After 11,000 miles and a myriad of missions through the coastal waters of Alaska, the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley has returned to its homeport in Kodiak.
The Coast Guard says the Alex Haley finished its 85-day journey on October 29th.
During that time, the cutter’s main mission was to safeguard the domestic fishing industry.
It completed 20 boardings in six different fisheries. There was also some drama on August 26th, during a Russian military exercise in the Exclusive Economic Zone.
Even though American boats have a legal right to fish in the zone, Russian Navy ships ordered them out of the area. The Coast Guard says they had no authority to do that, which is why it dispatched the Alex Haley to give the U.S. fishing fleet some military back-up. The Coast Guard also boarded some of the fishing boats to gather information about their encounter with the Russian Navy, necessary for the United States to develop a diplomatic response.
The cutter played another international role on its last mission. In early September, the Alex Haley conducted maneuvering and visual communications exercises with the Kashima, a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense-Force vessel. The Coast Guard called it “a show of international cooperation and goodwill.”