Overview
General Information on the US Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a military, multi-mission, maritime service and one of the nation’s five Armed Services. Its mission is to protect the public, the environment, and U.S. economic interests – in the nation’s ports and waterways, along the coast, on international waters, or in any maritime region as required to support national security.
Every day, the Coast Guard:
Safety
- Saves 14 lives
- Assists 98 people in distress
- Conducts 74 search and rescue cases
- Completes 31 Port State Control safety and environmental exams on foreign vessels
- Performs 18 safety examinations on commercial fishing vessels
- Conducts 24 marine casualty investigations
- Issues 102 Certificates of Inspection to U.S. commercial vessels
- Issues 375 credentials to qualified merchant mariners ensuring the safe, secure, and efficient navigation of ships carrying $5.5 billion worth of commerce.
- Services 135 aids-to-navigation and corrects 23 aids-to-navigation discrepancies
Security
- Interdicts 17 illegal migrants at sea
- Seizes or removes over 1,000 pounds of illegal drugs ($12.9M value)
- Administers 25 International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code vessel Exams
- Escorts over 20 larger passenger vessels, military outload vessels, High Interest Vessels (HIVs) or vessels carrying especially hazardous cargo
- Boards 193 ships and boats
- Boards 17 vessels at sea to enforce domestic fisheries and marine protected species regulations
Stewardship
- Facilitates safe and efficient marine transportation on the Nation’s 15,000 miles of inland waterways
- Inspects 53 HAZMAT containers
- Responds to 12 Oil Pollution/Hazardous Chemical Material spills
Briefs and Publications
Last Modified 6/24/2008