The USCG seagoing buoy tender is a type of United States Coast Guard Cutter used to service aids to navigation throughout the waters of the United States and wherever American shipping interests require. The U.S. Coast Guard has maintained a fleet of seagoing buoy tenders dating back to its origins in the U.S. Light House Service (USLHS). These ships originally were designated with the hull classification symbol WAGL, but in 1965 the designation was changed to WLB, which is still used today.
USCGC Sundew (WLB-404) is a 180-foot (55 m) sea going buoy tender (WLB). An Iris, or C-class tender, it was built by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Sundew's preliminary design was completed by the United States Lighthouse Service and the final design was produced by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth for the U.S. Coast Guard. On 29 November 1943 the keel was laid. It was launched on 8 February 1944 and commissioned on 24 August 1944. The original cost for the hull and machinery was $861,589.
USCGC Bramble (WLB-392) is one of the 39 original 180-foot (55 m) seagoing buoy tenders built between 1942 and 1944 for the United States Coast Guard. In commission from 1944 until 2003 she saw service in Pacific, Caribbean and Atlantic waters as well as the Great Lakes. In 1947 Bramble was present at the Nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll and in 1957 a circumnavigation of North America involved a forced traverse of the Northwest Passage. After decommissioning in 2003 Bramble became a museum ship in Port Huron, Michigan. In 2018 she was sold to a private owner, who is preparing MV Bramble to repeat her historic 1957 circumnavigation of North America.
Canada was one of the countries to provide the most aid and relief for Hurricane Katrina. They provided ships, supplies, volunteers, search-and-rescue teams, and more. It has also accepted some evacuees to stay in Canada.
CCGS Sir William Alexander is a Martha L. Black-class light icebreaker. Entering service in 1987, the vessel is currently assigned to CCG Maritimes Region and is homeported at CCG Base Dartmouth, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The vessel is named after Scottish explorer Sir William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling, who was an early colonizer of Nova Scotia.
USCGC Cowslip (WLB-277) is a 180-foot (55 m) sea going buoy tender (WLB). A Cactus-class vessel, she was built by Marine Ironworks and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth, Minnesota. Cowslip's preliminary design was completed by the United States Lighthouse Service and the final design was produced by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth. On 16 September 1941 the keel was laid. She was launched on 11 April 1942 and commissioned on 17 October 1942. The original cost for the hull and machinery was $918,873.
USCGC Spar (WLB-403) was a 180-foot (55 m) sea going buoy tender. An Iris class vessel, she was built by Marine Ironworks and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth, Minnesota. Spar's preliminary design was completed by the United States Lighthouse Service and the final design was produced by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding. On 13 September 1943 the keel was laid, she was launched on 2 November 1943 and commissioned on 12 June 1944. The original cost for the hull and machinery was $865,941.
USCGC Maple (WLB-207) is a Juniper-class seagoing buoy tender operated by the United States Coast Guard. She was based at Sitka, Alaska for 16 years and is currently homeported at Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. Her primary mission is maintaining aids to navigation, but she also supports search and rescue, law enforcement, oil spill response, and other Coast Guard missions.
United States Coast Guard Cutter is the term used by the U.S. Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. They are 65 feet (19.8 m) or greater in length and have a permanently assigned crew with accommodations aboard. They carry the ship prefix USCGC.
A net laying ship, also known as a net layer, net tender, gate ship or boom defence vessel was a type of small auxiliary ship.
Two vessels of the United States Coast Guard have borne the name USCGC Greenbrier:
USCGC Fir (WLB-213) is a Juniper-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard. USCGC Fir is under the Operational Control (OPCON) of the Commander of the Thirteenth Coast Guard District and is homeported in Astoria, Oregon. Fir's primary area of responsibility is the coastal waters, river bars and high seas of the Washingtonian and Oregonian coasts. USCGC Fir conducts heavy lift aids to navigation operations, law enforcement and other missions as directed.
USCGC Elm (WLB-204) is a U.S. Coast Guard Juniper-class seagoing buoy tender home-ported in Astoria, Oregon. She is responsible for maintaining aids to navigation on the coasts of Oregon and Washington, including the Columbia River.
USCGC Gentian (WLB-290), a Cactus- or A-class buoy tender was built by Zenith Dredge of Duluth, Minnesota. Her keel was laid 3 October 1941, launched 23 May 1942, and commissioned 3 November 1942.
USCGC Cypress (WLB-210) is a United States Coast Guard cutter and the tenth Juniper-class seagoing buoy tender. She is outfitted with advanced technological and navigational capabilities that allow her to be positioned correctly for exact placement of buoys through the use of controllable-pitch propellers and stern and bow thrusters.
The USCGC Willow (WLB-202) is a United States Coast Guard seagoing buoy tender, the third of her name and the second of the Juniper-class. She is home-ported in Charleston, South Carolina, where she replaced her sister ship USCGC Oak in servicing 257 aids to navigation in District 7. Willow's area of operations stretches from South Carolina down to Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, Cuba, U.S. Virgin Islands and Haiti. In addition to her primary aids-to-navigation (ATON) role, Willow also performs other duties, such as maritime border security, marine environmental protection, maritime law enforcement, and search and rescue. The Willow transitioned from her former home port of Newport, RI in 2017 after spending over a year in a Baltimore dry dock being refitted and modernized.
USCGC Aspen (WLB-208) is the eighth cutter in the Juniper-class 225 ft (69 m) of seagoing buoy tenders. She is under the operational control of the Commander of the Eleventh U.S. Coast Guard District and is home-ported at Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco, California. Her primary area of responsibility is the coastal waters, river bars and high seas from the California–Oregon border to San Diego, California. Aspen conducts heavy lift aids-to-navigation operations, and law enforcement, homeland security, environmental pollution response, and search and rescue as directed.
USCGC Kukui (WLB-203) is the third cutter in the Juniper-class 225 ft (69 m) of seagoing buoy tenders and is the third ship to bear the name. She is under the operational control of the Commander of the Seventeenth Coast Guard District and is home-ported in Sitka, Alaska. Her primary area of responsibility is the inland and coastal waters of southeastern Alaska. Kukui conducts heavy lift aids-to-navigation operations, and law enforcement, homeland security, environmental pollution response, and search and rescue as directed.
USCGC Acacia (WAGL-200) was originally built for service by the U.S. Army as a mine planter shortly after World War I and later transferred to the U.S. Lighthouse Service, which became part of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939; when transferred the ship was redesignated as a Speedwell-class buoy tender. She was sunk in 1942 by a German U-boat.
USCGC Anthony Petit (WLM-558) is a Keeper-class coastal buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard. Launched in 1999, she has served her entire career maintaining navigational aids in Southeast Alaska.
United States