USCG Cutter Cypress Arrives in Kodiak, Alaska

Coast Guard Cutter Cypress
Coast Guard Cutter Cypress
The Coast Guard Cutter Cypress’ deck department stands on the buoy deck while the vessel transits to the ship’s new homeport in Kodiak, Alaska, Oct. 19, 2021. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Amanda Harris.

After traveling more than 7,600 nautical miles from the U.S. Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Coast Guard Cutter Cypress and her crew arrived at the vessel’s new homeport in Kodiak, Alaska on Sunday, Dec. 5.

Cypress is replacing Coast Guard Cutter SPAR as the “Aleutian Keeper,” the 225-foot Juniper Class Buoy Tender, tasked with servicing buoys throughout Kodiak Island and the Aleutian chain.

After being commissioned in 2001, Cypress was based in Mobile, Alabama, then in Pensacola, Florida managing navigational aids along 900 miles of coast from Apalachicola, Florida, to the Mexican border.

The crew of Cypress assisted in hurricane recovery efforts in the aftermath of Ivan, Katrina and Rita, finding and re-establishing aids displaced by hurricanes.

The crew also recovered a “Blue Angels” F/A-18A Hornet that sank in the Gulf of Mexico and assisted in oil recovery efforts following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

By Karen Robes Meeks