The United States Coast Guard will deploy the Harriet Lane, a 270-foot Cutter with a 100-person crew, to Hawai‘i. The Coast Guard plans to use the Medium Endurance Cutter as an addition to a Hawai‘i-based fleet for responsibilities in state waters as well as an increasing Coast Guard presence throughout the Indo-Pacific. The ship is especially suited for longer-range six-to-eight week joint operational and training patrols in the Pacific, taking pressure off shorter range Hawai‘i-based ships more suited to service closer to home port.

The Coast Guard announced that Harriet Lane was selected as the new Indo-Pacific Support Cutter, and will relocate from Portsmouth, VA to the Pacific theater early in FY 2024. The Service intends to initially berth the Cutter in Hawai‘i for several years to ensure the asset meets the operational needs and has proper shoreside support. The Coast Guard will also continue conducting thorough port assessments in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure the final permanent homeport has the necessary logistical foundations available and in place.

Photo credit: Office of Congressman Ed Case