PORT ANGELES — The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Active helped to rescue five Ecuadorian fishermen who had been adrift for 19 days and interdicted thousands of pounds of cocaine in separate incidents during a 57-day patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The crew returned to their homeport of Port Angeles on Tuesday after the patrol in support of Joint Interagency Task Force-South’s counter-narcotics campaign in the region.
Active, a 210-foot medium endurance cutter, and crew routinely deploys to this region in an effort to disrupt transnational criminal organizations specifically in pursuit of illegal trafficking of narcotics. The Active is equipped with two boats and an MH-65E helicopter from Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, the Coast Guard said in a press release.
Active’s crew members provided medical care and rehydration to the fishermen, who were rescued on Nov. 19, the Coast Guard said.
The fishermen had been adrift on their disabled vessel for an estimated 19 days. They were suffering from prolonged exposure and were in critical condition, the Coast Guard said.
Due to the help from the Active crew, they were beginning to recover when they were transferred to authorities in El Salvador.
The crew interdicted over 3,400 pounds of cocaine and detained three suspected narcotics traffickers; less than 24 hours later, the crew apprehended three more suspected smugglers transporting more than 2,400 pounds of cocaine, according to the release.
“I am extremely proud of the crew and their relentless pursuit of our mission objectives,” said Cmdr. Adam Disque, commanding officer of the Active.
“Interdictions at sea are always challenging, and no two are the same,” he continued.
“These back-to-back operations were exceptionally well coordinated, which included the tactical employment of an interdiction helicopter, multiple surface boat deployments, and our highly trained boarding teams.”
The Active patrols from the northernmost part of the contiguous United States all the way to the equator.
