State Partnership Program

Video by Chief Petty Officer Sara Muir

U.S. Coast Guard cutters support Oceania partners during month-long Operation Aiga in South Pacific

U.S. Coast Guard District 14 Hawaii Pacific

Sept. 13, 2019 | 2:52

The crews of two Coast Guard cutters, the Walnut (WLB 205) and Joseph Gerczak (WPC 1126), returned to Honolulu at the end of August 2019 following a successful deployment to Samoa and the U.S. territory of American Samoa, where they conducted operations to counter illegal fishing and strengthen relations with allies and partner nations. The Walnut is a 225-foot Juniper-Class seagoing buoy tender responsible for maintaining aids to navigation, performing maritime law enforcement, port, and coastal security, search and rescue and environmental protection. Designed to patrol coastal regions, the Joseph Gerczak is a 154-foot Sentinel-Class fast response cutter and one of the newest patrol boats in the fleet to replace the 1980s-era 110-foot Island-class patrol boats. Both vessels call Honolulu their homeport. (U.S. Coast Guard video by Chief Petty Officer Sara Muir/Released)