ALAMEDA, Calif. — U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL 750) returned to its home port in Alameda, Friday, after an 80-day counter-narcotics deployment to the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
Over the course of the deployment, Bertholf’s crew saved one life and interdicted more than half a million dollars’ worth of cocaine.
Bertholf departed Alameda on Jan. 21 to support Operation Southern Spear in the Caribbean, but prior to transiting the Panama Canal, the cutter was retasked to remain in the Pacific theater, shifting focus to counter drug trafficking and transnational criminal threats on the high seas in support of Operation Pacific Viper.
Bertholf traveled nearly 20,000 nautical miles during the deployment, crossing the equator multiple times while patrolling maritime smuggling routes from Central and South America. The cutter conducted 24 approaches or boardings of suspected drug trafficking vessels and responded to two search and rescue cases, including a vessel fire near Costa Rica.
Upon arrival on scene, the crew located a debris field and recovered one survivor and two deceased individuals from the water. In coordination with Costa Rica’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Center, all three individuals were transferred to the Costa Rica Coast Guard for follow-on care and transport.
The rapid transition to Operation Pacific Viper underscored the crew’s agility and operational readiness. Working in support of U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force-South and Coast Guard District Southwest, Bertholf’s crew demonstrated exceptional flexibility and versatility in the multinational effort to disrupt transnational organized crime networks.
During the deployment, Bertholf’s crew sustained a high level of operational readiness and maintained their proficiency critical to search and rescue, law enforcement, and defense operations through numerous rigorous training evolutions.
Bertholf’s crew conducted more than 180 flight operations with helicopter aircrews from Air Station San Francisco, Air Station Ventura, and Air Station San Diego, refining proficiency in shipboard landings, in-flight refueling and vertical replenishment. The crew completed more than 120 hours of small boat training, strengthening the capabilities of law enforcement teams and cutter boat pursuit crews. Additionally, Bertholf executed two live-fire gunnery exercises, employing minor caliber weapons as well as major weapon systems including the 57 mm and the Phalanx Close-In Weapons System.
“The Bertholf crew demonstrated an exceptional level of dedication to our missions and service values in support of Operation Pacific Viper,” said Capt. Andrew Pate, commanding officer of Bertholf. “They immediately responded to the call to protect lives at sea, and I am proud of how they were able to persevere in the face of adversity. Their ability to rapidly and successfully pivot mission sets to meet national priorities is a testament to the level of proficiency, professionalism, and pride that can only be seen from a crew whose motto is Legends Begin Here.”
Bertholf is named for Commodore Ellsworth Price Bertholf, the Coast Guard’s first Commandant. Commodore Bertholf’s most notable service was his role in the famous Alaska Overland Expedition in 1897. When over 265 American whalers became trapped in ice at Point Barrow, Bertholf led the relief party 1,600 miles via dogsled. Along with Lt. David Jarvis and Dr. Samuel Call, Bertholf herded almost 400 reindeer through a frozen Alaska winter to feed the starving whalers, an act that would later earn him the Congressional Gold Medal.
Homeported in Alameda, Bertholf was commissioned on August 4, 2008, as the Coast Guard’s first Legend-class national security cutter. National security cutters are 418-feet long, 54-feet wide, and have a 4,600 long-ton displacement. They have a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 nautical miles, and can hold a crew of up to 170. Bertholf routinely conducts operations throughout the Pacific, where the cutter’s combination of range, speed, and ability to operate in extreme-weather conditions provides the mission flexibility necessary to conduct vital strategic missions. The ship’s motto is “Legends Begin Here.”
