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Sector Columbia River
2185 SE 12th Place Warrenton, OR 97146

 

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Sector Columbia River

Protecting the Pacific Northwest

Coast Guard Assets within Sector Columbia River

Coast Guard Sector Columbia River has a variety of resources ready 24 hours-a-day / 7 days-a-week to provide assistance to mariners and the public in support of Search and Rescue as well as other Homeland Security missions.

Coast Guard cutters (ships) also call Astoria their home port as they conduct operations off the Northwest coast year round. USCGC ALERT and USCGC STEADFAST are 210 ft medium endurance cutters which conduct multi-mission patrols as far south as Central America. These cutters can often be found off the Washington/Oregon coast protecting living marine resources through enforcement of federal fisheries and safety laws. USCGC FIR is a Juniper Class seagoing buoy tender with the primary mission of maintaining over 150 aids to navigation along the Washington/Oregon coast as well as the Columbia River. This cutter also conducts multi-mission patrols conducting at sea boardings of fishing and other types of vessels.

Coast Guard Air Station Astoria has three HH-60T "Jayhawk" helicopters. A variety of boat types are assigned to each of the Stations within the Sector. The two Aids to Navigation Team use trailerable boats working out of Tongue Point, Astoria, OR and Kennewick, WA.  A basic description of each is provided below.

MH-60T Jayhawk Helicopter

Coast Guard Air Station Astoria maintains one MH-60T Jayhawk ready 24/7 with a flight crew and rescue swimmer. With its external fuel tanks, it is capable of reaching as far as 300 nautical miles offshore allowing Air Station Astoria to conduct missions anywhere in the Thirteenth Coast Guard District.

HH60J formation over Astoria Column Photo Resource Description:

52 foot Motor Lifeboat (SPC-HW)

Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment at the mouth of the Columbia River and Station Grays Harbor on the mid-Washington coast operate one of the toughest boats in the world. The TRIUMPH (MLB-52314) is assigned to Station Cape "D" and the INVINCIBLE (MLB-52313) is assigned to Station Grays Harbor. The Coast Guard has only four 52 foot MLB's all located in the Thirteenth District (one in Newport, OR and the other in Coos Bay, OR)

52 ft Motor Lifeboat fleet PhotoResource Description:

47 foot Motor Lifeboat (MLB)

Each of the coastal Stations in Sector Columbia River (Tillamook Bay, Cape Disappointment, and Grays Harbor) have two 47 foot MLB's. These are the backbone of the Coast Guard small boat fleet allowing operations in almost any conditions. The design makes it a flexible tool whether recovering persons from the water or standing vigil with a mounted machine gun for ports and waterways security missions. The National Motor Lifeboat School at Cape Disappointment has five 47 foot MLB's and teaches students from around the nation how to operate this boat type in heavy weather and surf.

47 ft Motor Lifeboat Photo Resource Description:

25 foot Defender Class (RBS)

The 25 foot "Defender Class" Response Boat can be found at each of the stations: Grays Harbor, Cape Disappointment, Tillamook Bay and Portland. These boats provide a fast response for all missions and were first introduced as a standard boat for the Homeland Security mission nationwide.

25 foot Defender class boat Photo Resource Description:

29 foot Defender Class (RBS-II)

The 29 foot "Defender Class" Response Boat - II can be found at stations: Cape Disappointment and Tillamook Bay. These boats are the second generation of the Response Boat class uses to provide a fast response for all missions.

29 foot Defender class boat Photo Resource Description:

26 foot Trailerable Aid to Navigation Boat (TANB)

The 26 foot TANB serves as the workhorse for the Aids to Navigation Team (ANT) at Tongue Point, Astoria OR and Kennewick WA. Most work done by the ANT involves trailering the boat to local ramps and launching to service the wide variety of structures and buoys they are responsible for.

Resource Description: 26foot coast guard boat Photo

20 foot Aid to Navigation Boat - Small (AB-S)

The 20 foot AB-S is a recent addition to the Coast Guard's Aids to Navigation inventory and is used for the same purposes as the 26 foot TANB by the Astoria and Kennewick Aids to Navigation Teams. The AB-S is used for servicing, construction, repair, and discrepancy response for aids to navigation.

Resource Description: 20 foot coast guard AB-S boat Photo

18 foot Flood Relief Skiff (SKF)

Station Tillamook Bay operates a flood relief skiff for use in the shallow waters of Tillamook Bay and during seasonal floods common to the area of Tillamook and Nehalem valleys. This small boat is normally operated by two persons in providing rescue or evacuation services in flooded areas. Crews often find themselves navigating down highways, roads, or across fields covered with rushing flood waters deep enough to hide fences or even vehicles. Crews can launch and recover this boat in remote locations often staging along Highway 101 in Tillamook, OR.

Flood Relief Skiff Photo Resource Description:


 

Last Modified 12/21/2016