U.S. Coast Guard’s New Hawaii Based Cutter
On Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard welcomed the newest addition to its Hawaii fleet — and its the first of its kind for the state.
The U.S. Coast Guard’s Cutter Kimball is the first National Security Cutter (NSC) to be homeported in Hawaii.
The vessel arrived from Mississippi where it was built. Around 150 crew members on board, many of whom have have been away from home for four months, were welcomed Saturday by happy families on shore.
“Kimball will routinely conduct operations from South America to the Bering Sea. Thecutter’s unmatched combination of range, speed, and ability to operate in extreme weather provide it the mission flexibility necessary to conduct alien migrant interdiction operations, domestic fisheries protection, search and rescue, counter-narcotics and homeland security operations at great distances from shore, keeping threats far from the U.S. mainland,” Coast Guard officials said in a news release.
A second NSC will arrive in the islands next year.
(HawaiiNewsNow)
