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USCGC Sequoia

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USCGC Sequoia
USCGC Sequoia.
History
United States
LaunchedAugust 23, 2003
AcquiredApril 21, 2004
CommissionedOctober 15, 2004
HomeportPort Huron, Michigan
Identification
MottoBlue Water Pearl[1] (formerly Black Pearl of the Pacific[2])
Statusin active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeJuniper
Tonnage1,930 GT
Displacement2,000 long tons (2,000 t)
Length225 ft (69 m)
Beam46 ft (14 m)
Draft13 ft (4.0 m)
Speed15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement7 officers, 43 enlisted

USCGC Sequoia (WLB-215) is a United States Coast Guard 225-foot seagoing buoy tender, homeported in Port Huron, Michigan.

The primary mission of the cutter is to maintain aids to navigation. As with all Coast Guard cutters, she functions as a multi-mission asset, responsible for marine environmental protection, search and rescue, law enforcement, and Homeland Security missions.

Sequoia is one of sixteen Juniper-class buoy tenders built and commissioned from 1996–2004.[3] She was launched on August 23, 2003 on the Menominee River by Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC) in Marinette, Wisconsin. She replaced the USCGC Sassafras (WLB-401) as the only buoy tender in the Marianas. Delivered on April 21, 2004, Sequoia was commissioned in Santa Rita, Guam on October 15, 2004 after completing the 13,000-mile voyage from Wisconsin to Apra Harbor. The sponsor was Dorothy England, the wife of Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England, and the first commanding officer was Lt. Cmdr. Matthew T. Meilstrup.[4][5]

While stationed in Guam, USCGC Sequoia regularly conducted fisheries enforcement missions through the Western Pacific, in support of Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission treaties and regulations, as well as supporting bilateral agreements between the Pacific Island nations of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.[6]

After completing her major midlife maintenance, Sequoia left the Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, Maryland on August 21, 2024.[7] She arrived at her new home port of Port Huron, Michigan on September 7, 2024.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "USCGC Sequoia (WLB 215)". The Institute of Heraldry. U.S. Army. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  2. ^ "USCGC Sequoia (WLB-215)". U.S. Coast Guard – Pacific Area. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Data Sheet, Cutters: 225-foot Seagoing Buoy Tender (WLB)". United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Sequoia, Past and Present – Pacific Area". U.S. Coast Guard. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Commissioning of USCGC Sequoia (WLB-215)". U.S. Navy. 15 October 2004. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  6. ^ "District Fourteen". www.pacificarea.uscg.mil. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Sequoia completes major maintenance work" (Press release). U.S. Coast Guard. 26 August 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Coast Guard Cutter Sequoia Arrives in Port Huron". WGRT 102.3FM. 9 September 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
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