Video: US Coast Guard Cutter Forward Interdicts Smugglers’ Go-Fast Boat
The U.S. Coast Guard released videos showing its crews in action during the interdiction of a go-fast boat in the Eastern Pacific. According to the details, the cutter Forward was conducting standard patrols in the Pacific when it was alerted to the boat on February 24.
A maritime patrol aircraft detected the vessel and reported the location to Forward. The cutter deployed its over-the-horizon cutter pursuit boat and an embarked MH-65 aircraft from the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) to intercept the suspicious vessel. The Coast Guard reports the semi-submersible (SPSS) was more than 70 feet in length.
Despite repeated verbal commands issued by the boarding team, the self-propelled semi-submersible failed to comply or stop. The boarding team finally successfully gained access to the vessel and apprehended four suspects from the boat.
They reported, however, that the semi-submersible was experiencing flooding. Everyone was evacuated from the boat, which subsequently sank without the recovery of any narcotics from the vessel.
“SPSS vessels are purpose-built to move large quantities of illicit, dangerous cargo,” said Cmdr. Andrew Grantham, commanding officer of the Forward. “This interdiction of an SPSS prevented a potential 17,600 lbs of cocaine—more than 6 million lethal doses—from reaching U.S. shores. Stopping this vessel demonstrates the exceptional skill and dedication of the Forward crew, the HITRON, Joint Interagency Task Force South, and Coast Guard District Southwest.”
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Coast Guard Cutter Forward is a 270-foot Famous-class medium-endurance cutter that conducts counterdrug, migrant interdictions, and search and rescue missions throughout the Western Hemisphere. The vessel was commissioned for the Coast Guard in 1990.
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