U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Thetis ( WMEC-910 ) is halfway through a 90-day deputation to Africa ’ s Atlantic coast and already the gang has helped enforce fishing rights, combat smuggle and plagiarism and rescue two fishermen who had been declared dead .Operating off the coast of Africa is not the typical patrol route for a U.S. Coast Guard cutter, but the mission is the like, Cmdr. Randall Chong, commanding officer of Thetis, told USNI News during a holocene satellite call from the ship. thetis is assisting collaborator nations in better understanding the seas off their shores and helping secure their home interests while preventing regional problems from growing into more significant issues that could reach U.S. borders .
“ last month we were operating off the coast of Sierra Leone and one of my young lookouts, she saw a guy waive, two guys waiving their life jackets, ” Chong said. “ They had no food, no water ; they were actually starting to drink some sea water. We escorted them back to Sierra Leone and when we brought them back, we were told by their government they were declared dead two days before that. ”
The scenario is relatively coarse among the fishing fleet, Chong said. Fishermen head out to sea on 22-foot boats, powered by old outboard motorboat motors and without navigation aids or communication links to shore. Sierra Leone besides doesn ’ t have the resources to mount considerable search efforts at ocean.
thetis, a 270-foot Famous-class culture medium endurance cutter based in Key West, Fla., is made for finding small ships at sea. The cutter and gang speciate in nautical law enforcement operations such as counternarcotics and human smuggle missions. Their three-month deployment to Africa ’ s Gulf of Guinea region is intended to plowshare their expertness with african nautical nations .
“ The Coast Guard is a unique fit for this type of deputation with our law enforcement authorities and our competencies, ” Lt. David Zwirblis, operations policeman on Thetis, told USNI News. “ That ’ s very what these nations are looking for ; they ’ re trying to secure their maritime domains. That ’ s what their navies are doing. Their economies are very intertwined with the maritime security of the region. ”
Mission to Africa
thetis departed Key West for Africa in late February, making it the first Coast Guard cutter to deploy in corroborate of U.S Africa Command since 2012 and the inaugural to participate in an african maritime exercise since 2011, according to Coast Guard newsworthiness releases. thetis participated in exercise Obangame Express and made port calls in Nigeria, São Tome and Principe and Cote d ’ Ivoire, among early work during the deployment .
U.S. military betrothal with african nations is critical to protecting U.S. interests and helping stabilize governments on the continent, Adm. James Foggo, the commander of U.S. Forces Africa, explained during a late edition of his podcast .
Having the U.S. Coast Guard deploy to Africa is useful, Foggo said, because the U.S. Coast Guard ’ s nautical law enforcement deputation aligns with what he said african nations frequently cite as their most significant needs : enhancing their nautical security operations to protect fish rights, stop smuggling and forbid homo and drug traffic .
For many of the nations, Chong said their navies perform missions like to those of the U.S. Coast Guard. For the most partially, the african navies and coast guards protect their fisheries resources from illegal fish, search for smugglers and and combat the region ’ randomness ongoing piracy problems .
In many cases, the African nations use equipment very like to what the U.S. Coast Guard employs. Smaller nations have patrol boats similar to those used by the U.S. Coast Guard, Chong said. Larger nations have frigates which are the same size as the U.S. Coast Guard ’ s national security cutters .
“ The technology is very comparable to us angstrom far as doing those type of boardings off a smaller platform or off a frigate, ” Chong said .
In the case of Nigeria, Chong said Thetis operated with a early U.S. Coast Guard cutter. current nigerian united states navy frigate NNS Thunder ( F90 ) is the early Hamilton-class eminent survival tender USCGC Chase ( WHEC-718 ). Chase was transferred to Nigeria after being decommissioned in 2011.
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“ We ’ re helping a distribute of these countries and their navies and coast guards to do boarding and security type functions, ” Chong told USNI News. “ We ’ rhenium working with them jointly in their own maritime security zones. ”
Geopolitical Mission
however, having the U.S. Coast Guard share cognition and expertness with african nations serves another determination that ’ randomness unvoiced to quantify but is critical to U.S. extraneous policy : act as a anticipate to the growing influence of China in the region, officials say .
“ I think I can safely say China ’ sulfur interests are not the lapp as our interests, ” Foggo said. “ China has tripled its loans to Africa since 2012, making Beijing a major debt holder for african governments. China ’ randomness concentrate is geared towards using money and loans to open doors and access to natural resources contracts. This type of debt delicacy can be a hindrance. ”
Citing holocene developments in Sri Lanka, Foggo said after that island state ’ randomness ballooning debt to China grew unsustainable, China agreed to forgive some of the debt in revert for gaining manipulate of a major Sri Lankan port facility for 99 years .
Expect to see increase U.S. Coast Guard missions to support U.S. Navy fleet operations around the world, officials say .
“ You look at Oceana ; you look at China asserting influence, checkbook statesmanship in places where there ’ sulfur not much of a tempering or competing articulation right now, ” Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Karl Schultz said last summer. “ The Coast Guard I think can bring some unique capabilities in build spouse capacity. ”
Since Schultz foreshadowed sending Coast Guard assets to assist U.S. Navy missions, Thetis was sent to Africa. meanwhile, and around the earth, cutter USCGC Bertholf ( WSML-750 ) joined guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur ( DDG-54 ) in showing the roughly 110-mile wide body of water separating mainland China from Taiwan remains open for all maritime traffic .
“ The penetrate channel is we ’ re there to work with our friends, ” Foggo said. “ We don ’ triiodothyronine ask for anything in hark back except for their friendship. ”
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