Port security unit to return from deployment in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

SEATTLE - Port Security Unit (PSU) 313, based in Tacoma, Wash., will return home Saturday after a six-month deployment in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

As part of the multi-agency Joint Task Force, the unit provided anti-terrorism force protection by patrolling the waters near the U.S. naval base since Dec., 2007.

Coast Guard port security units are deployable anywhere in the world and maintains port security both during wartime and peacetime. The units can respond to any occupied foreign port and can also maintain security for homeland ports when necessary.

Coast Guard Interdicts, Repatriates 49 Cuban Migrants

MIAMI - The Coast Guard Cutter Drummond repatriated 49 Cuban migrants to Bahia de Cabañas, Cuba, Wednesday.

The crew of the cutter Drummond located a rustic vessel with three Cuban migrants aboard 72 miles southeast of Key West, Fla., Friday.

The Coast Guard received a call from the captain of the cruise ship Carnival Victory stating they had located a rustic vessel 54 miles south of Cabo San Antonio, Cuba, Thursday. The Cuban migrants were brought aboard the cruise ship and remained there until the cutter Oak arrived. The crew of the Oak rendezvoused with the Victory Sunday and embarked the 10 Cuban migrants.

A rustic vessel made of green plastic barrels with four Cuban migrants aboard was intercepted by the crew of the cutter Vigilant 20 miles north of the province of Guantanamo, Cuba, Thursday.

Officials at Coast Guard Sector Miami received notification from a Customs and Border Protection aircraft that had located a go-fast vessel 24 miles east of Lake Worth Inlet, Fla., Thursday. Boatcrews from Coast Guard Station Lake Worth Inlet and Station Fort Lauderdale, Fla., were launched to assist two CBP marine units already en route. The CBP vessels stopped the go-fast vessel with 33 Cuban migrants and one suspected smuggler 10 miles east of Delray Beach, Fla. The CBP marine unit on scene took custody of the go-fast vessel and the suspected smuggler, and the cutter Gannet embarked the migrants.

One migrant is pending transfer to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Once aboard Coast Guard cutters, migrants receive food, water, shelter and any necessary medical attention.

The cutter Oak is a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender homeported in Charleston, S.C.
The cutter Vigilant is a 210-foot medium-endurance cutter homeported in Port Canaveral, Fla.
The cutter Drummond is a 110-foot patrol boat homeported in Key West, Fla.
The cutter Gannet is an 87-foot patrol boat homeported in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.