Coast Guard Cutter Reliance file photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Clinton McDonald
PENSACOLA, Fla. —The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Reliance (WMEC 615) returned to homeport in Pensacola Thursday, after a 71-day Caribbean Sea patrol.
The Reliance crew supported the U.S. Coast Guard 7th District and Joint Interagency Task Force-South throughout their patrol, aiding in missions to interdict the flow of illegal drugs and prevent migrant trafficking throughout the maritime approaches to the United States and Caribbean partners.
Reliance interdicted multiple unseaworthy vessels trafficking migrants off the coast of Haiti, and ultimately provided safe and humanitarian care for 170 people.
Additionally, the cutter’s crew worked with, and provided technical assistance to, the Haitian Coast Guard during their seizure of a suspected migrant vessel in the Canal de la Tortue.
Reliance’s crew further assisted Haitian partners by towing a seized vessel safely to port after it experienced propulsion issues.
In a separate case, Reliance worked with international and domestic partners while attached to Joint Interagency Task Force-South to interdict a “go-fast” smuggling vessel that was transporting approximately 631 kilograms of suspected illicit drugs with an estimated street value of $26 million.
The 71-day patrol was also critical in the crew’s efforts to conduct shipboard training, qualifications, and operational readiness.
Reliance is a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Pensacola with a crew of 77. The cutter’s primary missions are counter-drug operations, migrant interdiction, enforcing federal fishery laws, and search and rescue in support of U.S. Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere.
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