The USCGC Resolute(WMEC 620) anchored in Haiti on Dec. 22, 2020. (U.S. Coast Guard photo Ensign Alexander Cordes)
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Resolute (WMEC 620) returned to St. Petersburg, Florida, on Jan. 14, following a 42-day patrol in support of Operation Southeast Watch and others.
Resolute traveled over 5,000 miles, rescued and repatriated 110 Haitian migrants, and stopped 500 kilograms of contraband.
The crew departed Florida, Dec. 4, 2020, to Windward Pass, patrolling off Haiti’s northern coast to deter illegal immigration and promote regional stability. They responded to a report of a dangerously overcrowded and unseaworthy vessel received from a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter on station off the coast of Haiti. From the air, the Jayhawk crew described the boat as having approximately 50 to 80 people aboard.
The Jayhawk crew guided Resolute’s small boats to the vessel, and once on the scene, the boarding team embarked on the 40-foot wooden boat and discovered 110 Haitian migrants. Working through the night, the small boat crews safely rescued all 110 migrants, including six children, and ferried them back to the cutter, where they received food, water, and medical attention. All 110 migrants were subsequently repatriated back to Cap Haitian with the Coast Guard liaison officer’s assistance in Haiti and the Haitian coast guard.
Transitioning to the Caribbean Sea, the crew intercepted a northbound vessel, resulting in more than 500 kilograms of contraband. Coast Guard boarding teams detained the suspected smugglers and took positive control of the boat. The contraband, detainees, and vessel were transported to the United States for final case disposition.
Resolute’s crew conducted numerous at-sea transfers of contraband and detainees with other U.S. Coast Guard and Navy surface assets, including cutters William Trump, Raymond Evans, Mohawk, James, Decisive, Richard Etheridge, and the U.S. naval warship USS Comstock (LSD 45). Resolute’s crew worked closely with these units to safely embark and transport suspected smugglers and contraband to the United States, ensuring numerous cases’ timely disposition.
Resolute completed more than 40 shipboard-helicopter evolutions with Coast Guard Air Station Miami’s assistance before returning home. Conducting these flight operations helped Air Station Miami pilots maintain critical flight currencies and allowed Resolute to train new crew and maintain shipboard-helicopter proficiency for future patrols.
Through this patrol, Resolute supported international, multi-agency operations, including Operation Unified Resolve, Operation Southeast Watch, Operation Caribbean Guard, Enhanced Counternarcotics Operations, Campaign Martillo, and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force.
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