Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Ayla Hudson | The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Brant was decommissioned in St. Petersburg, Florida, March...... read more read more
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Just shy of 20 years, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Brant was decommissioned in St. Petersburg, Florida, March 17, 2022. Like the other Marine Protector-Class Coastal Patrol Boats (CPB), Brant was built in the Bollinger shipyards in southern Louisiana, in July 2002 before the cutter class was discontinued in 2009. The 87-foot CPBs play a major supporting role in numerous Coast Guard missions, including fisheries enforcement, search and rescue, and intercepting illegal immigrants and narcotics.
Named for a North American small goose, the cutter Brant’s first homeport was Corpus Christi, Texas, where the cutter’s crew was the on-scene commander for military out-load operations, conducted high-interest vessel boardings, and escorted high value assets. Brant later moved its homeport to Gulfport, Mississippi. The Brant had multiple interdictions with vessels engaging in illegal fishing within the U.S.’s Exclusive Economic Zone. In one case, the Brant’s crew seized 1,500 pounds of illegally caught marine life, including 500 fish and 150 sharks. The illegal fishing vessel then began to sink, and the crew of the Brant saved four people.
Brant arrived in St. Petersburg in 2019. In the time here, Brant has supported NASA and SpaceX capsule recovery operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Brant was also one of the first underway platforms utilized in the creation of the Coast Guard’s drone program.
“Serving on the Brant has been my best and favorite tour to date,” said Chief Petty Officer Walter Urban. “The crew are some of the best I have ever served with and it was my pleasure to serve on her as the executive petty officer.”
After the decommissioning ceremony, the final crew of the Brant sailed her to the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore. The CPBs are being phased out by the Sentinel-class cutter, also known as a Fast Response Cutter (FRC) which are 154-feet long and named for enlisted Coast Guard heroes.
“The decommissioning process is tough and challenging. The transit to the Yard has been rough, but we are excited to officially retire the cutter,” said Urban.
From Baltimore, the Brant will be offered to other countries through the Foreign Military Sales-Excess Defense Article process. The Coast Guard Cutter Pablo Valent will arrive in St. Petersburg in summer of 2022 and will be the first FRC in Tampa Bay.
| Date Taken: | 03.25.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.25.2022 10:27 |
| Story ID: | 417166 |
| Location: | FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 587 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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