USCGC ''Venturous'' (WMEC-625) is a

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 ...

. The vessel was constructed by the

American Shipbuilding Company The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the World War II, Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio, in 1898. It chan ...

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located in Northeast Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River (Ohio), Black River about west of Cleveland. It is the List of cities in Ohio, ninth-most populous city in O ...

in 1967 and commissioned in 1968. The ship has served on both the west and eastern coasts of the United States. The vessel is used for

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 ...

, fishery law enforcement, border enforcement and smuggling interdiction along the coasts and in the Caribbean Sea.

Construction and career

The ''Venturous''s motto is ''Nemo Supra'', which means "None Better". Thirteenth of sixteen s, ''Venturous'' was built by the

. Her

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

was laid on May 22, 1967 and she was commissioned on September 12, 1968. Upon commissioning ''Venturous'' set sail for

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, and arrived November 23, 1968. Over the next 27 years ''Venturous'' changed her homeport several times, finally settling 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 ...

before being decommissioned at the

United States Coast Guard Yard The United States Coast Guard Yard or just Coast Guard Yard is a United States Coast Guard operated shipyard located on Curtis Bay in northern Anne Arundel County, Maryland, just south of the Baltimore city limits. It is the Department of Homela ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

on February 11, 1994, to undergo an 18-month Major Maintenance Availability. Upon recommissioning ''Venturous'' was reassigned to her present homeport 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 ...

.United States Coast Guard. Initially designed for

(SAR) efforts, ''Venturous'' participated in and led many SAR missions including the recovery of the abandoned sailboat ''Jazz Limited'' off the coast of Mexico, towing the disabled fishing vessel ''Crusader'' to

, and towing the ''Moon Spinner'' to

Pelican, Alaska Pelican () is a small town in the northwestern part of Chichagof Island in Hoonah-Angoon Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. Pelican was founded in 1938 by fish buyer Charlie Raatikainen who established the town as a business venture to s ...

. In 1970, ''Venturous'' responded to the sinking of the fuel tanker ''SS Connecticut''. After hours of dewatering and plugging the tanker was towed safely to shore. From June 1988 to May 1992, ''Venturous'' earned three Coast Guard Unit Commendations, excelling in Alaskan patrols, aiding in the

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

cleanup and enforcing fisheries laws. In 1990 alone, ''Venturous'' seized four fishing vessels for violating Russian, Canadian, and U.S. fishing laws. In January 1999 ''Venturous'' boarding team discovered of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

aboard the MV ''Cannes'', at the time the tenth largest seizures in U.S. history. The cutter was awarded the Coast Guard Foundation Award for operational achievements in the fields of drug and migrant interdiction. Subsequently ''Venturous'' has been involved in a cross-section of the Coast Guard missions, including the interdiction of of cocaine and of

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

, the apprehension and repatriation of 950 illegal migrants attempting to entire south Florida and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and the apprehension of many smugglers responsible for these illegal ventures, the dramatic rescue of a woman adrift at sea for more than two days in the Mona Pass following the capsizing of the migrant vessel she was attempting to illegally enter the US aboard, and the delivery of of humanitarian supplies to

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, the capital of the Dominican Republic (DR) to assist victims of flooding in that country and eastern Haiti. ''Venturous'' participated in

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that affected the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which accounted for 2,975 of the 3,059 deaths. It is the ...

relief in the Caribbean. On September 30, 2017, the cutter docked in

Vieques, Puerto Rico Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island, Culebra barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico, and together with Culebra, Puerto Rico, Culebra, it is geographically part of the Spanish Virgin ...

to deliver fuel and water to the island. She delivered a total of of water, of diesel fuel and ice to the local community. She returned to Vieques again on October 7, 2017 where the ''Venturous'' crew delivered approximately 30,000 pounds of food and water. In all, the ''Venturous'' crew distributed more than 150,000 pounds of aid to five coastal cities in Puerto Rico during the response.

References

External links

''Venturous'' home page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Venturous Ships of the United States Coast Guard Reliance-class cutters 1968 ships Ships built in Lorain, Ohio Historic American Engineering Record in Florida