Derelict destruction used to be a common mission for the Coast Guard, but it doesn’t happen much any more.

Surprisingly gCaptain reports there is now a derelict cruise ship off Canada, that looks like it is on its way to Europe, or is it the Arctic, or Africa? A modern “Flying Dutchman” drifting without lights.

The Acquisitions Directorate (CG-9)’s Master Chief Ayer has addressed the following question: “Q:  I was aboard  one of the new Fast Response Cutters (FRC) last week, and I saw that the water tight  doors were non-standard. Why would we do that? How can we maintain and support  them?”

I do note that despite the Master Chief’s response, the specs for the Offshore Patrol Cutter do call out a particular brand of water tight doors.

Photo: USS Farragut (DDG-99), US Navy photograph

CNN is reporting that the USS Farragut working with the Yemeni Coast Guard has intercepted a large shipment of illegal weapons, including surface to air missiles.

Seems I remember a similar find resulted in Coast Guard 82 footers being sent to Vietnam. Of course we had troops in Vietnam at the time. The Coast Guards Foreign Military Sales program has already provided the Yemeni Coast Guard with two 87 foot Marine Protector Class Cutters with augmented weapons. But that is awfully thin coverage for a coast line similar in length to that of South Vietnam.

Tim Colton is reporting the Federal law suit against Bollinger, alleging fraud in the modification of eight WPBs, has been dismissed. Full story here.

CIMSEC has completed their Maritime Futures project I mentioned earlier.

You can link to all the various parts, including an unanticipated section on the future of piracy here.

Photo credit: Tim1965, View of the west side of the the USS Serpens Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery near Arlington, Virginia, in the United States. The ship exploded on January 29, 1945, while anchored off Laguna Beach at the island of Guadalcanal. 

Yesterday marked the anniversary of the loss of the Blackthorn, today it is the 68th anniversary of the loss of the USS Serpens (AK-97) that resulted in the loss of 196 Coast Guardsmen plus 57 Army stevedores.  This was the largest loss of life in a single incident in the history of the service. The names are here.

Navy recognition is reporting that the Turkish Coast Guard and Navy are also using the CN-235 airframe, on which the HC-144 is based, as a maritime Patrol Aircraft.

Today is the anniversary of the loss of the 180 foot buoy tender Blackthorn which resulted in the death of 23 Coast Guardsmen.

The story is here. There is information about the memorial to the loss here. And there is recognition of the heroism of one of the most junior members of the crew here.

Informationdissemination is reporting that the Navy has tested a surface launched version of a small semi-active laser homing missile, the AGM-176 Griffin, from USS Monsoon (PC-4), a ship very similar in size to the new Fast Response Cutters.

The launcher is relatively small, and appears to impose minimal requirements on the vessel.

This is a very small missile, obviously not a ship killer, in that it did not sink even the small boat used as a target, but with a 13 pound warhead, it does provide hitting power similar to a 76mm round.

The range is not great at about 6,000 yards, but that is beyond the effective range of machineguns, RPGs and even most man-portable anti-tank guided missiles, weapons that might be used by drug smugglers or terrorists. (Since I wrote this the range has increased to 12,000 yards.)

Photo #: NH 74689-U.S. Army Cargo Vessel FP-344 (1944); Fitting out at the Kewaunee Shipbuilding & Engineering Corp. shipyard, Kewaunee, Wisconsin, Circa July 1944. FP-344 was later renamed FS-344. Transferred to the Navy in 1966, she became USS Pueblo (AGER-2). Courtesy of Kewaunee Shipbuilding Corp., 1968. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

I’m sure most of you have heard of the USS Pueblo and know that she was seized by the North Koreans. That happened 44 years ago today. One crewmember was killed and the remaining 82 were held for 11 months. The ship is still held, displayed as a museum at Pyongyang, the North Korean capital city.

You may not know that she was once manned by Coast Guardsmen. Originally she was an Army Transport, the FP(later FS)-344, and from 7 April 1945 to January 1946 she was Coast Guard manned.

She was one of 288 Army vessels manned by the Coast Guard during WWII (along with 351 Navy ships and craft.)

Sources:

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-p/ager2.htm

Scheina, Robert L., U. S. Coast Guard Cutters and Craft of World War II, US Naval Institute Press