USCGC ''Sequoia'' (WLB-215) is a

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

225-foot Seagoing Buoy Tender, homeported in Apra Harbor, Naval Base, a

deep-water port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

on the western side of the United States territory of

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic ce ...

. The primary mission of the Cutter is to maintain

aids to navigation Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

in Guam and the Northern Marianas. As with all Coast Guard Cutters, she functions as a multi-mission asset, responsible for marine environmental protection,

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

, law enforcement, and Homeland Security missions. USCGC ''Sequoia'' regularly conducts fisheries enforcement missions through the Western Pacific, in support of

Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) is both a general and a tuna regional fisheries management organisation established to conserve and manage tuna and other highly migratory fish stocks across the western and central ar ...

treaties and regulations, as well as supporting bilateral agreements between the Pacific Island nations of the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

and the

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states compri ...

. ''Sequoia'' is one of sixteen ''Juniper''-class buoy tenders built and commissioned from 1996–2004. She was launched on August 23, 2003 on the

Menominee River The Menominee River is a river in northwestern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin in the United States. It is approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed Dece ...

Marinette Marine Corporation Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) is an American shipbuilding firm in Marinette, Wisconsin. Marinette Marine was a subsidiary of Manitowoc Marine Group of Wisconsin from 2000 to 2009, when it was sold to Fincantieri Marine Group. History M ...

(MMC) in

Marinette, Wisconsin Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the south bank of the Menominee River, at its mouth at Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan; to the north is Stephenson Island, part of th ...

. She replaced the

USCGC Sassafras (WLB-401) ''Sassafras'' is a C-Class, 180 ft, seagoing buoy tender constructed for the USCG by Marine Iron & Shipbuilding Corp. of Duluth, Minnesota. ''Sassafras'' was one of 39 tenders commissioned for duties that would include aids-to-navigation, ice brea ...

as the only buoy tender in the Marianas. She is currently (2022-11-07) in Oranjestad, Aruba.

External links

* https://www.facebook.com/pages/USCGC-SEQUOIA-WLB-215/383079718641 * http://www.uscg.mil/d14/cgcsequoia/

References

Ships of the United States Coast Guard Juniper-class seagoing buoy tenders 2003 ships Ships built by Marinette Marine {{US-mil-ship-stub