USCGC Valiant (WMEC-621) is a United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

 medium endurance cutter. She was laid down February 28, 1966 at American Ship Building Company

American Ship Building Company

The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio in 1898...

, Lorain, Ohio

Lorain, Ohio

Lorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland....

 and launched January 14, 1967. She was commissioned November 3, 1967 at Galveston, Texas

Galveston, Texas

Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

 her first homeport.

History

The United States Coast Guard Cutter Valiant is a multi-mission, medium endurance cutter home ported in Miami Beach, Florida. Valiant operates in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico for Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area. Missions include search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, marine environmental protection, and national defense operations.

Valiant was built in Lorain, Ohio

Lorain, Ohio

Lorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland....

 by the American Shipbuilding Company, and is the seventh of sixteen cutters of her class. Valiants keel was laid on February 28, 1966 and she was launched on January 14, 1967. She was first commissioned on November 3, 1967 in Galveston, Texas

Galveston, Texas

Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

 where she served for 24 years, In November 1991, Valiant was decommissioned for a mid-life overhaul. On January 7, 1994, Valiant was re-commissioned in her present homeport of Miami Beach, Florida

Miami Beach, Florida

Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...

.

Capabilities

Valiant normally carries 12 officers and 63 crewmembers. An important aspect of Valiants design is the attention given to habitability. The ship has its own galley, sickbay; laundry, sewage treatment system, televisions, radios, and digital satellite television.

Powered by two V16 2550 hp ALCO diesel engines, Valiant is capable of a maximum sustained of 18 knots (35 km/h). Valiant is equipped with two controllable pitch propellers, which makes her highly maneuverable.

Valiant has a 25 mm machine cannon mounted on the bow and is capable of firing high explosive projectiles at a rate of 180 round per minute. In addition, the vessel mounts two .50 caliber heavy machine guns. The 26 feet (8 m) motor surf boat and the 6.4-meter rigid-hulled inflatable boat

Rigid-hulled inflatable boat

A rigid-hulled inflatable boat, or rigid-inflatable boat is a light-weight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a solid, shaped hull and flexible tubes at the gunwale. The design is stable and seaworthy...

 (RHIB) are used to visit and board other vessels at sea. The special towing bitt on the fantail allows Valiant to tow vessels up to 10 times her size. Another feature of Valiant is her ability to carry a Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin

HH-65 Dolphin

The Eurocopter HH-65 Dolphin is a twin-engined, single main rotor, MEDEVAC-capable Search and Rescue helicopter operated by the United States Coast Guard...

 helicopter. The helicopter extends the ships surveillance range for law enforcement and reduces response time for search and rescue mission.

Valiants mission capabilities are greatly enhanced by sophisticated electronic equipment such as: a Global Positioning System, surface search radar with a computerized collision avoidance system, radio direction finders, fathometers, and different types of radios.

Operational history

Valiant played an important role in the 1980 Cuban Boatlift in conjunction with dozens of Coast Guard Cutters, small boats, aircraft, and Navy Vessels. On June 8, 1990 the Tanker Ship MEGA BORG's pump room exploded leaving the crippled, on fire and leaking oil. Responding rapidly to an event 60 miles (97 km) offshore, Valiants crew overcame complex logistical problems to mount an effective fire fighting, salvage and pollution cleanup campaign.

Since 1994, Valiant has been actively engaged in Alien Migration Interdiction Operation (AMIO). Valiant recovered and interdicted over 500 Haitian and Cuban migrants during Operations ABLE MANNER and ABLE VIGIL. Valiant repatriated over 1900 Haitian migrants for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Port au Prince, Haiti over the course of 11 passages.

In 1996, Valiant was Patrol Commander for the Summer Olympic Sailing events in Savannah, Georgia

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

, directing over 29 Coast Guard assets in providing security for 800 athletes from 98 Countries. Following the Olympics, Valiant earned an overall excellence award at Refresher Training in Mayport, Florida, with an overall score of 98%. In 1997, Valiant participated in Operation TRADEWINDS and trained over 500 Caribbean Coast Guard members from 12 countries in Damage Control, Engineering, and Seamanship Fundamentals.

In January 1999, Valiant was tasked to escort the motor vessel CANNES to the coastal waters of Galveston, TX. During that escort a boarding team from Valiant assisted Law Enforcement Detachment

Law Enforcement Detachments

Law Enforcement Detachments or LEDETs are specialized, deployable maritime law enforcement teams of the United States Coast Guard. First established in 1982, their primary mission is to deploy aboard U.S. and allied naval vessels to conduct and support law enforcement, interdiction, or security...

 (LEDET) 406 South with searching the merchant ship, resulting in the discovery of over 10,000 pounds of cocaine. Following the escort of the vessel CANNES, Valiant arrived at Mayport, Florida, where for the second time in a row, the ship earned the Atlantic Area Commander's award for operational readiness at Tailored Ship Training Availability (TSTA) in February 1999.

Just after midnight on 07 November 1999, Valiant discovered a partially submerged vessel. As Valiant approached, a man was on top of the sinking hull and another man floating in the water. The two men were sailing back to Antigua when their boat started to take on water, soon after a wave struck the boat causing it to capsize. The two men spent over 30 hours in the water, just before Valiants crew rescued them.

In November 1999, approximately 100 miles (160.9 km) south of St. Croix, Valiant rendezvoused with the British Warship HMS Northumberland

HMS Northumberland (F238)

HMS Northumberland is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She is named after the Duke of Northumberland. She is based at Devonport.-Construction:...

. A USCG LEDET boarding team aboard Northumberland intercepted the motor vessel ADRIATIK in the vicinity of Barbados. After three days, the boarding team found two and half tons of cocaine. The boarding concluded with the arrest of 13 crewmembers and the seizure of both the vessel and the cocaine.

During the passage of Hurricane Lenny in November 1999, Valiant was tasked to lead the search and rescue efforts for two missing sailing vessels in the vicinity of Saba Island. For a period of two days Valiant faced 10-15 foot swells and winds up to 60 knots (118 km/h). Valiant was tasked as On Scene Commander supervising the search efforts of 6 Coast Guard Cutters and 29 Aircraft assets. Valiant and its crew covered over 1250 miles searching for two missing sailboats. Unfortunately despite locating over 8 overturned and capsized vessels adrift in the area, only one survivor was found.

In 2004, it was present during the 2004 Haiti Rebellion near Port-au-Prince, engaging in Alien Migration Interdiction Operations. The Valiant repatriated 531 Haitians intercepted on boats as they tried flee the growing violence and turmoil fueled by rebel forces intent on removing President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power.

On 13 January 2010, the Valiant was ordered to assist in the humanitarian relief efforts following the 2010 Haiti earthquake

2010 Haiti earthquake

The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...

.

External links

• Valiant home page