Imagery Available: Mohawk returns to homeport after patrol

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 08/04/2017 04:10 PM EDT

united states coast guard 

News Release  

Aug. 4, 2017
U.S. Coast Guard 7th District Southeast
Contact: 7th District Public Affairs
Office: 305-415-6683
After Hours: 786-367-7649

Mohawk returns to homeport after patrol

A member of the Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk passes out life jackets to Haitian migrants after the cutter crew stopped the illegal and unsafe voyage in the Caribbean Sea during the cutter's month-long patrol.  The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk conducts a professional exchange with the Mexican Navy while on a 30 day patrol in the Caribbean Sea.  The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk conducts a professional exchange with the Mexican Navy during a joint law enforcement partnership exercise between the U.S. and Mexico while on patrol in the Caribbean Sea. 

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KEY WEST, Fla. — The Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk crew returned Friday following a one month law enforcement and training patrol in the Caribbean Sea in support of Operations Southern Watch and Yucatan Sentinel.

During the patrol, the crew stopped and rescued 113 illegal Haitian migrants with the help of an embarked Air Station Corpus Christi MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew, two Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews and the Haitian Coast Guard. 

"This patrol afforded us an excellent opportunity to not only bolster our qualifications and capabilities but also strengthen our relationships with our allies in the Caribbean," said Lt. Cmdr. Ben Spector, executive officer, cutter Mohawk. "These relationships are critical to brining security and safety to a maritime region in which we all have a vested interest."

The crew of the Mohawk also intercepted five suspected drug smugglers carrying an estimated 3,000 pounds of marijuana aboard their vessel.

During the patrol the cutter crew also worked alongside the Mexican Naval patrol boat Tulum conducting law enforcement exercises in a joint partnership between the U.S. and Mexico to deter and prevent illegal activity in the region. 

The Mohawk was commissioned in 1990 as the last of the 13 270-foot Famous class medium-endurance cutters. The cutter is homeported in Key West. 

-USCG-