The Steelhead, a coastal patrol boat, arrived Aug. 6 at its new homeport at U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Macon in Carteret County.
The 87-foot Steelhead has an 11-person crew and operates from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay near Cape Charles and Cape Henry, Virginia, to the South Carolina border.
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The Steelhead is a capable multi-mission platform designed for search and rescue, law enforcement, and fisheries patrols, as well as drug interdiction and intercepting those entering the country illegally up to 200 miles offshore.
Steelhead joins Coast Guard Cutters Maple, Bayberry, Smilax, Richard Snyder and the Nathan Bruckenthal at Fort Macon.
“We are pleased to announce the Coast Guard Cutter Steelhead has relocated to Fort Macon, North Carolina,” said Capt. Matt Baer, commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector North Carolina in a statement.
“As a multi-mission, maritime service with vast responsibilities and limited resources, we are constantly seeking ways to be more efficient and effective. Cutter Steelhead will conduct both law enforcement and search and rescue operations spanning the entire North Carolina coastline, providing an outstanding addition to the Coast Guard’s layered response strategy of shore-based boats, aircraft, and cutters,” Baer said. “The change of homeport will ensure critical mission support functions for cutter maintenance and personnel needs are met, while improving offshore response capabilities from the Outer Banks throughout the Crystal Coast and across southeastern North Carolina. The crew and families of the cutter Steelhead are excited to join the long-standing heritage of lifesavers who call the Coast Guard community of Carteret County their home.”
