Another image of the Huangpu-build OPV for CCG at berth. Note rotating AESA on main mast. Image via Chinese social media.

A Naval News post, “New Offshore Patrol Vessel launched for China Coast Guard,” actually includes information about more than one new class of China Coast Guard cutters.

Notably, these new ships all have 76mm guns and modern multi-mode radars.

Looking at the photo below, I have used the same caption that is included in the post, and added some links, but it really appears too small to be based on the Type 052D destroyer design which is over 500 feet long and 7500 tons full load.

Take a look.

The Type 052D-derived CCG hull at Jiangnan. Note Type 382 radar on main mast, H/PJ-26 main gun, sizeable aviation hangar. Image Chinese social media.

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

May 5

John M. “Muddy” Waters Jr. USCG

1947  The first meeting of the permanent International Civil Aviation Organization was held in Montreal, Canada with the Coast Guard being represented by LT John M. Waters, USCG. (Great biography here.) His book, Bloody Winter, about the convoy battles during the Winter of 1942-43 is highly recommended.

1950  Congress approved the Uniform Code of Military Justice for the “government of the armed forces of the United States.”

1973  The last Coast Guard personnel assigned to Vietnam departed for the United States.

2004  The Coast Guard presented the Purple Heart to BM3 Joseph Ruggiero in Miami for injuries sustained in action against the enemy while defending the Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal in Iraq on April 24, 2004.  Ruggiero’s shipmate, DC3 Nathan Bruckenthal, was killed in this same bombing and was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.  They were the first Coast Guard recipients of the Purple Heart since the Vietnam War.

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

May 4

1882  The Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to discontinue any lifesaving station, transfer apparatus, appoint keepers, etc.

1910  Congress required every passenger ship or other ship carrying 50 persons or more, leaving any port of United States, to be equipped with a radio (powerful enough to transmit to a 100-mile radius) and a qualified operator.

Members of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary anti-submarine forces, colloquially referred to as the “Corsair Fleet”

1942  ADM Ernest J. King, Chief of Naval Operations and Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, requested the Coast Guard organize a coastal picket force utilizing suitable civilian craft. The Coast Guard Auxiliary led the initial efforts with responsibility eventually falling to the Coast Guard officer in each Naval District. Many Auxiliarists volunteered both their vessels and crew for service in the Coast Guard Temporary Reserve. The signature vessels were the large, rugged sailing yachts assigned to offshore patrols, later nicknamed “The Corsair Fleet.”

Coast Guard manned USS Pride (DE-323) February / March 1945: underway in the North Atlantic. Photo credit Andy Cisternino
RM1c, USCG.

1944  The Coast Guard-manned destroyer escort USS Pride (DE-323), USS Joseph E. Campbell (DE-70), the American built Free French destroyer escort Sénégalais and the British escort destroyer HMS Blankney sank U-371 which had damaged Coast Guard manned USS Menges (DE-320) the previous day. USNI story about USS Pride by her CO, Captain Ralph R. Curry, U. S. Coast Guard (Retired), here.

Location where USS Menges was damaged and U-371 was sunk.

U-371 “… was unlucky enough to be the first victim to an Allied sub-hunting tactic in the Mediterranean Sea known as Swamp. This tactic simply called for the area of a known or suspected U-boat to be packed with surface escorts and patrol aircraft. They would then systematically and continually search the area and force the U-boat to remain submerged until its batteries ran out or try to escape at night on the surface. Either was almost hopeless.

U-371 was spotted recharging her batteries on the surface off Djidjelli on the Algerian coast during the night of 2/3 May 1944 and was immediately detected and the area was swamped with 6 escorts and 3 aircraft squadrons. They hunted the boat until the early morning of 4 May when Oblt. Fenski had to surface the boat and save his crew. He had managed to fight back and torpedoed and damaged the US destroyer escort USS Menges and the French destroyer escort Sénégalais before calling it quits.”

1963  CGC Morris and CG-95318 escorted the annual Newport Harbor, California to Ensenada, Mexico Yacht Race which commenced May 4, 1963 and upon conclusion of the race made an informal visit to Ensenada.

USCGC Morris

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

May 2

1882  An Act of Congress (22 Stat. L., 55, 58), in an attempt to protect the Lifesaving Service from the evils of the “spoils System,” declared that “the appointments of District superintendents, inspectors, and keepers and crews of life-saving stations shall be made solely with reference to their fitness and without reference to their political or party affiliations.”

1932  Northern Pacific Halibut Act re-enacted Act of June 7, 1924, after Convention with Canada and made it unlawful to catch halibut between November 1^st and February 15^th  each year in territorial waters of United States and Canada and on high seas, extending westerly from them, including the Bering Sea.  Coast Guard enforced this Act.

1942  Coast Guard plane V-167 rescued two from a torpedoed freighter.

1942  Coast Guard prewar search and rescue procedure discontinued for security reasons.

1943  CG-58012 exploded and sank off Manomet Point, Massachusetts.  No lives lost.

USCGC Sangamon

1995  Part of the Upper Mississippi and Missouri Rivers rose above the flood stage, flooding areas in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky.  Coast Guard Disaster Response Units conducted SAR duties and assisted local authorities.  On May 16, MSO St. Louis closed all 366 miles of the Missouri River to all traffic.   The Secretary of Transportation authorized the involuntary recall of 300 reservists.  However, only 143 were called to duty.  Coast Guard Forces Paducah was at the epicenter of flood-relief operations with five DRUs working in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and the Olive Branch, Illinois, area.  Coast Guard aircraft, including an HH-60 Jayhawk from AIRSTA Clearwater (the 2nd District had no air station) provided daily over-flight and SAR missions.  CGC Sangamon was used as a staging platform for those working near Meridosa, Illinois.  Two DRU teams aided Meridosa and surrounding communities with emergency evacuations, ferrying emergency supplies, and reinforcing threatened levees.  Coast Guardsmen were also called in to Slidell, Louisiana, where the evacuated 285 flood victims to safety.

Ran across the video above. Thought it might be interesting.

USCGC Cleat (WYTL-65615)

The Acquisitions Directorate (CG-9) reports,

May 1, 2025 —The Coast Guard today released a request for information (RFI) to inform the development of its acquisition strategy to recapitalize its light and medium domestic icebreaking capabilities.  Industry sources are invited to submit information on existing icebreaking-capable vessels or vessel designs that are ready for construction or already in production. The Coast Guard will use these responses to inform future program activities to recapitalize the domestic icebreaking capabilities provided by the 140-foot icebreaking tug and 65-foot small harbor tug.

You can access the RFI here.

There are a couple of things that may be surprising.

• First the description of the two types of interest “DOMICE-M” domestic icebreaker, medium and “DOMICE-L,” domestic icebreaker, light. The 2,500 HP 140s are a long way from medium icebreakers by the Coast Guard’s usual medium icebreaker definition, 20,000 to 45,000 HP.
• Second that that there seems to be an aversion to any increase in size. The “VESSEL PRELIMINARY CAPABILITY PARAMETERS” specifically requests  information only on vessels the same size or smaller than the exiting 140 foot WTGBs and 65 foot WYTLs, and the expected performance is essentially no better than the existing classes and could be worse.

Significantly the 65′ WYTLs are currently being treated more like station boats than commissioned ships. The intention is to continue that might be thought of as a reason to restrict length to 65 feet or less. Still that might be unnecessarily restrictive. It may require fewer people to run a particular 70 foot vessel than a particular 64 foot boat, but manning requirements are not included in the RFI. Reading between the lines it appears they actually want a smaller vessel than the 65 footers.

The constraint on length of the 140 replacement is even harder to understand. The range requirement clearly indicates these vessels will deploy for several days with presumably a mixed gender crew. Like the WTGBs they will probably have davits and a small ship’s boat. In District 9, on the Great Lakes, when not breaking ice, the WTGBs perform some of the functions Webber class WPCs perform in other districts. Speed and icebreaking are almost mutually exclusive, but a bit more waterline length does make a couple of extra knots easier.

USCGC LIBERTY (WPB 1334), Credit to Gillfoto, 23 November 2012

Below is a news release from Coast Guard News.

It is the end of an era as the last of 49 Island class cutters leaves Coast Guard service. These boats continue to do useful work for other navies and coast guards as they are transferred under the Excess Defense Article (EDA) program.

The Surface Acquisitions Logistics Center at the Coast Guard Yard runs the EDA program doing necessary maintenance, sea trials, foreign crew training, and vessel transport and close-out.

110 foot Island class cutters have been transferred to Pakistan, the Republic of Georgia, Costa Rica, Ukraine, the Philippines, Tunisia, and Greece. Additional units are expected to go to Cameroon and Ecuador.

Decommissioned 87 foot WPBs and 210 foot WMECs

87 foot Marine Protector class WPBs have been transferred to Ghana, Lebanon, the Philippines, and Uruguay.

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

May 1

1876: A New Lifesaving Station Opens on Lake Erie – 89 People Are Rescued in the Next 20 Years. A Marblehead resident named Lucien M. Clemons was appointed the station’s first keeper, and his tenure began with the official opening of the facility in 1876. Clemons had demonstrated his courage and lifesaving skills on May 1 of the previous year when he and his brothers Hubbard and A.J. – rowing out into stormy weather on Lake Erie on that day in a 12-foot (3.7-meter) skiff (a flat-bottomed boat) — rescued the two surviving members of the seven-person crew of the shipwrecked 102-foot (31.1-meter) schooner Consuelo. As a result of their heroic efforts in that rescue, the Clemons brothers became the first recipients of life-saving medals first class (the present-day Gold Lifesaving Medals).

1875  Captain Lucien M. Clemens and his brothers Al and Hubbard “displayed the most signal gallantry in saving two men from the wreck of the schooner Consuelo” in an open rowboat.  Five others on board the schooner perished when the schooner capsized in the heavy seas “with the wind blowing a gale from the northeast” before the brothers arrived on scene.  Their daring rescue resulted in the award of the Gold Life-Saving Medals to each, the first time the medals were ever awarded.

Revenue Cutter USCGC McCulloch

1898  USRC McCulloch fought as part of the fleet under the overall command of Commodore George Dewey, USN, at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War.   President John McKinley later recommended that her commanding officer, Revenue Captain Daniel B. Hodgson, be retired at full pay as reward of merit for “efficient and meritorious services.”  A joint resolution of Congress was so approved on May 3, 1900.

1900  The Lighthouse Board took charge of all lighthouses in Puerto Rico.

The United States Lightship LV-87/WAL-512 (Ambrose) is a riveted steel lightship built in 1907 and served at the Ambrose Channel lightship station from December 1, 1908, until 1932. This photo was taken by participant/team Tony as part of the Commons:Wikipedia Takes Manhattan project on April 4, 2008.

1921  The first radio fog signals in the United States were placed in commission on Ambrose Lightship, Fire Island Lightship, and Sea Girt Light Station, New Jersey.

Lightship LV-101/WAL-524. Acquired 2 September 1916, Decommissioned 23 March 1964. Light Vessel 101 was assigned to the stations:
Charles, Cape Charles, Virginia (1916–1924); Relief, Relief 5th District (1925–1926);
Overfalls, Overfalls, Delaware (1926–1951); Stonehorse, Stonehorse Shoal, Massachusetts (1951–1963); CrossRip, Cross Rip Shoal, Massachusetts (1963–1964), now a museum ship in Portsmouth, VA. Photo by William J. Grimes

1935  By Department of Commerce authority, a readjustment of the boundary between the 3rd and 4th Lighthouse Districts was made, by which certain aids to navigation in the approaches to Delaware Bay, including Overfalls Lightship, were placed under the jurisdiction of the 4th Lighthouse District.

1936  Congress passed the Whaling Treaty Act, which made it unlawful to take right whales or calves of any whale.  The act was enforced by the Coast Guard.

1942  Two Coast Guard planes located a lifeboat with 13 survivors and landed in open seas and took injured men ashore as others were rescued by lifeboat.

1973  The Coast Guard’s Merchant Marine Detachment-Saigon, Republic of Vietnam, was disestablished.

1992  CGC Venturous served as the patrol commander’s on-scene command platform for most of the International America’s Cup Class World Championship sailing races that took place off San Diego from May 1-11, 1992.  The CGC Sherman took over that duty for May 10-11.  Coast Guard active duty, reserve, and auxiliary personnel also assisted in perimeter patrols along the race course.

The Miss Majestic. When the DUKW was converted for commercial passenger
service, a steel frame was installed around and over the passenger compartment. The
Miss Majestic had a vinyl canopy over the frame to protect passengers from the weather.

1999  A amphibious tourist boat (DUKW) sank in Lake Hamilton, near Hot Springs, Arkansas, killing 13 persons.  The Coast Guard investigated the accident.

A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew, deployed to forward operating location Kotzebue, Alaska, conducts a pre-flight brief before flying a mission to Point Lay, July 13, 2017. FOL Kotzebue houses two Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters and crews in support of Operation Arctic Shield. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Brian Dykens.

2013  CGAS Kodiak deployed a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and support personnel to a forward operating location in Cordova, to safeguard mariners in Prince William Sound and south central Alaska.  The FOL in Cordova was one of four seasonal Coast Guard FOLs in Alaska and was scheduled to remain in operation until September 30, 2013.  The forward deployed crews received logistical support from Air Station Kodiak based HC-130 Hercules airplane crews throughout their deployment.  The previous year, FOL Cordova aircrews saved nine lives and assisted 12 others during the 2012 summer season.

2020  On 1 May 2020 the U.S. Coast Guard announced that RADM Melissa Bert had been vested as the Judge Advocate General & Chief Counsel of the Coast Guard.  RADM Bert is the first woman to hold that office.