USCGC Morgenthau (WHEC-722)

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Career
USCGC Morgenthau in New York Harbor
Builder:	Avondale Shipyards
Laid down:
Launched:
Commissioned:	March 10, 1969
Status:	Active
Homeport:	Alameda, California
General Characteristics
Displacement:	3,250 tons
Length:	378 feet
Beam:	43 feet
Draught:	15 feet
Propulsion:	Two diesel engines and two gas turbine engines
Speed:	29 knots
Range:	14,000 miles
Endurance:	45 days
Complement:	167 personnel
Sensors and processing systems:	AN/SPS-40 air-search radar
Armament:	Otobreda 76 mm, Phalanx CIWS, two 20mm cannons, two .50 cal machine guns
Motto:	Decus Pacifici Pride of the Pacific

USCGC Morgenthau (WHEC 722), commissioned on March 10, 1969, was the eighth of twelve 378-foot "Hamilton" class High Endurance Cutters (WHECs) built by Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana. First homeported at Governors Island, New York, Morgenthau was active in the Vietnam War, conducting underway replenishment, naval gunfire support, and patrol duties off the coast of Vietnam until relieved by a 311' cutter in 1971. Her current motto, translated from latin, is "Pride of the Pacific."

In 1977, Morgenthau became the first cutter to have women permanently assigned, followed shortly thereafter by USCGC Gallatin (WHEC-721). Currently homeported at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, California, her Pacific coast activities have included drug interdiction and seizures, foreign and domestic fisheries enforcement, search and rescue, and alien migrant interdiction.

In 1989, Morgenthau was decommissioned to undergo a major mid-life renovation to upgrade berthing and living spaces, rejuvenate engineering systems, and modernize her major weapons and sensors. Upon recommissioning in 1991, Morgenthau resumed her missions in the Pacific Ocean. In the fall of 1996, Morgenthau was the first U.S. Coast Guard Cutter to deploy to the Persian Gulf. Participating in Operation Vigilant Sentinel, Morgenthau enforced Iraq’s compliance with United Nations sanctions. After returning from the Persian Gulf, Morgenthau continued her Pacific duties, often deploying to the Maritime Boundary Line in the Bering Straits to monitor Alaska’s valuable fisheries and environmental resources, as well as continued alien migrant and drug interdiction efforts off the coasts of Guam and Central and South America.

During a drug interdiction patrol off the coast of Mexico in early 2001, Morgenthau seized $32 million worth of cocaine. Also in 2001, during a fisheries patrol, Morgenthau discovered a Russian vessel fishing in U.S. waters. When the vessel refused to heave to and allow a Coast Guard law enforcement team aboard, Morgenthau pursued the vessel across the Bering Sea and up to Russian territorial seas. This resulted in a joint US-Russian law enforcement action, which further cemented cooperative law enforcement actions between the two nations.

Later in 2001, during an extensive dry-dock period, Morgenthau was the first 378-foot cutter to install a stern flap, improving her fuel efficiency and ride quality. Because of the increased fuel efficiency, Morgenthau has never since been able to complete full power trials on turbines, as she reaches her maximum speed at a shaft horse power significantly lower than other ships in her class. After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, Morgenthau participated in Operation Noble Eagle to safeguard America’s prominent port cities through closer scrutiny of maritime traffic.

In 2002, Morgenthau traveled to Southeast Asia to assist, train, and teach law enforcement techniques to naval forces of several nations in the East Asian littoral.