The USCGC Thetis (WMEC 910) crew returned to homeport in Key West, Tuesday, after a 77-day counter-narcotics patrol in the Caribbean Sea.
The Thetis crew repatriated 88 Haitian migrants to Cap Haitien, Haiti, after they were reported to be on an unseaworthy sailing vessel in the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti.
An embarked U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachment disabled a smuggling vessel transporting an estimated 1,323 pounds of cocaine in the Central Caribbean.
The Thetis’s crew assisted with a search and rescue case of 14 mariners that went into the water after their commercial ship began taking on water in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.
“While on a counter-narcotics patrol, our crew quickly shifted gears to help locate and provide situational awareness during an unfortunate search and rescue case,” said Cmdr. Justin Nadolny, the commanding officer of the Thetis. “Working alongside our international and commercial partners showcased the can-do spirit of mariners and our universally shared duty of assisting those in distress and ensuring safety of life at sea.”
The Thetis’s crew strengthened international partnerships while in Cartagena, Colombia, hosting Colombian naval officers aboard to gain a deeper understanding of maritime activity in the region and to develop relationships with international maritime partners operating in Caribbean waters.
The Thetis, a 270-foot Famous-class cutter homeported in Key West and has a crew of 104. Their primary missions are counterdrug operations, migrant interdiction, the enforcement of federal fisheries laws, and search and rescue in support of U.S. Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere.
