Author Archives: Chuck Hill

“Finnish and Canadian Firms Team Up to Offer Arctic Security Cutters to U.S. Coast Guard” –SixtyDegreesNorth

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Canadian CG MPV. Credit Aker Arctic.

Here we have a post from Peter Rybski (prybski@gmail.com) thought many of my readers might find interesting. It’s reprinted with his permission.

It suggests that a partnership of Canadian and Finnish shipyards may be in the lead to provide two Arctic Security Cutters using the design for the Canadian Coast Guard’s Multi-Purpose Vessel, a light icebreaker, and that follow on ships of this class would be built in the US.

This is not the first time Peter’s analysis has appeared here:

“Analyzing the Arctic Security Cutter Request for Information” –Sixty Degrees North

We have been following the Canadian Coast Guard’s Multi-purpose vessel program.

Canadian CG MPV. Credit Aker Arctic.

Note also that Canadian Shipbuilder Davie has announced an intention to acquire and modernize Gulf Copper & Manufacturing Corporation with facilities in Port Arthur and Galveston.

Aerial photo of Gulf Copper Dry Dock and Rig Repair in Galveston, Texas. In the dry dock is the former USS Texas, length 573 ft (175 m) (overall), beam 95 ft 2.5 in (29.020 m), displacement 27,000 tons, so big enough for a Polar Security Cutter. Shutterstock photo by Felix Mizioznikov.

Finnish and Canadian Firms Team Up to Offer Arctic Security Cutters to U.S. Coast Guard

According to the proposal, Seaspan’s Multi-Purpose Icebreaker design would be built in Finland by Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC), with Aker Arctic (who did the concept design) providing support.

PETER RYBSKI
JUL 11, 2025
I’m currently away from Finland, visiting family in the USA. Last week, while I was grilling hamburgers and hot dogs during a family Independence Day Barbecue, a regional Finnish newspaper (Satakunnan Kansa) ran a very interesting article:

RMC’s Nieminen returned from a sales trip to the USA: “Rauma Shipyard is Number One.”

RMC is part of a consortium that is offering two icebreakers to the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as extensive training.

Caption: “We would have the shipyard ready for use at just the right time,” says RMC CEO Mika Nieminen hopefully.

(translation via google, with some corrections for clarification):

A satisfied man walked through Helsinki-Vantaa Airport on Thursday afternoon. RMC CEO Mika Nieminen returned from a sales trip to the USA, where he brought back some good news.

Nieminen was presenting the ship design of the consortium he represents to the US Coast Guard and the reception was excellent.

“Our ship design exceeded expectations and it is the design that the Coast Guard wants. The number one is the Rauma shipyard, which would also build it. The feedback was very positive.”

In addition to RMC, the consortium represented by Nieminen includes the Canadian shipbuilder Seaspan Shipyards and the Finnish ship design firm Aker Arctic Technology Oy.

The Canadian shipyard will start building medium-sized icebreakers based on the same model next year. Canada plans to build 16 icebreakers. This same ship model is now being offered to the US Coast Guard, but with RMC building the ships.

This is clearly referring to Seaspan’s Multi-Purpose Icebreaker (MPI) design, which I discussed in a recent article:

Analyzing the Arctic Security Cutter Request for Information

Analyzing the Arctic Security Cutter Request for Information

PETER RYBSKI
·
JUN 15
Read full story

Canada’s Multi-Purpose Icebreaker (MPI, formerly known as the Multi-Purpose Vessel): Modern design that meets all of the listed requirements [for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Arctic Security Cutters]. The first flight of six vessels (of a planned sixteen) are scheduled to be built by Seaspan at their Vancouver shipyard….

Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyard is at capacity through approximately 2029. While they will begin building MPIs for the Canadian Coast Guard, there is no room to build one for the U.S. Coast Guard in the relevant timeframe….

Building MPIs at RMC is an interesting idea, but I have no idea if that is actually under consideration.

It is more than just under consideration. According to the Satakunnan Kansa article, RMC would build the first two MPIs for the U.S. Coast Guard in Finland by 2028. The deal would also involve working with U.S. shipbuilders to ensure they had the training and skill to build subsequent vessels of the class in the USA. Cost information is not yet available.

Canadian Coast Guard Multi-Purpose Icebreaker (MPI). Source: Seaspan
Note: The MPI image does not show the right propulsors; it will use Steerprop’s contra-rotating propulsors (CRP). Additionally according to Seaspan, the design could easily be upgraded to PC3. Confirmation from Seaspan and Aker Arctic.

In April, Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat published an article about negotiations between the U.S. Coast Guard and RMC to build a significant number of icebreakers, but the details were not subsequently confirmed. Before publishing this article, I reached out to RMC, Seaspan, and Aker Arctic for comments. As of press time, Aker Arctic and Seaspan responded, confirming many of the details in the article.

Arto Uuskallio, Head of Sales at Aker Arctic, commented via e-mail:

It’s natural that we are involved, since the MPI is an Aker Arctic concept, and it’s good to have a partner onboard who understands the possibilities and limitations of the ship concept. More detailed comments will likely come from the shipyards.

Dave Hargreaves, Seaspan’s Senior Vice President for Strategy, Business Development, and Communication, provided the following comments via e-mail:

We have consulted with many U.S. and non-U.S. shipyards regarding their readiness and aptitude to build the MPI design for the U.S. Coast Guard ASC program including Rauma Shipyard in Finland.

Rauma has a track record of delivering ice-capable vessels in less than 36 months — including recent programs. As a fully capable, end-to-end shipyard, Rauma is the lowest risk and best option to meet the 36-month requirement. Unlike other shipyards, Rauma has an active panel line and block fabrication facility that is ready to start production today — it does not require any further investment or ramp up in workforce to begin construction. This significantly lowers the risk of meeting the schedule requirement.

Together, with Rauma and Aker, Seaspan has developed a comprehensive plan detailing how we will work with a U.S. shipyard to transfer the design, knowledge, expertise and build plans to enable future ASC vessels to be built in the United States. This approach will deliver a comprehensive, U.S.-built ASC fleet for the U.S. Coast Guard while enhancing domestic icebreaker shipbuilding — avoiding the delays, costs and risks of long-term, high-investment alternatives.

I take his comment about schedule risk as a subtle dig at Davie/Helsinki Shipyard. I’ve been reading these press releases and comments long enough to see the back-and-forth, sometimes subtle, between Seaspan and Davie, and RMC and Helsinki Shipyard. I expect to read more of this, but am much more interested in tracking the progress of ongoing ship construction (such as the Canadian Polar Icebreakers being built by Seaspan and Davie) than in following their rhetorical barbs.

Helsinki Shipyard has an excellent track record of delivering icebreakers in less than thirty-six months, as I noted here.

Rauma Marine Constructions was unable to provide additional comments by publication time, but did say that more information would be coming out soon.

Thoughts and Comments

The Multi-Purpose Icebreaker is a solid design, and Rauma Marine Constructions is a capable shipyard with a solid track record. As my goal in writing about icebreakers has always been to assist the U.S. Coast Guard in getting the ships that it needs in a relevant timeline, I view the Seaspan/RMC/Aker consortium’s proposal as a positive development.

Davie does not comment on any of its ongoing negotiations, but it seems likely that it is offering its MPPS-100 to the U.S. Coast Guard to be built first in Helsinki Shipyard, and later (perhaps) in Texas.

The only announced player without any information about its proposed design is the United Shipbuilding Alliance created by Bollinger and Edison Chouest Offshore.

May the U.S. Coast Guard get the best ships for its needs in the shortest amount of time and at a good price! I’ll certainly be tracking all of these details closely.

Thanks for reading. Be sure to subscribe and share so that you never miss an update on this fast-moving and important topic.

Until next time-

All the Best,

PGR

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“Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane returns home following patrol in Oceania” –News Release / French OPV Comparison

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U.S. Coast Guardsmen assigned to medium endurance cutter USCGC Harriet Lane (WMEC 903) moor the cutter at a pier in Taiohae, French Polynesia, May 18, 2025. The crew visited Nuka Hiva, the largest of the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia, as part of their 73-day patrol supporting Operation Blue Pacific. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Kenneth Shellenberger)

Below is a news release from Coast Guard District Oceania. That Harriet Lane is patrolling in the Western Pacific is getting to be routine, but I am publishing it here, first because I love the photo above, but also because I thought you might be interested in the French Overseas Patrol Vessel Teriieroo a Teriierooiterai mentioned in the text. It is one of a class of six and was commissioned in July 2024.

I did a post on the class in June 2024, “The Félix Éboué class, a Modern, Minimalist, Medium Endurance Cutter.” I published the photos below as part of that post, but am posting them below for convenience. This class is essentially the embodiment of my Cutter X concept, taking the crew, equipment, and capabilities of a Webber class WPC and putting them in a more seaworthy hull with the greater endurance the Webber class lacks.

Earlier I compared the class to the Webber class, but let’s compare and contrast the French OPV with the Bear Class ships like Harriet Lane.

————————————Bear Class———————Félix Éboué class

  • Displacement: ———–1800 tons————————–1300 tons
  • Length: ——————-270 ft (82 m)———————-80 m (262 ft 6 in)
  • Beam: ——————–38 ft (11.6 m)———————-11.8 m (38 ft 9 in)
  • Draft: ———————14 ft 5 in (4.39 m)—————–3.5 m (11 ft 6 in)
  • Propulsion: —————7,000 SHP————————10,320 SHP
  • Speed: ——————–19.5 knots————————-24 knots
  • Range: ———————6,370 nmi @ 15 knots ———5,500 nmi
  • Complement: ————-100——————————30, accommodations for 59
  • Boats: ———————-8 m + 6 m———————-2x 8m
  • Helo Deck & hangar ——-Yes—————————–No
  • UAV: ————————–No——————————Yes
  • Space for Container——-No——————————Yes
  • Electric motors for Loiter–No——————————Yes

Biggest difference is crew size, closer to an FRC than an MEC. Harriet Lane’s crew may be less than 100 since removal of the Mk75 gun and Mk92 fire control, but still three times as large.

The French OPV, using less horsepower than the Webber class are faster by 4.5 knots. The MEC still has greater range, but the French OPV’s range is notably more than twice that of the Webber class. The greater displacement might suggest the MEC is more seaworthy but the positioning of the French OPV’s bridge well aft would make watch standing there more comfortable. I have to say, I like the look of the French ship’s bow a lot better than that on the Bear class.

Harriet Lane has a flight deck and hangar but sails without an embarked helicopter, while the French OPV has only facilities to support a projected VTOL UAV with a catapult launched UAV filling in for now.

Forgoing the larger flight deck and hangar allows the French OPV a more spacious Fantail with space for containerized systems and a stern ramp for boat operations.

The French OPV seems to have better boat handling facilities with both stern ramp and davit launched 8 meter RHIBs.

Auguste Bénébig. Photo: http://www.meretmarine.com

The second of the French Navy’s six new overseas patrol vessels (POMs), the Teriieroo a Teriierooiterai, which will be based in French Polynesia and has been named in tribute to a Companion of the Liberation native of this Pacific territory, Photo: http://www.meretmarine.com

The Teriieroo at Teriierooiterai fitting out at the end of July, 2023 in Boulogne. Photo: http://www.meretmarine.com

Stern ramp for 8 meter RHIB. French Navy overseas patrol vessel (POM), Teriieroo a Teriierooiterai, fitting out 2023. Photo: http://www.meretmarine.com

Second 8 meter RHIB and davit on starboard side. French Navy overseas patrol vessel (POM), Teriieroo a Teriierooiterai, fitting out 2023. Photo: http://www.meretmarine.com

Aliaca aerial drone on its launch catapult. French Navy overseas patrol vessel (POM), Teriieroo a Teriierooiterai, fitting out 2023. Photo: http://www.meretmarine.com

July 10, 2025

Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane returns home following patrol in Oceania

Coast Guard Oceania District External Affairs – (808) 265-7748

Editor’s Note: Click here to download video.

HONOLULU – The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane (WMEC 903) returned to Honolulu Wednesday following a 73-day patrol in support of Coast Guard Oceania District’s Operation Blue Pacific.

The Harriet Lane crew departed Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in April to conduct joint operations and territorial integrity missions across Oceania. Patrolling more than 15,000 nautical miles around the Hawaiian Islands, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, and American Samoa, the cutter’s crew worked alongside interagency and Pacific Island partners to reinforce the rules-based international maritime order in the region.

“The crew demonstrated their professionalism, grit, and dedication to strengthening maritime governance in Oceania,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Brennan Augustine, senior maritime enforcement specialist aboard the Harriet Lane. “The crew’s commitment and teamwork with our law enforcement partners protects America’s maritime borders and drives stability in the region.”

The Harriet Lane crew exercised partnerships with Cook Islands, French Polynesia, New Zealand, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement through bilateral maritime law enforcement agreements, professional exchanges, and domestic federal maritime law enforcement operations.

In the Cook Islands’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the Harriet Lane crew and two Ministry of Marine Resources officers conducted six boardings of fishing vessels, resulting in one suspected violation.

In French Polynesia, the crew conducted joint operations and exercises with French Armed Forces in the Asia-Pacific (ALPACI) to enhance collective maritime domain awareness while sustaining rules-based international norms regarding high seas fishing. Coordinating with an ALPACI aviation asset, the Harriet Lane crew conducted two Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) high seas boardings and inspections on commercial fishing vessels, resulting in one potential violation.

The crew conducted 14 additional high seas boarding and inspections on commercial fishing vessels, resulting in two potential violations of conservation and management measures under the WCPFC.

While in American Samoa, the Harriet Lane crew hosted a reception attended by U.S. Congresswoman Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen’s staff delegation, American Samoa Attorney General Gwen Tauiliili-Langkilde, the Assistant Director of NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement Pacific Islands Division, and representatives from the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, American Samoa Department of Port Administration, American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, as well as command and crew from the French Overseas Patrol Vessel Teriieroo a Teriierooiterai. Event attendees discussed the deterrence of threats to regional security and illicit maritime activities that affect U.S. border security, regional security and economic prosperity.

Commissioned in 1984, Cutter Harriet Lane is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Honolulu to support Coast Guard missions in the Pacific region. The service’s medium endurance cutter fleet supports a variety of Coast Guard missions including search and rescue, law enforcement, maritime defense, and protection of the marine environment.

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This Day in Coast Guard History, July 10

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Based on the Coast Guard Historian’s timeline, https://www.history.uscg.mil/research/chronology/
With inspiration from Mike Kelso

July 10

1820  The Revenue cutter Gallatin captured 19 men illegally recruited for the Columbian privateer Wilson and chased that vessel and her Spanish prize, Santiago, to sea from the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina.

1882  At 5 o’clock in the afternoon, during a violent storm of wind and rain, the steam-yacht John Bueg, of Rochester, New York, having on board a party of twelve excursionists, consisting of two men, two women, and eight children, was driven ashore one mile and a half east of the harbor piers at Charlotte, Lake Ontario, New York.  She was discovered by a surfman of Station No. 4, Ninth District, who waded out to her in the surf, carried the children in his arms, and then assisted the women to shore.  The yacht was towed off by a steamer, having sustained slight damage.

2021 CGC Healy (WAGB 20) departed Seattle on 10 July 2021, for a months-long Arctic deployment and circumnavigation of North America. Arctic domain.

This Day in Coast Guard History, July 9

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Based on the Coast Guard Historian’s timeline, https://www.history.uscg.mil/research/chronology/
With inspiration from Mike Kelso

July 9

The USCGC McLane, docked at the USS Silversides Submarine Museum in Muskegon, Michigan. Photo from JJonahJackalope via Wikipedia.

1942  USCGC McLane and the Coast Guard-manned patrol craft USS YP-251 reportedly sank the Japanese submarine RO-32 off Sitka, Alaska.   However, the Navy Department did not officially credit either vessel with the sinking.  The RO-32 was stricken from the Japanese Navy rolls in April, 1942 as obsolete and Japanese records indicated that no Japanese submarine was lost or damaged in Alaskan waters on that date.

1943  Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, commenced on this date.  Coast Guard-manned ships landed the first Allied troops in the assault, including 24 LCI(L)s of Flotilla 4 under the command of CAPT Miles Imlay and LSTs 326 and 381.  Coast Guard-manned attack transports USS Joseph T. Dickman, Leonard Wood, and Samuel Chase also participated.

USS Joseph T. Dickman (APA-13) underway in April 1942. Her camouflage is Measure 32R.
US Navy photo #: NH 99278 from the collections of the Naval Historand Heritage Command, courtesy Shipscribe.com.

US Coast Guard manned Attack Transport USS Leonard Wood (APA-12) underway 28 April 1944. Source Robert Hurst

U.S. Navy attack transport USS Samuel Chase (APA-26) at anchor, circa in 1943. USCG photo.

1946  Sixteen Coast Guardsmen were killed when the B-17 aircraft they were flying as passengers in crashed into Mount Tom, Massachusetts.  These Coast Guardsmen were all returning from duty in Greenland.

1986  A fire broke out at the Bayonne, New Jersey gasoline mixing faciility.  Coast Guard units responded to fight the fire.

Another Containerized Weapon System

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The War Zone has identified,

“An unknown containerized launcher able to fire the same suite of artillery rockets and ballistic missiles as the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System(MLRS) and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) seen at the U.S. Army’s Fort Bragg earlier this year has been identified. This comes as the Army’s top general in the Indo-Pacific region has highlighted the value of “boxes of rockets” hiding in plain sight as part of a broader strategy that “gives our adversary pause.”

Just wanted to note that this and similar types of containerized weapons could be mounted on flight decks or even buoy decks of cutters. In Alaska where there are essentially no Navy surface vessels and few roads, this could be important in the first days of a conflict.

This Day in Coast Guard History, July 8

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Based on the Coast Guard Historian’s timeline, https://www.history.uscg.mil/research/chronology/
With inspiration from Mike Kelso

July 8

1791  Secretary of the Treasury authorized Collectors of Customs to disburse for cutters and to pay officers as agents of the Secretary.

Coast Guard AIRSTA Cape Cod HH-3F  hoist an ill crewman from Soviet ship Skaltste Bereg.

1977  A Coast Guard HH-3F from AIRSTA Cape Cod flew 260 miles offshore to hoist an ill crewman from the 500-foot Soviet refrigerator ship Skaltste Bereg.

More on the Mk58 Very Light Weight Torpedo

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The Anti-Torpedo Torpedo developed in the ATTDS program being fired from a launcher on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) in 2019. U.S. Navy photo.

Naval News reports,

“A program in development by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is rapidly moving forward into the fleet to provide much deeper magazine depth for torpedoes on Virginia-class SSNs. The effort is testing and fielding multi-packed 6.75-inch Mark 58 Compact Rapid Attack Weapon (CRAW) torpedoes or 3-inch UAVs in a single 21-inch torpedo tube.

“Known as the Multi-Vehicle Torpedo Tube Defense System (MVTTDS) to ONR, the Revolver Multi-Payload (Revolver MP) program is designed to provide Virginia-class SSNs with additional magazine depth, responding to an urgent operational need laid out by U.S. Indo Pacific Command and U.S. Strategic Command. Revolver MP will deliver the capability to salvo a dozen or more torpedoes against submarines or surface ships.”

The Coast Guard needs to have access to anti-surface torpedoes, so that cutters have the ability to forcibly stop any vessel regardless of size. That is a required capability implicit in Coast Guard missions.

This post certainly answers a question posed in my last post on this weapon. The weapon will also work against surface ships.

The Revolver approach described, suggests that 21 inch (533mm) torpedo tubes may follow the example of the Mk 41 VLS, becoming a launcher for all sorts of weapons and perhaps unmanned systems of various types “including larger diameter UAVs and UUVs.” This may prompt the reintroduction of 21″ torpedo tubes on surface vessels, including perhaps cutters. Given the length of the Mk58, 21″ torpedo tubes that are shorter than those on current submarine might become an option.

We might also see a mini-Revolver used in 12.75″ (324mm) surface vessel torpedo tubes. There should be room for three Mk58 torpedoes in each 12.75″ torpedo tube.

Will it be on time?

If, as the quote above seems to suggest, the weapon is the result of an urgent request to allow simultaneous engagement of a large number of targets (say a Chinese Taiwan invasion fleet), can we wait until 2030, when it can also be used as an anti-torpedo torpedo? There have been lots of suggestions we may see a Chinese attempt to take Taiwan as early as 2027.

The post goes on to state that “Technology Insertion 1” should provide an “Early Operational Capability” (EOC) for ASW within two years “demonstrating the system in an operationally relevant environment by FY2026.” Presumably an anti-surface capability would be included. (EOC is new to me. We usually see reference to IOC, Initial Operational Capability.) That sounds like production in quantity is still years away.

Seems there might be an urgent need for a simplified anti-surface version that should be easier to develop and cheaper and faster to produce.

Other Torpedoes:

The Navy seems to be showing a renewed interest in torpedoes as anti-surface weapons. Earlier we had a report the “Navy Wants A Cheap Heavy Torpedo That Can Be Stockpiled Fast.” and Anduril is offering UUVs that launch from torpedo tubes and look an awful lot like torpedoes.

This Day in Coast Guard History, 7July

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Based on the Coast Guard Historian’s timeline, https://www.history.uscg.mil/research/chronology/
With inspiration from Mike Kelso

July 7

United States Revenue Cutter Service Ship Pickering, later renamed to USS Pickering U.S. Navy Historical Center Photograph- -Released

1798  Hostilities began in the Quasi-War with France.  The Revenue cutters Pickering, Virginia, Scammel, South Carolina, Governor, Jay, Eagle, General Greene, and Diligence were the first to be placed under Naval orders, comprising about one-third of the U .S. Fleet.

1801  In a cost saving measure, the Treasury Department sent circulars to the various Collectors looking toward reducing the size of the cutters and their crews.

1838  Under the authority of an Act of Congress passed this date, the President divided the Atlantic coast into six, and the Great Lakes coast into two, lighthouse districts.  A naval officer was detailed to each lighthouse district, a revenue cutter or a hired vessel was placed at his disposal, and he was instructed to inspect all aids to navigation, report on their conditions, and recommend future courses of action.

1838  Congress passed the first legislation “to provide better security of the lives of passengers on board of vessels propelled in whole or in part by steam.” (5 Stat.L., 304) The Act specified that the program would be administered by the Justice Department whereby U.S. District court judges were to appoint engineers to inspect merchant steamboats.  This Act laid the groundwork for what later became the Steamboat Inspection Service.

1884  Congress directed that cutters be used exclusively for public service and “in no way for private purposes.”

Distribution of the Northern Fur Seal (dark blue = breeding colonies; light blue = non-breeding individuals). Credit: Mirko Thiessen via Wikipedia.

1911  North Pacific Fur Seal Convention signed between United States, Great Britain, Japan, and Russia prohibiting taking of fur seals and sea otters in North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea north of 30 degrees latitude, except for food and clothing.

1938  The Coast Guard began an operation to transport and guard each shipment of 77,000,000 pounds of silver bars from New York City to the silver depository at West Point, New York for the Bureau of the Mint.  The 1,101,320 bars of silver were moved by truck and the Coast Guard contingent responsible for its safe delivery were under the command of CDR Stephen S. Yeandle, who at the time served as the Intelligence Officer for the Coast Guard’s New York Division.

1939  On this date, “the Lighthouse Bureau went out of existence and its personnel moved themselves and their equipment to Coast Guard Headquarters from the Commerce Department building.  Thus, lighthouses returned to the Treasury Department from the Department of Commerce.

United States Coast Guard Cutter Mellon (WHEC-717) makes way through the Bering Sea while acting as search and rescue standby cutter for the Bering Sea Opilio Crab fishery. U.S. Coast Guard photograph 010209-C-6130A-500, PA1 Keith Alholm

2020  The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Mellon (WHEC 717) returned to their homeport of Seattle on July 7, 2020, after completing the final patrol for the 52-year-old ship.  The 150-person crew left Seattle April 17 to conduct missions throughout the Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea. During the patrol the crew conducted 38 law enforcement boardings, four search and rescue cases and enforced federal regulations governing Alaska’s $13.9 billion commercial fishing industry. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mellon crew instituted protective measures to ensure crew safety and the safety of the commercial fishing fleet and Alaskan public.  Mellon was one the last remaining 378-foot high endurance cutters built for extended offshore patrols. Its capabilities spanned from helicopter operations to pursuit boat operations and served as a key asset for the Department of Homeland Security and humanitarian missions at sea.

“U.S. Navy Sets Sights on Fleet-Wide Anti-Torpedo Weapon Rollout in Coming Years” –Naval News

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A Navy briefing slide showing the internal components and describing the various features of the PSU_ARL Common Very Light Weight Torpedo (CVLWT) design

Naval News reports a FY2026 budget document states,

“The FY 2026 increase includes support SLQ-25E countermeasures capability improvements, and support for development of an anti-torpedo torpedo defense hard kill capability… …integration and testing the Hard Kill Program will be developed through FY 2030. The US Navy plans to install this torpedo hard-kill countermeasure on over 165 different surface ships.”

“Development will also include improvements to the NIXIE winch to enable the integration of the TWS system, the design and development of a launching system that will launch the Compact Rapid Attack Weapon (CRAW) variant designed for torpedo defense. The launcher will be designed to have the capability to launch ADC-MK2 Acoustic countermeasure devices along with the CRAW countermeasure.”

Sounds like they are going to put it on every ship that has a NIXIE, which would include the National Security Cutters and perhaps the Offshore Patrol Cutters as well.

We have seen this weapon before:

Jan. 13, 2023 Seapower magazine reported that Raytheon was building 18 CRAW prototypes.

These cannot enter the fleet too soon.

What isn’t clear is if the multi-mission nature of the weapon was retained. Apparently the Mk58 torpedo can also be used against submarines as well as inbound torpedoes. Can it be used against surface ships? If so, can it target the stern/propellers/rudder? If so, it could give small cutters an effective way to forcibly stop even large ships, a capability they need for the Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security mission.

This Day in Coast Guard History, 6 July

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Based on the Coast Guard Historian’s timeline, https://www.history.uscg.mil/research/chronology/
With inspiration from Mike Kelso

July 6

1809  Congress authorized the construction of twelve new cutters to enforce President Thomas Jefferson’s embargo.

Hall PH-2, V166

1942  Coast Guard Hall PH-2 amphibious aircraft V-166 landed in the open ocean and took aboard 21 survivors of a torpedoed tanker in Gulf of Mexico.