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USCGC Balsam (WLB-62)
Encyclopedia
The USCGC Balsam (WLB-62) is a 180 foot sea going buoy tender
USCG Seagoing Buoy Tender
The Seagoing Buoy Tender is a type of U.S. Coast Guard cutter originally designed to service aids to navigation, throughout the waters of the United States, and wherever U.S. shipping interests require. The Coast Guard has maintained a fleet of seagoing buoy tenders dating back to its origins in...
(WLB). A Cactus class vessel, she was built by Zenith Dredge Company in Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
. Balsam's preliminary design was completed by the United States Lighthouse Service
United States Lighthouse Service
The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the US Federal Government that was responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of all lighthouses in the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 until 1939...
and the final design was produced by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth. On 25 October 1941 the keel was laid, she was launched on 15 April 1942 and commissioned on 13 October 1942. The original cost for the hull and machinery was $916,109.
Balsam is one of 39 original 180-foot seagoing buoy tenders built between 1942-1944. All but one of the original tenders, the USCGC Ironwood (WLB-307), were built in Duluth.
Her initial service was in the South Pacific during WWII. After the war, she returned to the west coast of the United States where she served in Astoria, Oregon and Eureka, California. She also was home ported in Honolulu, Hawaii before being transferred to Alaska to serve her remaining years in the Coast Guard fleet.
The Balsam was decommissioned in 1975 and sold to a private company for $53,687. She was subsequently sold again and then converted into an Alaskan crab fishing boat.