PHOTOS AVAILABLE: Coast Guard Cutter Resolute returns home from 41-day deployment

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 7th District PA Detachment Tampa Bay Contact: Coast Guard PA Detachment Tampa Bay 305-965-4672 PA Detachment Tampa Bay online newsroom

Coast Guard Cutter Resolute returns home from 41-day deployment

Editors note: Click on images to download high-resolution version. Please contact Alexander.N.Cordes@uscg.mil for further information.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida -- The USCGC Resolute (WMEC 620) and crew returned home to St. Petersburg Tuesday, after a 41-day Central Caribbean patrol.

The Resolute crew patrolled the coast of Haiti in support of Operation Southeast Watch. The team focused efforts on known transit zones and served as a presence to discourage hazardous migration voyages.

Watchstanders received an urgent radio call from a cargo vessel on May 13, reporting it collided with a wooden sailboat approximately 2 miles from Isla de la Tortue. The small boat sank, leaving two people in the water. The Resolute and its small boat crews, along with an Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew forward-deployed in Great Inagua, conducted search patterns. The small boat crew located the men in the water clinging to foam fishing buoys. After a medical check, both survivors were determined to be in good health and were returned safely to port.

On May 28, the Resolute crew interdicted two Cuban migrants on a make-shift raft, 15 miles south of Key West.

During the routine patrol, May 27, the bridge team spotted multiple Cuban migrants in the water, about 16 miles south of Key West. The team alerted Coast Guard Sector Key West watchstanders. Response efforts resulted in eight people rescued, and two people recovered deceased. An extensive search operation began for ten people reportedly still missing. Search and rescue efforts continued for two days before the search suspended.

On May 27, the Resolute crew interdicted two suspected smugglers and 25 Cuban migrants, 60 miles south of Key West.

Among multiple events, the Resolute crew completed emergency drills and training. The Damage Control Olympics is a unique and active way to train crewmembers on proper damage control procedures. At the same time, the Navigation Seamanship Olympics achieve the same goal of creating an interactive learning environment but focus on rescue and assistance and small boat operations. These training evolutions enhance technical skills while building camaraderie and ensuring technical proficiencies are maintained.

The Resolute, a 210-foot Reliance-class cutter with a crew of 72, was commissioned on Dec. 8, 1966. Visit the Resolute website at https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Area-Cutters/CGCRESOLUTE/. Follow them on Facebook, at http://www.facebook.com/uscoastguardcutterresolute

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