BOSTON — The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spencer returned to their homeport of Boston Sunday, after a 60-day patrol in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea.
Throughout the patrol, crewmembers patrolled the fishing grounds near Cape Cod. The crew conducted three commercial fishing vessel safety boardings, helping prepare vessels for winter and rougher weather.
Crewmembers worked jointly with the U.S. Navy to seize a Honduran fishing vessel transporting 1.5 tons of contraband and 17 smugglers.
In addition, Spencer also participated in an international training exercise with the Colombian navy and coast guard. Crews simulated a joint pursuit of a go-fast vessel and conducted mock boardings.
After refueling in Key West, Fla., last week, the crew began the long transit home. Spencer returned to her homeport in Boston to prepare for a crew-swap with her sister ship, the Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba.
The Mission Effectiveness Project is a fleet-wide initiative to ensure the operational reliability of the Coast Guard’s 13 270-foot Famous Class cutters remains viable until replacement by the Offshore Patrol Cutter. While the Escanaba is undergoing the refurbishment to improve living quarters and common spaces, MEP also focuses on replacing decks, tanks, piping, electrical wiring and troublesome engineering systems and equipment.
The overall goal is to ensure a seamless transition with minimal impact to the Coast Guard’s operational capabilities and mission execution. Multi-crew initiatives such as this keep crews fully trained to respond to the Coast Guard’s ever changing missions and ensures there is no loss in mission capabilities as a result of cutter overhauls and implementation of new cutter platforms.
