The U.S. Coast Guard recently teamed up with Border Patrol members near Southeast Alaska and the Canadian border to ensure border security and motor vessel safety and raise awareness among mariners on border crossing requirements.
Crew members of Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak HC-130J Super Hercules transported Border Patrol agents and equipment from Anchorage to Juneau, while Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew members pointed out vessels of interest to the Border Patrol and Coast Guard members that were on Coast Guard Station Juneau 45-foot Response Boat-Medium.
Crew members jointly accomplished four boardings to discuss vessel safety and rules related to U.S.-Canadian border crossings, including those pertaining to the Taku Inlet. Mariners need to turn in proper Notice of Arrival information per federal regulations when they come from a foreign port, according to the USCG.
“Partnerships between federal, state, tribal and other local agencies are necessary to provide an enforcement presence across Alaska’s expansive geographic and maritime domain,” said Lt. Jeff Schoknecht, Sector Juneau enforcement officer. “These joint operations improve training and establish more efficient tactics and techniques that enables greater search and rescue and law enforcement responses.”
