Click on thumbnails to download from the DVIDS imagery gallery*please use #welcomehomewaesche in social media postings*
National Security Cutter Waesche returned to Base Alameda Wednesday after more than three months patrolling the coasts off South and Central America resulting in large contraband seizures, followed by a recent offload in San Diego, California.
The collected contraband, cocaine, accumulated from 27 seizures by the Coast Guard and agency partners, totaling over 21 tons, was offloaded Monday in San Diego, California.
Other patrol highlights included rescuing endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles caught in drifted nets. The three turtles were released to the ocean once freed by Waesche crewmembers.
These joint-agency counter-drug interdictions were carried out as part of Operation Martillo, an international operation focused on sharing information and bringing together air, land, and maritime assets from the U.S. Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and Western Hemisphere and European partner nation agencies to counter illicit trafficking.
Cutter Waesche is a 418-foot National Security Cutter with a crew complement of approximately 130 and is the second of a scheduled nine Legend-Class National Security Cutters that are replacing obsolete and aging Hamilton-Class Cutters.
Built with post-911multi-mission capabilities, NSC’s are the most modern and technologically advanced vessels in the Coast Guard fleet. NSC’s are built to serve as operational-level headquarters for complex law enforcement, defense, and national security missions involving Coast Guard and multiple partner agency participation.
For follow-on interviews on the Cutter Waesche’s latest drug bust and other patrol highlights, contact Senior Chief Petty Officer Sarah B. Foster at 510.437.5682, email sarah.foster@ucg.mil.
MEDIA KIT
Fact Sheet National Security Cutter
Release U.S. Coast Guard offloads 21 tons of cocaine seized in Eastern Pacific drug transit zone in San Diego (photos, video available)
Multimedia: Download more at DVIDS imagery galley
Social Media: #welcomehomewaesche