The crew of the USCGC Tahoma (WMEC 908) returned to their new homeport Sept. 19 after a 66-day patrol in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, the Coast Guard Atlantic Area said in a release.
During the patrol, Tahoma conducted living marine resource enforcement, search and rescue, and migrant interdiction operations.
Tahoma departed its previous homeport at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, for the final time in July, conducting a fisheries enforcement patrol to support the sustainability of economically important fisheries and ensure the safety of the U.S. commercial fishing fleet. Over a 32-day period, Tahoma’s crew conducted 55 commercial fishing vessel boardings, identifying 34 safety violations and four violations of fisheries law.
In August, Tahoma shifted patrol efforts to the Caribbean Sea, in response to a rise in maritime migration from Cuba, to detect, deter and intercept unsafe and illegal ventures to the United States. Tahoma intercepted and cared for 350 migrants across 27 separate cases.
“I am very proud of Tahoma’s crew for their efforts over the past two months. The crew’s ability to transition between two very different missions is a testament to their dedication, perseverance, and devotion to duty. I am proud of the significant impact this crew made on the safety and sustainability of the North Atlantic commercial fishing industry as well as their efforts in responding to the current increase in maritime migration from Cuba,” said Cmdr. Piero Pecora, commanding officer of Tahoma.
Tahoma is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Newport with 100 crewmembers. The cutter’s primary missions are counter drug operations, migrant interdiction, enforcing federal fishery laws and search and rescue in support of Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere.
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