CHARLESTON, S.C. – The crew of the Charleston based 378-foot Coast Guard Cutter Dallas will depart Sunday at 10 a.m. for Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to continue federal humanitarian relief efforts by providing logistical and command support to ongoing operations in Haiti.
“The crew of Dallas has been watching events unfold in Haiti since the devastating January Earthquake,” said Capt. Michael Giglio, commanding officer, Coast Guard Cutter Dallas. “We are eager to assist the Government of Haiti and contributing to multi-national Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief efforts.”
The crew of the Dallas will be relieving the crew of the San Diego based 378-foot Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton, which has been providing humanitarian relief since Jan. 18, 2010, following a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince.
Coast Guard personnel in Haiti are working with Garde Cote (Haitian Coast Guard), and the Haitian Port Authority and other partners to reconstitute the Marine Transportation System in Haiti to facilitate increased flow of relief supplies into the country.
The Coast Guard, in collaboration with the Government of Haiti, has also deployed several cutters off the Haitian coast to monitor maritime activity and to prevent illegal maritime migration to the United States.