The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Harriet Lane conducts a February 2024 patrol for Operation Blue Pacific, which included combating illegal fishing with local partners. SENIOR CHIEF PETTY OFFICER CHARLY TAUTFEST/U.S. COAST GUARD

The Indo-Pacific Defense Forum reports,

The United States Coast Guard has increased its international engagements throughout the Pacific in recent years. Through initiatives such as the Pacific Area Campaign Plan, the Coast Guard plays a pivotal role in advancing the White House’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and the National Maritime Domain Awareness Plan. Such efforts align with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, the long-term vision for the region developed by the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum.

Harnessing regional expertise and understanding the advantages of coordinated responses to environmental threats and illegal fishing, the Coast Guard established two key centers of expertise in Honolulu, Hawaii, in October 2023. The Indo-Pacific Marine Environmental Response Regional Activities Center (MER-RAC) and the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fisheries Center of Expertise (IUUF COE) bring together Coast Guard specialists and international partners to share best practices, facilitate expert exchanges and develop collaborative strategies for addressing transnational issues.

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

April 28

1908  The Revenue Cutter Service became the primary federal agency in charge of patrolling regattas.

USRC Seneca, 1908

1918  CGC Seneca saved 81 survivors from the torpedoed British naval sloop Cowslip while on convoy route to Gibraltar.  Cowslip had been attacked by three German U-boats.

Harry Gabriel Hamlet, USCG, Commandant of the Coast Guard (1932), commanded USS Marietta ,October 1918 – 12 July 1919

1919  While in command of USS Marietta in the Bay of Biscay, Captain Harry G. Hamlet rescued a crew of 47 persons from USS James which was sinking at sea, April 23, 1919.  For his actions that day he was awarded a Gold Lifesaving Medal.  His award citation noted: “This rescue was made extremely difficult and hazardous owing to high seas, which threatened to send the two vessels crashing together. In effecting the rescue, Captain Hamlet displayed admirable seamanship.”  Captain Hamlet would later serve as Commandant of the Coast Guard from 1932-1936. (If this story sounds familiar, it is because the same incident was erroneously reported in the “This Day in Coast Guard History, April 22 / 23.”)

Marietta (PG-15) In European waters. Photo courtesy of Paul H. Silverstone from U.S. Small Combatants: An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman

The U.S. Navy amphibious transport dock ship USS Cleveland (LPD-7) underway off the coast of Port Hueneme, California (USA), on 3 February 2000, in support of search and recovery operations for Alaska Airlines Flight 261.

1993  Coast Guard PACAREA LEDETs, operating from the USS Valley Forge and USS Cleveland, boarded the St. Vincent-flagged 225-foot freighter Sea Chariot about 300 miles southwest of Panama.  The boarding team discovered bales of cocaine in some of the containers on board and then seized the vessel.  The vessel was escorted through the Panama Canal to Station Miami Beach where a search of the vessel’s containers turned up 11,233 pounds of cocaine.

USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG-60), at sea, 1990s.

2001  A LEDET assigned to USS Rodney M. Davis, with later assistance from CGC Active made the largest cocaine seizure in maritime history to date when they boarded and seized the Belizean F/V Svesda Maru 1,500 miles south of San Diego.  The fishing vessel was carrying 26,931 pounds of cocaine.

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

April 27

The overcrowded decks of the paddle-wheeler Sultana just before her fiery explosion.

1865  The boilers on the 260-foot wooden-hulled steamboat Sultana exploded while the vessel was traveling on the Mississippi River near Memphis.  Sultana, although designed to carry a maximum of 376 passengers, actually embarked over 2,400, most of whom were Union prisoners of war recently released from captivity.  The explosion and consequent fire killed over 1,800 and ranks as the worst commercial maritime disaster in U.S. history.

USCGC Tampa (Coast Guard Cutter, 1912) photographed in harbor, prior to World War I. Completed in 1912 as the U.S. Revenue Cutter Miami, this ship was renamed Tampa in February 1916. On 26 September 1918, while operating in the English Channel, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German Submarine UB-91. All 131 persons on board Tampa were lost with her, the largest loss of life on any U.S. combat vessel during the First World War. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

1914  USRC Miami, under the command of Captain J. H. Quinan, while on the International Ice Patrol, carried out the first trials of the new fathometer built by Submarine Signal Company in Boston.

USCG Sebago (WPG-42, later WHEC-42) as seen on 28 November 1947. She retained at least some of her original armament. Twin 5″/38 and quad 40mm guns are visible. As can be seen in the photo below, her after gun mounts and depth charges had been removed and a balloon shelter installed.

1949  When a C-47 of the Military Air Transport Service developed engine trouble and ditched near CGC Sebago on Weather Station “Dog” some 380 miles from Newfoundland, a motor self-bailing boat from the cutter immediately picked up the plane’s crew of four. Although the C-47 sank within 12 minutes, there were no injuries or casualties.

1966  After a U.S. Air Force B-57 was reported overdue the U.S. Coast Guard Eastern Area Commander commenced an intensive air search.  The two-day, large-scale, over-water search for the missing aircraft, all of which was coordinated by the Coast Guard, unfortunately yielded negative results.

1980  A Coast Guard HH-3F from AIRSTA Sitka safely rescued all 14 crewman from the F/V Cathy-R after it capsized and sank west of Cape Ommaney.

1989  President George H. W. Bush dedicated the Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence Center East, otherwise known as C3I, in south Florida.  The facility, manned by Coast Guard and Customs personnel, was designed to give law enforcement agencies instant access to air and marine smuggling information.

Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton leads the way for cutters Robert Goldman and Charles Moulthrope as they depart Puerto Rico April 1. National security cutter Hamilton is escorting the two fast response cutters (FRCs) across the Atlantic to Rota, Spain. From there, the FRCs will continue to their homeport of Manama, Bahrain. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Sydney Phoenix.

2021  CGC Hamilton transited into the Black Sea in support of NATO allies and partners.  Hamilton was the first Coast Guard cutter to enter the Black Sea since CGC Dallas (WHEC 716) did so in 2008. Hamilton’s patrol came after first escorting two Fast Response Cutters from Puerto Rico across the Atlantic on their way to service with U.S. Patrol Forces Southwest Asia. Hamilton then made two logistics visits to Rota, Spain and Naples, Italy before proceeding to the Black Sea.  Hamilton was conducting a routine deployment in the U.S. Sixth Fleet, working alongside Allies, building maritime domain awareness, and sharing best practices with partner nation navies and coast guards,” according to the Navy.

210502-G-G0108-1510 BLACK SEA (May 2, 2021) USCGC Hamilton (WMSL 753) and Georgian coast guard vessels Ochamchire (P 23) and Dioskuria (P 25) conduct underway maneuvers in the Black Sea, May 2, 2021. Hamilton is on a routine deployment in the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national interests and security in Europe and Africa. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)

210508-G-G0108-1205 BLACK SEA May 8, 2021, USCGC Hamilton (WMSL 753) and a Ukrainian coast guard vessel conduct underway maneuvers in the Black Sea, May 8, 2021. Hamilton is on a routine deployment in the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national interests and security in Europe and Africa. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)

USCGC Hamilton (WMSL-753) conducting port visit in Valletta, Malta on May 17, 2021. Coast Guard Photo

Papua New Guinea (PNG) Customs Service and U.S. Coast Guard personnel prepare to conduct fisheries boardings during bilateral patrols in PNG in March 2025. IMAGE CREDIT: PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS JENNIFER NILSON/U.S. COAST GUARD

Indo-Pacific Defense Forum reports,

The refurbishment of a key naval base and joint initiatives with Australia and the United States underscore Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) enhanced defense posture.

The upgrades to the PNG Defence Force’s (PNGDF) Lombrum Naval Base, which U.S. forces can access under the nations’ Defense Cooperation Agreement, are evidence of the growing ties among the three partners. Other developments include expanded military exercises and training, and a proposed defense pact between Australia and PNG that would allow each nation’s troops to serve in the other’s forces.

The increasing bilateral and trilateral engagements come amid Beijing’s push to expand its influence in the Pacific Islands.

Lombrum Naval Base. Screen grab from Google Earth.

This may not seem like it would involve the Coast Guard but it has.

The deployment followed the arrival of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Midgett in the PNG capital, Port Moresby, under the nations’ maritime law enforcement agreement, known as a shiprider, according to the U.S. Embassy. The mission will enhance maritime security, particularly against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which is a major threat to coastal communities’ livelihoods.

The USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC 1140) crew arrives in Manus, Papua New Guinea, on Aug. 14, 2022, from Guam as part of a patrol headed south to assist partner nations in upholding and asserting their sovereignty while protecting U.S. national interests. The U.S. Coast Guard is participating with partners to support the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency-led Operation Island Chief and the larger Operation Blue Pacific through patrols in the Western Pacific in August and September 2022. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by SW3 Victor Villanueva, NMCB-FOUR)

The US shares with Papua New Guinea a desire to prevent Illegal, Unregulated, Unreported (IUU) fishing and has a history of cooperation with Papua New Guinea.

Coast Guard bases to support cutters that patrol the Western Pacific are limited to Hawaii in the central Pacific and Guam 3,434 nautical miles (6,360 km) to the West. Manus Island is 938 nautical miles (1737 km) South of Guam and 3,530 nautical miles (6,540 km) WSW of Honolulu.

Map of EEZs in the Central Pacific showing significance of Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. (© Cleo Pascal.)

The geographic names in the area are familiar to students of the Second World War in the Pacific. Manus was a major Allied supply base.

The explosion of the U.S. Navy ammunition ship USS Mount Hood (AE-11) in Seeadler Harbor, Manus, Admiralty Islands on 10 November 1944. The smoke trails are left by fragments ejected by the explosion. The cause of the explosion could not be determined.

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

April 26

USRC HUDSON At the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, 21 April 1898 being outfitted for service in the Spanish-American War, which included adding additional armament, armor plating, and a new coat of “war paint” U.S. Coast Guard History website

1898  During the Spanish-American War, cutters Morrill, Hudson (hero ship of Cardenas Bay), and Hamilton, formerly revenue cutters and recently armed for service in the so-called “Mosquito Fleet,” passed through Hampton Roads and after asking formal permission of the Commodore, proceeded to Key West.  From that point, they joined the Navy ships of the Cuban blockading fleet.

USRC MORRILL. Photographed by the Detroit Photographic Co. Library of Congress photo No. LC-D4-9016

1899  The Revenue Cutter Service signed a lease with two prominent Baltimore landowners for 36 acres of farmland surrounding Arundel Cove, Maryland. Two months later, LT John Moore, USRCS, arrived aboard the side-wheeler Colfax to establish the “Revenue Cutter Station at Curtis Bay,” today’s United States Coast Guard Yard.

USRC Mohawk

1912  President William Howard Taft boarded the USRC Mohawk on this date in 1912.  The cutter took the president from New York City’s Recreation Pier on “West 50th Street” to Governors Island and back for the funeral of MAJGEN Frederick Dent Grant, son of former President Ulysses S. Grant.

Naval News reports,

Following the trend of U.S. Navy ‘containerized’ solutions for various platforms, BAE Systems is pitching its Bofors 40 Mk 4 as another containerized system for counter-UAS, counter-USV, and point-defense missions. The gun was shown for the first time at Sea Air Space 2025 as part of a broader effort to introduce the gun and its ‘3P’ all-target ammunition to the U.S. audience.

The gun is certainly interesting, but we have looked at the system before. Perhaps the biggest news from the video is that the Navy is seeking palletized weapon systems. Potentially any 8×20 or 8×40 foot clear deck space could become a weapon station.

Presumably the Navy is thinking about arming merchant ships and MSC logistics ships that are currently essentially unarmed, but Coast Guard vessels may benefit as well.

The BAE Bofors 40mm Mk4 

BAE Bofors 40mm/70 mk4

The 40mm/70 has a long and successful history. The earlier 40mm/56 was the best medium caliber anti-aircraft gun of WWII. The air cooled single 40mm/56 mount was used on Coast Guard cutters post war including 125 foot Active class cutters and B-class 95 foot Cape Class patrol boats. Twin and quad water-cooled mounts were used on larger cutters e.g. 255s, 311s, 327s, and icebreakers. The US Navy moved from the 40mm to the 3″/50 at the end of WWII because it did not have room for a proximity fuse. Miniaturization now allows the 40mm to have the same sophisticated sort of 3P fuse available for the 57mm Mk110.

Other than small arms, the Coast Guard only uses weapons that are in the US Navy inventory so, unless the Navy adopts it, the following comments are just speculation. For what it is worth, I’ll offer my opinion.

Compared to the 76mm and 57mm, the 40mm has a shorter range, and no guided or extended range projectiles, as are now available for the 76mm and to a lesser extent the 57mm. For that reason, the 40mm is no substitute for the larger guns even though it does have a higher rate of fire.

The 40mm might be considered a substitute for the Phalanx CIWS. It weighs about half as much, and shoots much further. The British apparently think it can be used as a CIWS; they are putting two on each of their Type 31 frigates. The Italians used 40mm guns as their CIWS until they started using the Strales 76mm with DART ammunition in a much expanded CIWS role. The SeaRAM system should also be considered an alternative to Phalanx or the 40mm. It looks like a more likely candidate for large cutters. The 25mm Mk38 installation planned for the OPC appears to have an extremely restricted field of fire. Replacing it with the an elevated 40mm might help. SeaRAM would improve capabilities immensely.

The 40mm could be an alternative to the 25mm Mk38 mount currently on the Webber class WPCs, if the ships can take the extra 3200 pounds–guns as large as 76 are frequently seen on similar sized vessels–68% more range (13,670 yards (12,500 m) vs 7,450 yards); more than 5 times larger projectile (2.15 lbs. (0.975 kg) vs 0.406 lbs.); a 50% higher rate of fire (300 vs 200) and air bust ammunition. On the other hand we could get similar capability by adding small missiles like APKWS, Hellfire or JASM.

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

April 25

1819  USRC Active captured the pirate vessel Irresistible in the Chesapeake Bay.

An engraving of the explosion that destroyed the Moselle. Courtesy of the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library. Via Ohio Memory.

1838  The steamboat Moselle, with more than 265 passengers and crew aboard, departed from a landing near Cincinnati, Ohio for St. Louis.  Her boilers exploded soon after casting off, killing 136.  This was one of three catastrophic steamboat boiler explosions within as many months that forced the Federal Government to begin regulating merchant steam vessels.

1956  The U.S. Coast Guard issued new regulations for security screening of merchant seamen.  Changes in the screening program were made for the purpose of conforming with a recent U .S. Court of Appeals ruling (Parker V. Lester) which held that procedures used by the Coast Guard did not meet the minimum requirements of due process of law.  The legal background for the Coast Guard security program stems from the Magnuson Act, which authorized the President to issue rules safeguarding vessels and waterfront facilities when he found security endangered by a subversive activity. The President made such a finding in 1950 by Executive Order No. 10173 and directed the Coast Guard to set up and conduct the program.

In the illustration above we have Cuba at the top, Haiti to the right, Jamaica to the left and in the center, a tiny piece of the USA, Navassa Island. 

While preparing the post on USCGC Seneca’s recent patrol, I had an occasion to look up the Windward Passage. It lies between the Eastern end of Cuba and the West end of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic). It is only 80 kM (43 nautical miles) wide.

Navassa Island “with a few infos added: Lulu Town, Navassa Island Light, peak (77 m)” Credit: Wikipedia user: Indolences

Surprisingly it includes a bit of the US, its territorial sea, and Exclusive Economic Zone. Little Navassa Island has a Coast Guard connection.

From 1917 to 1996, Navassa was under the administration of the United States Coast Guard.

In September 1999, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service established the Navassa Island National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses 1,344 acres (5.44 km²) of land and a 12 nautical mile (22.2 km) radius of marine habitat around the island. Later that year, full administrative responsibility for Navassa was transferred from the Office of Insular Affairs to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

That may be reason enough to cruise by once in a while. Not sure anyone would be allowed ashore.

Navassa Island’s lighthouse with the light keeper’s quarters in the foreground