Some things you may take for granted and never expect to change, but Marine Log brings us a report on new paint technology that reportedly lowers deck temperature for even darker colors (like our gray decks).

The temperature difference between, for example, a deck coated with conventional paint system and one with Ever Cool can be up to about 28°C (50.4°F–Chuck), with the specially formulated coating reflecting up to 80% of the sun’s heat, even from colored coatings.

This isn’t just about keeping your flip-flops from melting to the deck, it also means lower auxiliary loads on the air-conditioning systems and generators. It may even mean a lower IR signature.

The following is a PACAREA news release quoted in full.

Vice president to participate in $569 million cocaine offload in San Diego

Editors’ Note: Click on images to download high resolution version.

Who: Vice President Mike Pence, National Drug Control Policy Director James W. Carroll, Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration Uttam Dhillon; Coast Guard Pacific Area Commander Vice Adm. Linda Fagan

What: Offloading 39,000 pounds of cocaine seized from suspected drug smugglers in the Eastern Pacific

When: 12:30 p.m. Thursday

Where: Naval Air Station North Island, Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale Gate, San Diego, California

Media instructions: Credentialed media who wish to attend the offload must arrive between 5:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. in order to be screened by security. Any media who show up after 9 a.m. may not be allowed on base.

ALAMEDA, Calif. – Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to attend a Coast Guard drug offload Thursday in San Diego.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Munro will offload more than 39,000 pounds of cocaine and 933 pounds of marijuana worth a combined estimated $569 million, which was seized in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

The drugs represent 14 separate suspected drug smuggling vessel interdictions and disruptions off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America by three Coast Guard cutters between May and July 2019.

Pence; James W. Carroll, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy; Uttam Dhillon, acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration; and Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander of Coast Guard Pacific Area, are scheduled to visit Munro and give remarks.

Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security cooperated in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, play a role in counter-drug operations. The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by U.S. Attorneys in districts across the nation.

The Coast Guard increased U.S. and allied presence in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Basin, which are known drug transit zones off of Central and South America, as part of its Western Hemisphere Strategy. During at-sea interdictions, a suspect vessel is initially detected and monitored by allied, military or law enforcement personnel coordinated by Joint Interagency Task Force-South based in Key West, Florida. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific is conducted under the authority of the 11th Coast Guard District, headquartered in Alameda, California. The interdictions, including the actual boarding, are led and conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard.

-USCG-

HMAS Success (AOR-304) refuelling probe goes in for a hook-up with the US Coast Guard Cutter USCGC Waesche (WMSL-751) as the Royal Australian Navy Auxilliary Oiler Replenishment Ship conducts a dual RAS (Replenishment at Sea) off the coast of Hawaii during the Sea Phase of Exercise RIMPAC 2014, 19 July 2014. (RAN Photo by Leading Seaman Brenton Freind RAN)

The Surface Navy Association will have their 2019 West Coast Symposium on 22 August at Pier 2 Naval Base, San Diego. Info is here.

It is only a one day event. There is a Coast Guard focused session, 1315-1400. VAdm Fagan, COMPACAREA, has been invited to speak, but his apparently not been confirmed. The rest of the discussions look to be Navy specific, with not much interest to a Coast Guard audience so there should be plenty of time to see any exhibits.

You do have to register early to get access.

All registrations made to us after 1200 EST August 7, 2019 will not be on access list and will NOT be permitted on base without an escort.

Please remember that all persons in the vehicle must have a photo ID and must be a government issued ID, such as driver’s license or official state issued ID, or official federal government issued ID. The driver must have a current automobile registration.

The small open-topped ‘punt’ style craft had a single steerable outboard motor controlled by a simple GPS or radio control unit. The modest payload was two packages of marijuana totaling 37 kilograms.

Covert Shores reports on the first use of an unmanned surface vessel for drug smuggling that I am aware of.

This particular attempt was over a relatively short distance, and employed only a simple outboard to smuggle a small quantity of Marijuana, but I think we can expect to see more of this. The autopilot electronics are simple and cheap. I don’t expect the smugglers would worry about the more difficult problems of collision avoidance and following the rules of the road.

Obviously there would be an advantage to the smugglers in reducing the “manning cost,” Removing the crew also means, the smuggling craft could be made more stealthy. Perhaps more importantly it would mean that when a shipment is intercepted, there will be no one on board that can be interrogated, possibly providing intelligence that might lead to the leadership of the criminal organization.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL 750) takes on fuel and supplies in Honolulu prior to departing on the cutter’s Western Pacific patrol, June 18, 2019. Operating under the tactical control of commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, Stratton and crew will engage in professional exchanges and capacity building exercises with partner nations and patrol and conduct operations as directed. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jasmine Mieszala

Below is a Coast Guard press release. As you probably know Stratton is on the way to the Western Pacific, replacing the Bertholf in support of PACOM missions to build capacity and reinforce norms of international behavior. We have a long standing obligation to the island nations of the Micronesia. Good to see them getting more attention. Western Pacific also includes a very large chunk of the US EEZ, which has been underserved in the past. 

LAUTOKA, Fiji — Crew members aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL 752) moored Thursday in Lautoka, marking the cutter’s first international port call of their Western Pacific patrol.

Stratton, a 418-foot National Security Cutter, departed its homeport of Alameda, California, June 5 for a months-long deployment to the Western Pacific. Operating under the tactical control of commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, the cutter and crew are engaging in professional exchanges and capacity building exercises with partner nations and patrolling and conducting operations as directed.

While underway, Stratton’s crew exercised the recently signed Fiji-U.S. bilateral shiprider agreement, which allows enforcement authorities from the two nations to jointly counter illicit activity at sea. Together, Stratton’s crew and an embarked Fijian fisheries officer, Josaia Maiwai, patrolled the United States and Fijian Exclusive Economic Zones.

“The United States is firmly committed to building on our countries’ shared interest in governance and security in the maritime commons,” said Capt. Bob Little, commanding officer of the Stratton. “Fiji has proven to be a strong partner in our efforts to counter transnational criminal activity in the Pacific such as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. We are making great strides in our ability to jointly protect our sovereign resources from those who do not recognize international laws.”

While in port, the crew will have opportunities to explore Fiji and interact with local citizens through cultural and professional exchanges, community relations projects and island tours.

US Capital West Side, by Martin Falbisoner

The US Naval Institute News Services reports the Coast Guard reauthorization bill out of committee. Significantly it includes language that would allow Coast Guard personnel to be continued to be paid, even if there is another government shutdown.

“The House committee authorizing Coast Guard activities approved a measure that would guarantee the service’s active duty and civilian personnel are paid in the event of a federal government shutdown, as part of a two-year spending authorization bill.”

This is only the action of a committee, but it is likely to pass since this two year authorization bill enjoys bipartisan support and is not nearly as contentious as a budget bill.

There was also language supporting a new Great Lakes icebreaker. That in turn was supported by some earlier criticism, that really reflects the shortage of operating funds the current Commandant has been talking about.

“The reliability [of Coast Guard icebreaking] was abysmal last year,” James Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers Association, said last week during a hearing before House Transportation subcommittee on the Coast Guard and maritime transportation. “Five of the nine icebreakers [assigned to the Great Lakes] were inoperable.”

USCGC Smilax (WLIC-315)

The Acquisitions Directorate (CG-9) Website has copies of Presentation graphics used at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Exposition.

They cover six topics:

• Augmented Reality Presentation
• CG Operational Requirements Presentation
• USCG Foreign Military Sales Presentation
• USCG Rescue Swimmer Program Presentation
• USCG Contracting Enterprise Presentation
• Waterways Commerce Cutter Presentation

The CIC features the giant 360° wall and 14 + 4 multi function consoles + 2 large tactile tables.

Naval News reports that a new class off Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force frigate will feature a Combat Information Center (CIC) with a 360 degree augmented reality wall.

Situational awareness using the 360° augmented reality wall

Engineering control and damage control can be exercised from the CIC This is a further step in development of the CIC into data fusion center for the ship.

Notably this 5,500 ton ship is expected to have a crew of only 90.

gCaptain has an editorial that is worth the read. While I still see the possibility of a physical attack, the cyber threat is very real.

US Capital West Side, by Martin Falbisoner

The Congressional Research Service updated its “Coast Guard Cutter Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress” on 24 April, 2019. 

You can read it here. I have quoted the summary below.

The Coast Guard’s program of record (POR) calls for procuring 8 National Security Cutters (NSCs), 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs), and 58 Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) as replacements for 90 aging Coast Guard high-endurance cutters, medium-endurance cutters, and patrol craft. The Coast Guard’s proposed FY2020 budget requests a total of $657 million in procurement funding for the NSC, OPC, and FRC programs.

NSCs are the Coast Guard’s largest and most capable general-purpose cutters; they are intended to replace the Coast Guard’s 12 aged Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters. NSCs have an estimated average procurement cost of about $670 million per ship. Although the Coast Guard’s POR calls for procuring a total of 8 NSCs to replace the 12 Hamilton-class cutters, Congress through FY2019 has funded 11 NSCs, including the 10th and 11th in FY2018. Six NSCs are now in service. The seventh was delivered to the Coast Guard in September 2018. The eighth through 11th are under construction. The Coast Guard’s proposed FY2020 budget requests $60 million in procurement funding for the NSC program; this request does not include funding for a 12th NSC.

OPCs are to be smaller, less expensive, and in some respects less capable than NSCs; they are intended to replace the Coast Guard’s 29 aged medium-endurance cutters. Coast Guard officials describe the OPC program as the service’s top acquisition priority. OPCs have an estimated average procurement cost of about $421 million per ship. On September 15, 2016, the Coast Guard awarded a contract with options for building up to nine OPCs to Eastern Shipbuilding Group of Panama City, FL. The first OPC was funded in FY2018 and is to be delivered in 2021. The second OPC and long leadtime materials (LLTM) for the third were funded in FY2019. The Coast Guard’s proposed FY2020 budget requests $457 million in procurement funding for the third OPC, LLTM for the fourth and fifth, and other program costs.

FRCs are considerably smaller and less expensive than OPCs; they are intended to replace the Coast Guard’s 49 aging Island-class patrol boats. FRCs have an estimated average procurement cost of about $58 million per boat. A total of 56 have been funded through FY2019, including six in FY2019. Four of the 56 are to be used by the Coast Guard in the Persian Gulf and are not counted against the Coast Guard’s 58-ship POR for the program, which relates to domestic operations. Excluding these four OPCs, a total of 52 FRCs for domestic operations have been funded through FY2019. The 31st FRC was commissioned into service on March 22, 2019. The Coast Guard’s proposed FY2020 budget requests $140 million in acquisition funding for the procurement of two more FRCs for domestic operations.

The NSC, OPC, and FRC programs pose several issues for Congress, including the following: 

• whether to provide funding in FY2020 for the procurement of a 12th NSC; 
• whether to fund the procurement in FY2020 of two FRCs, as requested by the Coast Guard, or some higher number, such as four or six; 
• whether to use annual or multiyear contracting for procuring OPCs; 
• the annual procurement rate for the OPC program; 
• the impact of Hurricane Michael on Eastern Shipbuilding of Panama City, FL, the shipyard that is to build the first nine OPCs; and 
• the planned procurement quantities for NSCs, OPCs, and FRCs.