Cutter Home-Porting Ceremony Slated

The home-porting ceremony for the Coast Guard cutter Long Island is scheduled for June 28, at 10 a.m. followed by a reception. The ceremony and reception will occur outdoors at the head of the Coast Guard Pier, near Coast Guard Marine Safety Office's Public Works parking area on Fidalgo St. here. Keynote speakers for the ceremony include Honorable Sen. Ted Stevens and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska State Gov. Frank Murkowski, Admiral Thomas H. Collins, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard; Rear Adm. James W. Underwood, Commander, 17th Coast Guard District; and Valdez Mayor Bert Cottle. Cutter Long Island and the Marine Safety Office's maritime homeland security small boats, berthed at the Valdez Coast Guard Pier, will be open for public visitation from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Coast Guard commissioned Cutter Long Island, the forty-second Island "C" Class 110-foot patrol boat, Aug. 27, 1991. Originally based in Monterey, Calif. it moved to San Diego in Aug. 1999. This marks the cutter's third homeport in the 12 years since it's commissioning. Long Island's primary missions include search and rescue, homeland security, law enforcement.