USCG Cutter Stratton 97-Day South Pacific Patrol by U.S.
Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Lauren Jorgensen
March 27, 2022
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Stratton
(WMSL 752) returned to Alameda on March 17, 2022 after completing an
Operation Blue Pacific Patrol in the south Pacific over 97 days.
While underway, Stratton’s crew worked with Pacific partner
nations, including Fiji, France, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea,
Australia, and the United Kingdom on an array of missions and
prioritized combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated fishing
on the high seas or in partner nations’ exclusive economic zones.
In the effort to combat IUU fishing,
Stratton teams boarded 11 vessels during the 20,348-mile patrol and
found 21 violations.
“Our collaboration with our partners and
utilization of our shiprider agreements gave us the ability to
accomplish our mission of combatting illegal, unreported, and
unregulated fishing in order to maintain regional stability and
protect the fishing industry,” said Capt. Steve Adler, Stratton’s
commanding officer. “By bringing aboard shipriders from Fiji, we
were able to patrol their exclusive economic zones to better assist
them in enforcing their maritime laws.”
The crew of the
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL 752) conducts patrols in Fiji's exclusive economic zone with Fijian law enforcement personnel
on February 11, 2022. The Coast Guard’s mission to combat IUU fishing is essential in protecting maritime governance and a rules-based international order to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of the
Coast Guard Cutter Stratton)
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In February, Stratton embarked three
shipriders from Fiji with representatives from the Fiji Revenue and
Customs Services, the Fiji Ministry of Fisheries, and the Republic
of Fiji Navy, who led bilateral enforcement efforts for Stratton to
patrol their exclusive economic zones.
There is a shared
interest for both Fiji and the United States, as well as other
partner nations, to protect fisheries as they provide a renewable
source of food and income to the Pacific nations.
The
Stratton crew also used small Unmanned Aircraft Systems to increase
the ship’s capabilities and further extend the cutter’s patrol area.
“Stratton’s capacity for employing cutting
edge technology like sUAS, gives the Coast Guard the upper hand in
the fight against IUU fishing,” said Cmdr. Charter Tschirgi,
Stratton’s executive officer. “The vast area covered during patrols
like these displays the reach the Coast Guard has and the length we
will go to assist our partners in the Pacific.”
Stratton
visited multiple countries while deployed, including Tahiti, Fiji,
and Papua New Guinea. While in Suva, Fiji, Stratton hosted a joint
media engagement with the Fijian Permanent Secretary for Ministry of
Defense, Manasa Lasuma, and the Fijian Permanent Secretary for the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yogesh Karan.
While anchored in Port Moresby, Papua New
Guinea, Stratton also hosted an engagement and law enforcement
demonstration in conjunction with U.S. Ambassador Erin McKee and
representatives of Papua New Guinea: Chief Inspector Christopher
Smith, Terry Udu, Moses Teng, Hiribuma Dabuma, MAJ Norbeth Fehi, and
Ivan Salonica. This discussion and demonstration of law enforcement
operations and regional partnerships helped facilitate a future
signing of a bilateral shiprider agreement between Papua New Guinea
and the United States.
“Communicating with our allies
face-to-face is extremely valuable,” said Ensign Alexander Mastel,
Stratton’s public affairs officer. “With IUU fishing replacing
piracy as the leading global maritime security threat, it is more
important than ever to join efforts in ensuring economic security in
the Pacific.”
While on patrol, Stratton’s crew also
participated in multiple joint exercises with partners in the
region. These included a formation sailing with the HMS Spey, a
tactical maneuvering drill with HMS Spey and USS Sampson, a joint
patrol with an Australian Border Force patrol aircraft,
fueling-at-sea with New Zealand’s newest replenishment vessel HMNZS
Aotearoa, and joint steaming with the French Naval vessel FMS Arago
and Fijian Patrol vessel Savenaca.
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL 752) participates in a exercise with the Australian maritime surveillance aircraft in the South Pacific Ocean
on February 23, 2022. The Stratton is currently underway conducting exercises and operations with partner nations in the South Pacific region. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Sarah Stegall)
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“Partnerships across the Pacific are the
key to success in combatting illegal, unreported, and unregulated
fishing. I am extremely proud of the crew for demonstrating
tremendous success in partnering and operating with our regional
partners and allies across Oceania, including navies and law
enforcement officials from French Polynesia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea,
New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom,” said Adler. “Only
by building these continued relationships and joint operations with
patrols like Stratton’s Operation Blue Pacific will we be able to
truly make a difference and impact against the global problem of IUU
fishing. By training with our partners, we further our
interoperability and cooperation, ultimately advancing a peaceful,
free and open Indo-Pacific.”
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