The Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma returned to their homeport of Kittery, Maine, Sunday after a 65-day offshore patrol in New England waters.
The Tahoma's efforts were in support of the Coast Guard’s Operation Atlantic Venture, which focused on the safety of sea life and the enforcement of fisheries laws and regulations on commercial and recreational fishing vessels in the Atlantic from Maine to Northern New Jersey. This included protection of closed fishing areas and the prevention of overfishing.
Over the course of the nine-week patrol, the crew conducted 56 at-sea law enforcement boardings. These inspections ensured each vessel met all gear requirements, catch limitations were in accordance with their federal fisheries permits, and the vessels had all required safety gear.
Tahoma’s crew also responded to a distress call early on in the patrol from a 63-foot disabled fishing vessel located about 100 miles east of Chatham, Massachusetts. Once on-scene, the crew placed the fishing boat in tow and safely brought the vessel through thick fog into Nantucket Sound where the tow was transferred to a commercial salvage service.
When not conducting operations, Tahoma’s crew was heavily immersed in shipboard training, including helicopter operations with Air Station Cape Cod, a towing and refueling exercise with Coast Guard Cutter Tybee, a 110’ patrol boat homeported in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and tactical law enforcement training for the crew in preparation for the ship’s next counter-drug patrol.
Furthering relations with our Canadian partners, Tahoma’s crew hosted Rear Admiral Steven Poulin, Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard’s First District, along with his counterparts Rear Admiral John Newton, Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy’s Atlantic Forces, Mr. Wade Spurrell, Assistant Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard Atlantic Region, and several other high ranking officials from the Canadian Coast Guard for a reception onboard the Tahoma in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
This partnership engagement encouraged positive relations between the United States and Canada, as well as recognized the combined efforts of the allied nations to promote safety and prevent illicit activity in the North Atlantic.
“I’ve been in command of the Tahoma for less than three months now, and I am so impressed with the professionalism, determination and positive energy exuded by each member of my crew,” said Cmdr. Timothy Brown, Tahoma’s commanding officer. “These Coast Guard men and women worked tirelessly this patrol to ensure the safety of our fellow mariners at sea and to help protect our Nation’s valuable fish stocks.”
Tahoma is a 270-foot cutter with 90 crewmembers. The vessel and crew execute maritime law enforcement, homeland security, and search and rescue missions in support of Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere.
