United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
medium endurance cutter
The Medium Endurance Cutter or WMEC is a type of United States Coast Guard Cutter mainly consisting of the Famous- and ''Reliance''-class cutters. These larger cutters are under control of Area Commands (Atlantic Area or Pacific Area). These cut ...
in commission for 56 years. Commissioned in 1968, ''Steadfast'' was home ported in
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...
for her first 24 years of service. In 1992, she was decommissioned for Major Maintenance Availability (MMA) to extend her service another 25 years. Following MMA in February 1994, ''Steadfast'' was re-commissioned and home ported in
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is a Port, port city in and the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the ...
until her decommissioning on February 1, 2024.
''Steadfast'' completed over 330 Search and Rescue cases, interdicted over 1.6 million pounds of marijuana and 27,700 pounds of cocaine, seized over 65 vessels, and stopped over 3500 undocumented migrants on the high seas from entering the United States. ''Steadfast'' was the first, and is one of only two cutters (the other is USCGC ''Dauntless''), to have a gold marijuana leaf painted on her superstructure, symbolizing one million pounds of marijuana seized. Legend holds ''Steadfast'' was named "El Tiburón Blanco" (Spanish for "The White Shark") by Colombian drug smugglers in the 1970s for being such a nemesis to their illegal drug operations. ''Steadfast''s crew used the symbol of "El Tiburón Blanco" as one of their logos to epitomize ''Steadfast''s aggressive law enforcement posture.
On 21 September 1978,
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...
Fort Lauderdale International Airport
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
to
José Martí International Airport
José Martí International Airport , sometimes known by its former name Rancho Boyeros Airport (''Aeropuerto de Rancho Boyeros''), (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Aeropuerto Internacional José Martí'') is an international airport located in the ...
,
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.local time (17:43
UTC
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
). A search was initiated, which ''Steadfast'' coordinated, but was called off on 24 September without any trace of N407D being found.
USCGC ''Steadfast'' completed her final Coast Guard patrol on December 18, 2023 and was decommissioned in Astoria on February 1, 2024 after 56 years of service. Upon decommissioning the ship entered Excess Defense Article status and proceeded to Baltimore, Maryland where she was made available to sale to other countries via the Coast Guard's Foreign Military Sales Program. On August 3, 2024 the acting director-general of the
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (Abbreviation, Abbr.; MMEA; – ''APMM''; Jawi script, Jawi: ); formally known as Malaysia Coast Guard for international identification, is the coast guard organisation of Malaysia, and principal gover ...
(MMEA), Vice-Admiral Datuk Saiful Lizan Ibrahim, announced that ''Steadfast'' was being prepared in Baltimore for MMEA service and was expected in Malaysia in the first quarter of 2025.