The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Dependable and crew returned home Monday after a 48-day patrol in the Western Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

During the patrol, the crew seized and disrupted more than 3,000 kilograms (6,600 pounds) of cocaine with an estimated value of $87 million.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Dependable returns home after seizing $87 million worth of cocaine

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Dependable - Image courtesy: USCG

The patrol was in support of the Coast Guard’s strategy to combat transnational criminal networks in the Western Hemisphere. These operations involve proactive engagement with domestic and international partners to identify, target, and defeat illicit criminal networks.

During the patrol, the Dependable’s crew collaborated with the Colombian Navy and the Costa Rican Coast Guard. The 11th Coast Guard District, responsible for interdiction operations in the Eastern Pacific, registered a new record during the month of November, seizing 18,954 kilograms of cocaine.

The Virginia Beach-based Cutter Dependable is a 210-foot Reliance Class Medium Endurance Cutter with 75 crew members. They conduct homeland security missions in the offshore waters of the Western Hemisphere from New England to the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific.

Nearing its 49th year serving America, the Dependable and other 26 aging medium-endurance cutters are slated for replacement by new Offshore Patrol Cutters in 2021.

Source: USCG