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USCGC Dependable (WMEC-626)
Encyclopedia
USCGC Dependable (WMEC–626) is a United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
medium endurance cutter. Her keel was laid down by American Ship Building Company
American Ship Building Company
The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio in 1898...
, Lorain, Ohio
Lorain, Ohio
Lorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland....
July 17, 1967 and she was launched March 16, 1968. Dependable was commissioned November 22, 1968 and her current homeport is Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States...
. On February 24, 1995 she was decommissioned for Major Maintenance Availability (MMA), an 18 month, 21.7 million dollar project to overhaul and upgrade selected systems and equipment. The Coast Guard anticipates another fifteen years of service due to these renovations. She was re-commissioned United States Coast Guard Yard
United States Coast Guard Yard
The United States Coast Guard Yard or just Coast Guard Yard is a United States Coast Guard operated shipyard located on Curtis Bay in northern Anne Arundel County, Maryland, just south of the Baltimore city limits. It is the coast guard's sole shipbuilding and major repair facility, and part of the...
in Baltimore, Maryland on August 15, 1997.
Unit History
For 23 years she was homeported in Panama CityPanama City
Panama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. In January 1992, the ship and her crew relocated to Galveston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
was her home before being relocated to her new home in Cape May
Cape May
Cape May is a peninsula and island ; the southern tip of the island is the southernmost point of the state of New Jersey, United States. It runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, on August 4, 2000. Her mission remains the same in Cape May as in the past. Examples of her missions include enforcing fishery regulations in the Atlantic, interdicting drug traffickers in the Caribbean, and rescuing Cuban and Haitian migrants in the Florida Straits.
In her 3rd year conducting law enforcement patrols, the crew intercepted and seized 15% of the marijuana seized by the entire Coast Guard
Coast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...
. The highlight of 1978 was in August when she seized the merchant vessel “Heide”, which was carrying over 240000 lb (108,862.2 kg). of marijuana. She then went on to receive national recognition on August 23, 1981 when seizing the fishing vessel “Sea King” for trafficking 9 tons of marijuana. In February 2000, she participated in a joint effort with a Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment
Law Enforcement Detachments
Law Enforcement Detachments or LEDETs are specialized, deployable maritime law enforcement teams of the United States Coast Guard. First established in 1982, their primary mission is to deploy aboard U.S. and allied naval vessels to conduct and support law enforcement, interdiction, or security...
. After the detachment seized fishing vessel “Rebelde”, she towed the vessel from Cristobal, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and transported 6 tons of cocaine and 7 smugglers to Tampa
Tâmpa
Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, for prosecution. The journey lasted several days and covered 1250 nautical miles (2,315 km).
The Dependable has received several awards including three Coast Guard Unit Commendations. She also has received two Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendations and the Humanitarian Service Medal for her lifesaving operations during the 1980 Cuban exodus.