members tested positive for COVID-19 during the deployment.The affected crew members reported mild symptoms and are receiving medical care.The cutter was met by Coast Guard medical staff, who conducted testing of the entire crew.

The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard completed a trilateral exercise with Iraqi navy and Kuwaiti navy partners in the Northern Arabian Gulf, August 15.The exercise focused on improving collective proficiency in maritime security tactics between the three nations and ensuring the freedom of navigation throughout the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. Participants included the guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG 68), U.S. coastal patrol ships USS Tempest (PC 2) and USS Chinook (PC 9), U.S. Coast Guard Island-class patrol boat USCGC Monomoy (WPB 1326), Iraqi navy patrol boat P 303, and Kuwaiti navy patrol boat KNS Al-Garoh (P 3725). The Sullivans led command and control of each event throughout the exercise.

Louisiana shipbuilder Bollinger Shipyards announced it has secured a contract to build Phase II of the Sentinel Class Fast Response Cutters (FRC) for the United States Coast Guard (USCG). The FRC, the newest generation of USCG patrol cutters, is a replacement for the Coast Guard Island Class cutters that Bollinger built over three decades ago. Bollinger’s CEO and President Ben Bordelon said, “We are pleased with this award to build 26 FRC Coast Guard cutters. Our relationship with the Coast Guard began over 30 years ago and we are proud to continue building on that legacy.

The U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned and transferred the Cutter Rush to the Bangladesh Navy as the BNS Somudra Avijan during an official signing ceremony on Coast Guard Island in Alameda Wednesday afternoon. A 20-member team from the Bangladesh Navy, led by prospective commanding officer Capt. Mohammad Waseem Maqsood, arrived in Alameda in March to begin preparations to receive the Rush. Seventy additional crewmembers of the Bangladesh Navy are scheduled to arrive May 20. Until the BNS Somudra Avijan departs from Alameda later this year…

Proliferation of energy related transport continues to drive commercial U.S. As the United States aims towards energy independence by the end of this decade, domestic shipyards and vessels owners are reaping rewards from this most unexpected turn of events. Hydraulic Fracturing, or fracking, has been the main (and well publicized) culprit in the rapid turn of events. While the proliferation of gas has been widely known for years, the presence of oil, in quantity, was a pleasant…

The Coast Guard Cutter Waesche has returned to port at Coast Guard Base Honolulu, after spending three weeks at sea participating in Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014 exercises, informs the US Coast Guard. During the exercises Waesche demonstrated the Coast Guard’s unique capabilities and partnership with Department of Defense entities and international partners along the Pacific Rim by serving as the Combined Task Force 175 commander. While in this role, Waesche led vessels from China, Brunei, Mexico, France, Brunei, and the U.S., through numerous multinational exercises including ship handling, boarding exercises, replenishment at sea, and a live-fire gunnery exercise.

Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., Lockport, Louisiana, announced the award of six additional USCG Sentinel Class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs). The U. S. Coast Guard (USCG) awarded a $255 million contract option to Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, La., July 23, 2014 for the production of six more Sentinel-Class FRCs, bringing the total number of FRCs under contract with Bollinger to 30, with a current contract value of $1.4 billion. The FRCs acquired under this contract option are scheduled to be delivered in 2017 and will be homeported at various bases throughout the U.S.

Vice Adm. Charles W. Ray relieved Vice Adm. Paul F. Zukunft as Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area and Coast Guard Defense Forces West, in a change of command ceremony at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, Calif., April 22, 2014. “This is not a transition, this is a continuity of leadership,” said Zukunft. Zukunft served as the Pacific Area Commander since April 2012, and is leaving to assume the duties as the Coast Guard Commandant in Washington, D.C., upon Senate confirmation. “It has been a pleasure serving as the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area commander for the past two years, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue my service as the Coast Guard’s 25th Commandant,” said Zukunft. Ray served as the Pacific Area deputy since 2013.

The US Coast Guard informs that Rear Adm. Charles W. Ray will relieve Vice Adm. Paul F. Zukunft  (US Coast Guard Commander designate) as Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area and Coast Guard Defense Forces West, in a change-of-command ceremony at Coast Guard Island in Alameda. Zukunft has served as the Pacific Area Commander since April 2012, and is leaving to assume the duties as the Coast Guard Commandant in Washington, D.C., upon Senate confirmation. “It has been a pleasure serving as the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area commander for the past two years…

A Change of Command Ceremony is scheduled for U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton at Coast Guard Island, Alameda, Calif., Thursday, at 10:30 a.m. During the ceremony Capt. Andrew M. Sugimoto will relieve Capt. Charles L. Cashin III, as Stratton’s commanding officer. Vice Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, Commander, Pacific Area and Defense Forces West, will preside over the ceremony. Cashin is a native of Chelmsford, Mass., and has served aboard seven cutters, commanding three of them. He is a 1988 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.

Jarvis, a 378-foot High Endurance Cutter homeported in Alameda, decommissioned and transferred to the Bangladesh navy as the BNS Somudra Joy. The signing over ceremony took place on Coast Guard Island in Alameda. A 20-member team from the Bangladesh navy, led by prospective commanding officer Capt. Mohammad Nazmul Karim Kislu, arrived in Alameda in March to begin preparations to receive the Jarvis. An additional 70 members of the Bangladesh crew arrived in May. Until the BNS Sumudra Joy’s departure from California later this year…

The Coast Guard placed the country’s newest National Security Cutter, the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton, into service during a formal ceremony on Coast Guard Island, in Alameda, Saturday. First Lady Michelle Obama joined in the ceremony as the Stratton’s official sponsor, alongside Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert J. Papp and the Stratton’s commanding officer, Captain Charles L. Cashin, III. In July 2010, Mrs. Obama christened the ship where it was built in Pascagoula, Miss. Stratton is named for Capt. Dorothy Stratton, who became the first director of the U.S.

U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp delivered the 2012 State of the Coast Guard Address on Thursday on Coast Guard Island in Alameda, CA.   ADM Robert Papp's address was webcast and remarks posted were posted following the event. The State of the Coast Guard Address is an annual speech delivered by the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard to provide a current overview of the service and outline his priorities for the years ahead. According to Papp, this was the first time the State of the Coast Guard address was held outside of Washington, D.C. You can read Papp's remarks by clicking HERE.

The Coast Guard awarded a $166.1m contract option to Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, La., on September 14 to begin production of four Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs). This option award brings the total number of FRCs under contract with Bollinger to eight with a current contract value of $410.7 million. The current FRC contract contains options for up to 34 cutters and is worth up to $1.5 billion if all options are exercised. In September 2008, the Coast Guard awarded Bollinger an $88m production contract for the lead FRC. That ship, named the Bernard C.

On May 7, the Northrop Grumman Corporation-built (NYSE:NOC) National Security Cutter (NSC) USCGC Waesche was commissioned, allowing the service's most technologically-advanced maritime asset to join the Coast Guard fleet. Waesche is named for Adm. Russell R. Waesche, who was the first Coast Guard commandant to achieve the rank of admiral. He led the Coast Guard from 1936 to 1946, which is the longest tenure of any USCG commandant. Adm. Waesche's granddaughter and ship's sponsor…

The U.S Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell pulls into port on Coast Guard Island, July 8, after completing a six-month patrol circumnavigating the globe. During the patrol, the crew conducted joint operations with the USS Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group, which participated in anti-piracy operations and training of foreign navies. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Melissa Hauck)

Bollinger has been selected to design and construct up to 34 Fast Response Cutters "Sentinel" Class (FRC) for the Coast Guard. The FRC, a new generation of USCG patrol boats, is a replacement for the Coast Guard ISLAND Class cutters that Bollinger built almost a quarter century ago. Bollinger CEO and Chairman of the Board, Donald “Boysie” Bollinger, said that the program, which is expected to last for approximately ten years, could result in the construction of 34 Coast Guard cutters that will provide employment for approximately 500 people in the Bollinger organization.

The U.S. Coast Guard uses four small steel barges specifically engineered to provide a safe working platform and reduction in pollutants from painting operations during routine maintenance of Coast Guard Cutters. Gone are the days of the staging or boson chair rigged over the side with a crew member wielding chipping iron and paint roller. The U.S. Coast Guard identified the need for an improved system to prevent paint chip and spatter from entering the environment, and after considerable research it was decided to design and construct a steel pilot model Paint Float to provide a safe working platform to conduct topside maintenance. The original float measures 30 x 12 ft. (9 x 3.7 m), with draft of just 1.5 ft. (.5 m) and displacement of 32,000-lbs.

The Coast Guard will host a multi-agency, Homeland Security field exercise entitled "Port Rio Grande," focusing on the consequence management of a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) on Monday at 8 a.m. on Coast Guard Island. The exercise will conclude at approximately 2 p.m. The exercise will test the interoperability of procedures and equipment in response to a WMD onboard a Coast Guard Cutter. Participants will focus on setting up a shore-side command post, physically securing Coast Guard Island from further infiltration, proper medical procedures for a mass casualty incident and the possible introduction of chemical and biological weapons.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Munro will hold a change of command ceremony at 10 a.m. Thursday at Coast Guard Island. Capt. Robert L. Hurst, coming from the Naval War College, will assume command of the Munro from Capt. Brian J. O’Keefe. O’Keefe will transfer to Norfolk, Va., where he will assume the duties of Chief of the Electronics Systems Division at Coast Guard Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic.Cutter Munro was named after Douglas Munro, a Coast Guardsmen who gave his life rescuing stranded Marines during the World War II Battle of Guadalcanal and is the service’s only recipient of the Medal of Honor. Commissioned in 1971, the Munro is a versatile ship capable of accomplishing many missions, including maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, and defense readiness.

The US Coast Guard issued a notice stating that its final environmental assessment relating to the planned homeporting of four National Security Cutters at Coast Guard Island, Alameda, California resulted in a finding of no significant impact. These new cutters will replace four older cutters. Source: HK Law

Wave Dispersion Technologies (WDT) announced the recent delivery and installation of four Marine Security Sign Buoys and two hundred and eighty linear feet of WhisprWave Small Craft Intrusion Barrier (SCIB) for the US Army Reserve Facility at Mare Island, Vallejo, CA. The facility, located on the western edge of San Francisco Bay in Northern California previously received a similar sized barrier in 2004. This installation follows several recent port security contracts received by WDT including the Port of Jebel Ali, Dubai for the USN and Coast Guard Island, Alameda, CA for the USCG.