The Coast Guard Cutter Campbell returned to Naval Station Newport on Monday after a 54-day maritime border security patrol in the Windward Passage, according to the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area.
The 270-foot cutter deployed to support Operation Vigilant Sentry, according to the Coast Guard, which said the mission focused on preventing unlawful maritime entry into the United States while protecting life at sea.
During the patrol, Campbell’s crew intercepted a Haitian sailing vessel carrying 103 people approximately 15 miles from Turks and Caicos on Sept. 21, the Coast Guard said. The crew coordinated with an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft from Aviation Training Center Mobile to locate the vessel, according to the announcement.
After the interdiction, Campbell’s crew provided life jackets to those aboard and coordinated with the Royal Turks and Caicos Police Force, which towed the vessel to Providenciales for processing, the Coast Guard said.
“This interdiction demonstrates the power of teamwork and international cooperation,” Cmdr. Krystyn Pecora, Campbell’s commanding officer, said in a statement. “Our combined efforts helped to support the Coast Guard’s ongoing mission of deterring illegal maritime migration and ensuring the safety of life at sea.”
According to the Coast Guard, Campbell served as the lead task unit in the Windward Passage, coordinating additional Coast Guard assets to detect and intercept what the agency characterized as illegal alien migration activity.
Operation Vigilant Sentry is a Department of Homeland Security-led operation established in 2003 comprising more than 50 federal, state and local agencies responsible for preventing and responding to maritime migration, according to the Coast Guard.
The Famous-class medium endurance cutter, commissioned in 1988, conducts counter-drug operations, alien interdiction and search and rescue missions throughout the Western Hemisphere under the command of Coast Guard Atlantic Area in Portsmouth, Virginia, the Coast Guard said.
Information for this story was provided by the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area.