USCGC Juniper (WLB-201) is the lead ship of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Seagoing Buoy Tenders. She is outfitted with some of the most advanced technological and navigational capabilities currently available.

Predecessors

Her namesake, the first Juniper, was commissioned into the U.S. Lighthouse Service (USLHS) back in 1903. The USLHS was its own uniformed service completely separate from the Coast Guard, which up until 1915 was the Revenue Cutter Service. Juniper, homeported in Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

, was responsible for resupplying lighthouses and maintaining navigational buoys in the Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

 until its decommissioning in 1932. While comparatively small at 95 feet long and 125 tons, Juniper was of solid construction and served as a civilian cargo vessel out of Norfolk up until 1979.

In late 1930s, the USLHS constructed the second Juniper. The USLHS was absorbed into the Coast Guard in 1939, and the Juniper was designated a Coastal Buoy Tender, WLM 224. WLM 224 was a twin screw (propeller), diesel electric vessel. She became the rough prototype for the 180' class of ocean-going buoy tenders, designated WLB. The WLM 224 Juniper operated out of St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...

. She serviced aids to navigation all along the gulf coast of Florida, including Fort Jefferson National Monument. Juniper was decommissioned in 1975. http://www.uscg.mil/history/WEBCUTTERS/WLB_Photo_Index.asp

WLB-201

The advances made from the 180 foot vintage seagoing buoytenders to the current Juniper class are all-encompassing. The current Juniper is much larger at 225 feet and 2000 tons, and was the first cutter to fully leverage and implement many technological advances such as electronic charting, position keeping, and remote engineering monitoring and control. Juniper is also designed to skim and recover oil in the event of an oil spill.

Juniper's Integrated Ship Control System has an Electronic Charting Display and Information System (ECDIS) which enables fixing her position to within five meters every second. Her Dynamic Positioning System (DPS) uses this positioning information, the ship's controllable pitch propeller, and the stern and bow thrusters to keep the ship on station without any human input.

These systems allow Juniper and her crew to work more buoys in less time, more efficiently and safely, and in tougher environmental conditions than her predecessors. Juniper's Machinery Plant Control and Monitoring System (MPCMS) has over 1000 sensors throughout the ship. This system makes it possible for one person in the engineroom control center to monitor the ship’s plant while underway. Juniper and her crew are adept at handling various missions such as aids to navigation, law enforcement, homeland security, ice breaking, environmental pollution response, and search and rescue.

Juniper assisted in the recovery operations following the crashes of TWA Flight 800

TWA Flight 800

Trans World Airlines Flight 800 , a Boeing 747-131, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 20:31 EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 persons on board. At the time, it was the second-deadliest U.S...

 and Egypt Air 990. She also participated in anti-terrorist and force protection operations in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks

September 11, 2001 attacks

The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...

.

On February 3, 2007, Juniper participated in reef

Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....

 building efforts off 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...

, deploying 160,000 pounds of concrete sinkers recovered from old buoy markers to aid in the recovery of local fish populations.