After 55 days patrolling the Eastern Pacific Ocean, the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Steadfast returned to its Astoria, Oregon, homeport on June 18.
The crew of the 210-foot, 54-year-old Reliance Class cutter patrolled over 11,000 miles providing law enforcement and search-and-rescue operations off Central America coastal waters from Mexico to Costa Rica, according to the USCG.
During its counter drug patrol, crew members partnered with Mexican law enforcement to “locate, track, and interdict fast-moving drug smuggling vessels,” work that resulted in 2,747 kilograms of cocaine seized by Mexican authorities. The estimated value of that haul is $109 million, according to the USCG.
The Steadfast crew also helped two Mexican fishermen who said they had been stranded at sea for 23 days after their vessel was disabled.
This was Cmdr. Craig Allen Jr. last patrol commanding the Steadfast, which he has led since July 2020. He is scheduled to step down on July 22 in a change-of-command ceremony at the Columbia River Maritime Museum.
