The Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, America’s Tall Ship, returned to its homeport of New London, Thursday.
The cutter is returning after completing a major modernization at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore.
The Service Life Extension Project, which began in 2014 and was completed in 2018, included an array of shipboard improvements on the Eagle. The most significant upgrades completed during that time included the replacement of about 3,000 square feet of steel hull plating, installation of a new engine and associated propulsion equipment, complete renovation of all the crew and trainee berthing areas, and a variety of structural inspections.
The work was scheduled so as not to interfere with the ship’s summer training mission, which continued throughout that time period.
The Eagle’s crew return to its homeport from a European deployment with 10 port visits that included the 75th anniversary of D-Day; sail festivals in France and the Netherlands; and a key Independence Day celebration in the Azores. This summer alone the ship and her crew traveled over 15,000 nautical miles, the equivalent of traveling 60 percent of the distance around the Earth.
