USCGC Yellowfin

USCGC Yellowfin (WPB-87319) is an 87-foot (27 m) long Marine Protector-class patrol boat of the United States Coast Guard built by Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, Louisiana. She was the nineteenth vessel in her class, which was so successful that the Coast Guard commissioned 73 cutters.

History
United States
Name	USCGC Yellowfin
Homeport	Charleston, SC
Identification	Hull number: WPB-87319 MMSI number: 366999621 Callsign: NRKG
Status	in active service
General characteristics
Class and type	Marine Protector-class patrol boat
Displacement	91 long tons (92 t)
Length	87 ft 0 in (26.5 m)
Beam	19 ft 5 in (5.9 m)
Draft	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)
Propulsion	2 × MTU diesels
Speed	25 knots (46 km/h)
Range	900 nmi (1,700 km)
Endurance	5 days
Complement	10
Armament	2 × .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns

She is homeported in Charleston, SC.^[1]

Design

Like her sister ships she was designed for a crew of ten on missions of up to five days. She was designed for mixed-gender crews. Her modest armament is a pair of M2 Browning Heavy Machine Guns. She was designed with a stern launching ramp that allows her to deploy and retrieve a high-speed pursuit boat without first coming to a stop. Only a single crew member is required to remain on deck when the pursuit boat is being launched or retrieved.

Operational history

In September 2017 Yellowfin was one of the 13 Coast Guard cutters that was tasked to assist Puerto Rico respond to Hurricane Maria.^[2][3]

On August 30, 2018, Yellowfin and USS Zephyr intercepted a go-fast carrying four drug smugglers from the Dominican Republic, and 32 kilograms (71 lb) of cocaine.^[1][4]

On November 30, 2018, Yellowfin took part in a remembrance ceremony in Charleston, South Carolina, for those lost in the wreck of the pleasure craft Morning Dew, which sank with all hands on December 29, 1997.^[5]

References

1. "Coast Guard, USS Zephyr, CBIG partners seize $2 million dollars of cocaine". Coast Guard News. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 2018-08-30. Archived from the original on 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2019-04-19. The Coast Guard Cutter Yellowfin later rendezvoused with the Zephyr and embarked the suspected smugglers and contraband for final transport and transfer to federal law enforcement authorities in Mayaguez.
2. "Coast Guard continues hurricane response in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands". Coast Guard News. 2017-09-25. Archived from the original on 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2019-04-19. The Coast Guard continues the hurricane response Monday in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with 13 cutters and 10 aircraft.
3. "Coast Guard sets port condition Zulu for Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands". Workboat magazine. 2017-09-17. Archived from the original on 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2019-04-19. Coast Guard Cutter Yellowfin returns to port in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after departing the U.S. Virgin Islands due to Hurricane Maria on Sept. 17, 2017.
4. Stephanie Brown (2018-09-03). "Jacksonville-based Navy ship helps detain 4 suspected drug smugglers". WOKV. Archived from the original on 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2019-04-19. The Coast Guard Cutter Yellowfin eventually met the USS Zephyr to take the suspected smugglers and contraband for transport to federal law enforcement in Mayaguez.
5. Caitlin Byrd (2018-11-30). "The fatal Charleston sailboat accident that changed Coast Guard search and rescue". Charleston Post and Courier. Archived from the original on 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2019-04-19. Members of the Cornett and Hurd families dropped four wreaths from the Coast Guard cutter Yellowfin into the water just south of the north jetty.