USCGC Monomoy (WPB-1326)

For other ships of the same name, see USCGC Monomoy.
USCGC Monomoy, April 2005
Career (United States)
Name: Monomoy
Namesake: Monomoy Island, off the west coast of Cape Cod in Nantucket Shoals
Operator: United States Coast Guard
Builder: Bollinger Machine Ship and Shipyard, Lockport, Louisiana
Commissioned: May 19, 1989
Homeport: Coast Guard Station Woods Hole, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Motto: Anywhere Anytime[1]
Honors and
awards:
Coast Guard Unit Commendation (2)
Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation (2)
Department of Transportation Gold Medal for Outstanding Achievement
Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation
National Defense Service Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal
Special Operations Service Ribbon (5)[2]
Status: in active service, as of 2015
Notes: Currently forward-deployed to Manama, Bahrain
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type:Island-class patrol boat
Displacement:168 long tons (171 t)
Length:110 ft (34 m)
Beam:21 ft (6.4 m)
Draft:6.5 ft (2.0 m)
Propulsion:2 Paxman Valenta diesel engines
Speed:29.5 knots (54.6 km/h; 33.9 mph)
Range:3,300 miles (5,300 km)
Complement:22 (3 officers, 19 enlisted)
Sensors and
processing systems:
AN/SPS-64V radar
Armament:Mk 38 25 mm chain gun
5 × M2 .50-cal MG (2 twin & 1 single mount)
Mk19 40mm grenade launcher

USCGC Monomoy (WPB-1326) is a United States Coast Guard Island class patrol cutter. She is the 26th ship of her class. The second ship of the Coast Guard to bear the name, Monomoy is named after Monomoy Island which lies off the coast of Cape Cod.[2]

History

Monomoy was originally commissioned in 1989 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, at Coast Guard Station Woods Hole. Her missions have included search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, alien interdiction, marine mammal protection and pollution response, homeland security, and presidential security. Monomoy provided security for President Clinton while vacationing on Martha's Vineyard, and for George W. Bush while he was in Kennebunkport, Maine.[2]

Between 1994 and 1996, she conducted 25 law enforcement patrols in support of Operation Foxwood. Since 1996, Monomoy has conducted over 300 law enforcement boardings, including the interception and seizure in 1998 of 920 pounds of cocaine off the coast of Puerto Rico.[2]

Search and rescue is a Monomoy core competency. For rescuing the crew of the fishing vessel True Life, the crew of Monomoy was awarded a Coast Guard Unit Commendation. Another was awarded for the ship's assistance in wreckage recovery after the TWA Flight 800 disaster in 1996. Between 1994 and 1996, Monomoy participated in Operation Able Manner, which resulted in the rescue of 71 migrants in the Caribbean whose vessels were foundering, and for which the ship was awarded a Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation.[2]

After the September 11 attacks, Monomoy was one of the ships to patrol New York Harbor in District One.[2]

Recent service

In 2003, Monomoy was forward deployed to Manama, Bahrain as part of Patrol Forces Southwest Asia in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Serving under the United States Fifth Fleet, she participated in anti-piracy patrols, among other missions. In 2012, while on patrol in the Northern Persian Gulf, Monomoy aided in the rescue of six Iranian sailors from their sinking dhow.[3]

On 26 August 2014 Monomoy was involved in an incident with an Iranian dhow in the Persian gulf. Monomoy sent a launch to query the dhow. The crew of the dhow pointed a machine gun at the launch and Monomoy responded with a warning shot. The dhow did not respond. No U.S. personnel were harmed and they returned to the ship. It is not known if the dhow was hit.[4]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:USCGC Monomoy (WPB-1326).
  1. J.G. Coastie, "USCGC Monomoy (WPB-1326)," John's Coast Guard & Navy Site.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "USCGC MONOMOY (WPB 1326): Unit Information" (MS Word). United States Coast Guard. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 2012-07-13.
  3. Gladstone, Rick (10 January 2012). "U.S. Navy Reports Second Rescue of Iranian Mariners". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-07-13.
  4. Crawford, Jamie (26 August 2014). "U.S. Coast Guard fires on Iranian fishing boat". CNN.