Puerto Rico – SeaWaves – the BEST naval news since 1995

USCGC Donald Horsley Repatriates Illegal Immigrants

June 30, 2019 seawaves

June 29, 2019 – Coast Guard Cutter Donald Horsley (WPC-1117) repatriated 44 Dominican migrants and transferred them to Dominican Naval authorities Friday morning in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, following the interdiction of two illegal migrant voyages Tuesday and Wednesday in the Mona Passage. Six other migrants interdicted in both voyages are facing possible federal prosecution in Puerto Rico on charges of attempted illegal re-entry into the United States. The interdictions are the result of ongoing efforts in support of Operation Unified Resolve, Operation Caribbean Guard and the Caribbean Border Interagency…

USCGC Joseph Doyle (WPC-1133) Commissioned in San Juan

June 10, 2019 seawaves

June 8, 2019 – The Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Doyle (WPC-1133) was commissioned into service Saturday during a ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Joseph Doyle is the thirty-third Fast Response Cutter FRC to be commissioned in the Coast Guard and the seventh to be assigned to Sector San Juan and homeported in Puerto Rico. “Today we make history as we welcome the USCGC Joseph Doyle and Puerto Rico is now the sector in the Coast Guard with the largest number of fast response cutters,”…

Coast Guard, DEA, CBP Make Cocaine Bust off Loiza, Puerto Rico

March 23, 2019March 23, 2019 seawaves

January 22, 2019 – Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Tezanos (WPC-1118) offloaded 2,513 pounds (1,140 kilos) of cocaine Friday and transferred custody of three suspected smugglers to Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agents in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Coast Guard, DEA and Caribbean Border Interagency Group (CBIG) law enforcement authorities seized the $28.5 million dollar cocaine shipment and apprehended three men of Dominican Republic nationality, following the interdiction of a 30-foot go-fast vessel Friday night in waters north of Loiza, Puerto Rico. This interdiction is the result of ongoing multi-agency law…

Juan Sebastián de Elcano Deploys From Cádiz on Instruction Cruise XCI

January 15, 2019 seawaves

January 14, 2019 (Google Translation) – Yesterday, January 13, the “Juan Sebastián de Elcano” Ship-School sailed from the port of Cádiz to begin the XCI Instruction Cruise. The official departure was presided over by the Admiral Chief of Staff of the Navy. The main civil and military authorities of the Bay of Cádiz also attended. The ship, commanded by the captain Ignacio Paz García, has a crew consisting of 20 officers, 20 non-commissioned officers, 148 soldiers of the Mariner and Troop scale, and 2 civilian teachers. In addition, in the…

People Smuggling & Drug Trafficking Operation Intercepted West of Puerto Rico

January 11, 2019 seawaves

January 10, 2019 – The Coast Guard interdicted a vessel, Monday, with 35 Dominican migrants and 4 kilograms of heroin approximately 34 miles west of Desecheo, Puerto Rico. The crew of a Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry, deployed to Air Station Borinquen, Puerto Rico, detected the vessel Monday evening. Watchstanders with Coast Guard Sector San Juan diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Heriberto Hernandez (WPC-1114), who arrived on scene, embarked the 35 migrants and discovered a backpack with 4 kilograms of heroin floating near the vessel. “While this…

ARC Gloria for the first time in the great Malecón del Río in Barranquilla

October 10, 2018October 10, 2018 seawaves

October 10, 2018 (Google Translation) – Next October 12th at 9 o’clock in the morning our floating ambassador will arrive in Barranquilla and will dock for the first time in its history in the Great Malecon del Río, at the height of the Puerta de Oro Events Center, it will be open to the public during extended hours the attendance to the events will be completely free and guided tours will be offered where the visitors will be able to know the 50 years of history that adorn our Vessel…

Coast Guard, USS Zephyr, Caribbean Border Interagency Group partners arrest 7 smugglers, seize $2 million dollars of cocaine

August 31, 2018 seawaves

August 30, 2018 – Coast Guard Cutter Yellowfin transferred four suspected smugglers and approximately one million dollars of cocaine to Ramey Sector Border Patrol Agents in Mayaguez Thursday afternoon, following the interdiction of a go-fast vessel Sunday just off Loiza, Puerto Rico. In a separate case, Caribbean Border Interagency Group law enforcement authorities apprehended three other suspected smugglers and seized approximately one million dollars of cocaine following the interdiction of a go-fast vessel Monday off Mona Island, Puerto Rico. The interdictions were the result of ongoing multi-agency law enforcement efforts…

USNS Comfort Completes Hurricane Relief Mission in Puerto Rico

November 24, 2017 seawaves

Military Sealift Command’s hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) returned to Naval Station Norfolk after providing life-saving medical care to the people of Puerto Rico. Comfort departed Virginia Sept. 29, and had been in Puerto Rico for almost two months providing disaster relief support after Hurricane Maria devastated the island. “The ship’s namesake Comfort was absolutely appropriate for what the crew was able to do, because we weren’t just there to provide medical treatment, we were there for the comfort to the patient’s families,” said Capt. Kevin Robinson, the Comfort’s…

Life Saving Kearsarge Returns Home

November 6, 2017 seawaves

USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) returned home to Norfolk Nov. 6, after 68 days of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in the wake of hurricanes Irma and Maria. Kearsarge, the staff of Expeditionary Strike Group 2, along with the 26th and 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU); Commander, Amphibious Squadron 6; Tactical Air Control Squadron 22; Fleet Surgical Team 4; and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 7, departed for Texas in response to Hurricane Harvey Aug. 31, after approximately 30 hours in port following a…

Partnership Enables Sealift Relief Efforts for Puerto Rico

November 2, 2017 seawaves

The first humanitarian relief supplies sealifted from here to Ponce, Puerto Rico, departed Oct. 31. In the hours following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, Joint Base Charleston C-17 Globemaster III transport jets responded, delivering more than 1,700 tons of aid, supplies and medical teams to affected areas. The C-17s can get to austere locations quickly, but the amount of cargo they can carry is limited. “The 841st Transportation Battalion has been working with [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] and other interagency partners over the past couple of weeks to move…

USNS Brittin Departs Virginia to Support Hurricane Relief Efforts in Puerto Rico

October 31, 2017 seawaves

Military Sealift Command’s dry cargo surge sealift carrier USNS Brittin (T-AKR 305) departed from Newport News to provide logistical support for ongoing hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico, Oct. 25. “Prior to departing, Hampton Roads, vital hurricane relief equipment and stores were loaded aboard the ship,” according to Rick Caldwell, a Military Sealift Command supervisory marine transportation specialist. “Brittin is sailing to Charleston, South Carolina, to pick up additional hurricane relief equipment and supplies to be transported to Puerto Rico. They will also be bringing worn equipment back to the…

USS Wasp and USS Oak Hill Redeployed Following Hurricane Relief Support

October 26, 2017 seawaves

As part of the broader planning effort to transition from hurricane response to hurricane recovery, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Defense have assessed the need for continuing the use of certain support assets currently assigned to the territories. Together, they have determined, in consultation with Puerto Rico’s governor, that some DoD assets are no longer needed. USS Wasp (LHD 1) and USS Oak Hill (LSD 51) are some of the assets no longer needed. They have provided great value to the overall response effort, contributing search and…

USNS Comfort Responds to Second Hospital Generator Failure in Puerto Rico

October 11, 2017 seawaves

USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), underway near the coast of the Arecibo-Manati region of Puerto Rico, received four critical patients from Hospital Menonita in Caguas, Puerto Rico, after its generator failed, Oct. 6. “We are a mobile platform that can respond to the greatest area of need or act as a strut to help the Puerto Rican health system,” said Capt. Kevin Buckley, commanding officer of the medical treatment facility onboard Comfort. “We are engaged and determined to relieve human suffering.” The hospital ship was able to respond by coordinating with…

USS New York Departs Mayport for Potential Assistance Following Hurricane Nate

October 10, 2017October 11, 2017 seawaves

USS New York (LPD 21), along with components of Fleet Surgical Team (FST) 8, Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 40 and HSM 46 departed Naval Station Mayport, Florida, Oct. 7, to support the Gulf coast region if assistance is requested in the wake of Hurricane Nate. The amphibious transport dock ship is carrying four MH-60R helicopters, which can move cargo and perform search-and-rescue missions. New York is also capable of providing medical and expeditionary logistic support. Both New York and USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) were scheduled to depart Mayport…

USNS Comfort Underway to Provide Aid from the Sea in Puerto Rico

October 6, 2017 seawaves

USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) got underway Oct. 5, to provide aid from the sea in Puerto Rico after completing a planning phase in San Juan with local and federal stakeholders to synchronize efforts to provide humanitarian assistance. “We have laid out a plan for Comfort to operate in the areas that have the most immediate direct need to relieve pressure on local and regional hospitals as directed by the Puerto Rican Department of Health and U.S. Health and Human Services,” said Capt. Kevin Robinson, mission commander onboard Comfort. Additional mission…