The U.S. Coast Guard transferred a Hamilton-class cutter to the Vietnam Coast Guard during a Thursday ceremony in Hawaii.
The former high endurance cutter Morgenthau (WHEC 722) was originally commissioned in 1969 and was decommissioned in mid-April ahead of the planned transfer.
“This cutter provides a concrete and significant symbol of the U.S-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership,” said U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Michael J. Haycock, assistant commandant for acquisition and chief acquisition officer in a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.
“The Coast Guard is honored to see this vessel continue to preserve global peace and prosperity as a part of the Vietnam Coast Guard.”
According to the statement, the cutter will be “renamed CSB 8020, is expected to improve the Vietnam Coast Guard’s maritime domain awareness, increase its capacity to perform maritime law enforcement operations and conduct search and rescue and other humanitarian response operations.”
The transfer comes as tensions in the South China Sea continue to simmer between China and its neighbors. Vietnam’s inability to control access to its own exclusive economic zone was put in stark relief when a Chinese oil rig operated in 2014. Since the incident, Vietnam has reportedly moved to expand its Coast Guard fleet.
The Hawaiian transfer ceremony of the former Morgenthau follows a May 22 transfer of six 45-foot Metal Shark patrol boats to the Vietnam Coast Guard from the U.S.
The following is the complete statement May 26, 2017 from the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam.
HONOLULU, May 26, 2017 – The U.S. Coast Guard transferred a High Endurance Cutter to the Vietnam Coast Guard during a ceremony in Honolulu on Thursday morning.
The ship, which will be renamed CSB 8020, is expected to improve the Vietnam Coast Guard’s maritime domain awareness, increase its capacity to perform maritime law enforcement operations, and conduct search and rescue and other humanitarian response operations.
“This cutter provides a concrete and significant symbol of the U.S-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership,” said U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Michael J. Haycock, assistant commandant for acquisition and chief acquisition officer. “The Coast Guard is honored to see this vessel continue to preserve global peace and prosperity as a part of the Vietnam Coast Guard.”
The CSB 8020 was transferred to the Vietnam Coast Guard from the U.S. Government through the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program. The EDA offers excess military equipment to U.S. partner and allied countries in support of their military and security modernization efforts.
