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Coast Guard Cutter Legare returns to Portsmouth after 12-week patrol

Posted at 1:00 PM, Oct 20, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-20 13:00:56-04

Members of the Coast Guard Cutter Legare use a deployable small boat to assist the crew of a 438-foot liquid asphalt tanker while on patrol in the North Atlantic , Oct. 5, 2018. The crew of the tanker suffered a catastrophic engine failure 50-miles off Nantucket. U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Cutter Legare.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. – Coast Guard Cutter Legare returned to Coast Guard Base Portsmouth Monday following a 12-week patrol in the North Atlantic.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, while patrolling, the cutter and its crew covered more than 12,000 miles, and provided search and rescue capability as well as living marine resource protection.

The crew supported five search and rescue missions in total, including a disabled and adrift 438-foot liquid asphalt tanker that suffered a catastrophic engine room fire approximately 50 miles off Nantucket. The response to these search and rescue missions resulted in 40 lives saved and assisted, the Coast Guard said.

They also towed a disabled fishing vessel through dense fog for more than 75 nautical miles, and completed over 90 boardings while enforcing federal fishing regulations in America’s exclusive economic zone.

“I could not be prouder of this crew and their incredible accomplishments during these days we’ve been away,” said Cmdr. Blake Stockwell, the Legare’s commanding officer. “I know it is not without sacrifice, and certainly the families back home take on a lot of that burden, but rest assured, your sailor is doing their duty and doing it well.

“The successes from this patrol highlight and remind me why I love going to sea, the sailors that bring the ship to life and serve with devotion and honor the country we love.”

The Legare is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter. Its missions include search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, marine environmental protection, homeland security and national defense operations.