PORTSMOUTH, Va. – Coast Guard Cutter Forward (WMEC 911) delivered a decisive blow to maritime criminal networks by intercepting a self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) vessel during a routine patrol on February 24 in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

A maritime patrol aircraft detected the vessel and reported the location to Forward watchstanders. Forward’s crew rapidly deployed its over-the-horizon cutter pursuit boat and an embarked MH-65 aircraft from the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) to intercept the suspicious vessel.

Despite repeated verbal commands issued by the boarding team, the SPSS failed to comply or stop their vessel. The boarding team successfully gained access to the vessel, secured positive control, and apprehended four suspected narco-terrorists. All personnel were safely evacuated to the cutter as the SPSS experienced flooding and subsequently sank.

SPSS vessels are commonly used by maritime criminal networks to transport large quantities of drugs in the Eastern Pacific. The Coast Guard routinely interdicts these vessels as part of ongoing counterdrug operations in the region.

“SPSS vessels are purpose-built to move large quantities of illicit, dangerous cargo,” said Cmdr. Andrew Grantham, commanding officer of the Forward. “This interdiction of an SPSS of over 70 feet, prevented a potential 17,600 lbs of cocaine—more than 6 million lethal doses—from reaching U.S. shores. Stopping this vessel demonstrates the exceptional skill and dedication of the Forward crew, the HITRON, Joint Interagency Task Force South, and Coast Guard District Southwest at imposing significant costs on transnational crime organizations.”

The Coast Guard is committed to deterring criminal activity and enhancing maritime security through disrupting illicit smuggling activity at sea before it can reach U.S. shores.

Coast Guard Cutter Forward is a 270-foot Famous-class medium-endurance cutter that conducts counterdrug, migrant interdictions and search and rescue missions throughout the Western Hemisphere. Link to provide more information on the Forward: History

SOUTHERN OCEAN  — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) departed McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, on March 1, after operating for 55 days below the Antarctic Circle and traveling 14,000 miles in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2026.

The cutter marked its 50th year of commissioned service on Jan. 17 while breaking free a cruise ship trapped in pack ice during a six-hour evolution. The Australian-owned cruise ship Scenic Eclipse II contacted the Polar Star for assistance after encountering denser ice than expected, roughly eight nautical miles from McMurdo Station. The Polar Star’s crew conducted two close passes to break the vessel free, then escorted it approximately four nautical miles to open water.

A few days later, the Polar Star and its crew finished establishing a seven-mile channel through fast ice, creating a navigable route for vessels to reach McMurdo Station. Shortly after its establishment, the Polar Star escorted the 600-foot fuel tanker Stena Polaris into and out of Winter Quarter’s Bay through the brash ice-filled channel to deliver more than 6 million gallons of fuel to McMurdo Station.

“I am so proud of how this crew, once again brought their best energy and worked together through every single challenge this year’s mission presented,” said Capt. Jeff Rasnake, commanding officer of the Polar Star. “Despite the heavy toll Operation Deep Freeze exacts on each individual, mentally and physically, our spirits remain high as we point our compass north and start our journey home.”

In late January, the cutter spent five days moored at McMurdo Station, where crew members helped onload 300,000 gallons of fuel.

After departing, the Polar Star removed the 4,200-ton floating ice pier from Winter Quarters Bay into McMurdo Sound during a joint operation with the National Science Foundation. This cleared the bay for the arriving vessel Plantijngracht to conduct cargo operations via a U.S. Army Modular Causeway System. Shifting ice floes necessitated the Plantijngracht requiring an escort from the Polar Star to reach the protected waters in Winter Quarters Bay.

After cargo operations were complete and the Plantijngracht departed, the Polar Star conducted its fifth and final escort of the season to bring the tug Rachel through lingering late-season pack ice to deliver the new NSF Discovery Pier to McMurdo Station.

“The delivery of the new NSF Discovery Pier is a landmark achievement that will significantly enhance the logistical support for the U.S. Antarctic Program for years to come,” said Cmdr. Samuel Blase, the Polar Star’s executive officer. “This multi-year effort culminated this year with the remarkable trek of the pier from Oregon to the McMurdo Sound, and teamwork between the Coast Guard, National Science Foundation, U.S. Navy Seabees, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the New Zealand Antarctic Program, and Tug Rachel for its installation.”

The Polar Star departed Seattle in November for its 29th deployment to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze.

Operation Deep Freeze provides logistical support for the U.S. Antarctic Program, which is managed by the National Science Foundation. The mission includes strategic and tactical airlift, airdrop, aeromedical evacuation, search and rescue, sealift, seaport access, bulk fuel supply, cargo handling, and other transportation requirements. These efforts enable continuous critical scientific research in one of the most remote regions on Earth.

The Polar Star and its crew also demonstrated its continued support to the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) efforts by safeguarding resources and U.S. national interests through monitoring activity on the high seas in the Antarctic region.

The Polar Star is the United States’ only surface asset capable of providing year-round access to both Polar Regions. It is a 399-foot heavy polar icebreaker commissioned in 1976, weighing 13,500 tons and is 84 feet wide with a 34-foot draft. The six diesel and three gas turbine engines produce up to 75,000 horsepower.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Coast Guard authenticated the keels for future Coast Guard cutters Allen Thiele, Fred Permenter and Samuel Wilson on Friday in Bayou La Batre, Alabama.

In a special proceeding, the keels for three cutters were authenticated simultaneously, a departure from the traditional single-vessel ceremony. Keel authentication is a time-honored maritime tradition in which the ship’s sponsor welds their initials onto a ceremonial plate that is permanently affixed to the cutter, signifying the foundation of the vessel.

“Today marks a monumental step forward in the modernization of our inland fleet,” said Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Phillip Waldron. “The new fleet has been designated the ‘Chief Petty Officer’s Class’ and the crews onboard who carry out critical missions on behalf of the Nation will honor the legacy of the senior enlisted leaders whose names they bear.”

The “Chief Petty Officer Class” designation for these cutters highlights the close involvement of the chief petty officer community, many of whom were in attendance.

All three cutter sponsors attended the ceremony. They are Delia Corbley, sponsor for future cutter Allen Thiele and daughter of the cutter’s namesake; Kristin Permenter Melvin, sponsor for future cutter Fred Permenter and granddaughter of the cutter’s namesake; and Barbara Wilson, sponsor for future cutter Samuel Wilson and widow of the cutter’s namesake.

Master Chief Petty Officer Allen Thiele, a boatswain’s mate, served in the Coast Guard from 1958 to 1990 and was selected as the fifth master chief petty officer of the Coast Guard.

Chief Petty Officer Fred Permenter, a boatswain’s mate, was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal in 1952 following the rescue of four of five crew members when St. George’s Reef Light Station’s motor launch capsized as it was lowered in heavy seas.

Chief Petty Officer Samuel Wilson, a boatswain’s mate, was awarded the Coast Guard Medal of Extraordinary Heroism in 1979 during the rescue of 81 crew members from the Japanese Fishing Vessel Ryuyo Maru No.2 that ran aground on St. Paul Island, Alaska.

The cutters are the first three of 30 future WCCs that will replace the Coast Guard’s legacy inland tender fleet, which will strengthen the Coast Guard’s capabilities to facilitate commerce vital to economic prosperity, strategic mobility, and maritime dominance. The WCC fleet will will play a critical role in controlling, securing, and defending America’s ports and waterways. and maintaining the United States’ 12,000-mile marine transportation system. This critical waterway network supports more than $5.4 trillion in annual economic activity and millions of American jobs.

Acquisition of the WCC fleet is supported by funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – the largest single funding commitment in Coast Guard history – which included $162 million to accelerate production rates and deliver three cutters ahead of schedule. The first Waterways Commerce Cutter is expected to be completed in 2027.

ALAMEDA, Calif. – The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) returned to their home port in Alameda, on Sunday, following a historic 119-day multi-mission deployment spanning more than 26,000 miles from the Eastern Pacific Ocean to the Northern Atlantic.

Munro departed Alameda on November 3, 2025, to conduct training workups and participate in the Department of War’s exercise Resolute Hunter offshore of San Diego, before sailing into the Eastern Pacific to execute a counternarcotics patrol in support of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Operation Pacific Viper. Munro was diverted to the Atlantic Ocean in support of the Department of War’s Operation Southern Spear.

While supporting U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force South and Coast Guard Southwest District, Munro detected and identified a heavily laden go-fast vessel transiting along a known smuggling route in the Eastern Pacific. With the help of its two cutter pursuit boats, Scan Eagle short-range unmanned aerial system, and an embarked MH-65 aircraft from the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON), Munro successfully found, tracked and interdicted the vessel using warning shots and disabling fire from the HITRON aircraft. Munro subsequently detained six suspected narco-terrorists and seized 22,052 pounds of cocaine valued at over $250 million – the single largest maritime drug seizure in 18 years, and the largest ever in HITRON’s history. This interdiction continued the Coast Guard’s historic counter-drug operations through Operation Pacific Viper, including the seizure of over 200,000 pounds of cocaine along maritime smuggling routes from South and Central America since early August.

After transiting through the Panama Canal, Munro took station in the Caribbean Sea, ready to conduct new tasking in support of Operation Southern Spear. Munro located and identified the dark fleet Motor Tanker Bella 1, a U.S. sanctioned vessel determined to be without nationality and subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Munro’s crew continuously pursued the non-compliant vessel across the North Atlantic Ocean for 18-days and over 4,900-miles. The pursuit culminated with the boarding of Bella 1, where Munro worked in tandem with Department of War assets to seize control of the 333-meter crude oil carrier for further transfer to the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Homeland Security for disposition.

“The service, our nation and our families can be extremely proud of Munro,” said Capt. Jim O’Mara, Munro’s commanding officer. “This crew rose to every new challenge thrown at them with professionalism and persistence, and they achieved historic results. This was a one-of-a-kind deployment for us, but it is also just one part of a much broader campaign and U.S. national strategy.”

“We could not have done this without support from partners, allies, and our families,” said O’Mara. “Our families had to adapt to each new twist, just like all military families do across the Armed Forces. It is tough on them. But when they hold strong at home that keeps us motivated and focused on our mission. Now, we reunite with our loved ones, proud of what we accomplished and already preparing for the next mission.”

Commissioned in 2017, Munro is one of four U.S. Coast Guard Legend-class National Security Cutters homeported in Alameda, California. The cutter is named in honor of Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro – the only Coast Guardsman awarded the Medal of Honor – for his heroic actions on September 27th, 1942, when he gallantly sacrificed himself in the defense, rescue, and evacuation of 500 stranded U.S. Marines from Point Cruz, Guadalcanal, in the Solomon Islands.