Coast Guard Cutter Bear Returns from Hurricane Relief, Fisheries Patrol

October 30, 2017 5:43 PM
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Bear, a 270 foot, medium endurance cutter, arrives in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to deliver supplies, Oct. 9, 2017. The supplies included donations collected by Customs and Border Patrol members. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Bear, a 270 foot, medium endurance cutter, arrives in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to deliver supplies, Oct. 9, 2017. The supplies included donations collected by Customs and Border Patrol members. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

Coast Guard Cutter Bear (WMEC-901) returned to homeport in Portsmouth, Va., Saturday after a 28-day deployment providing hurricane relief to Puerto Rico and enforcing fisheries laws along the way.

Bear, a 270-foot medium endurance cutter, departed Portsmouth on Oct 1, delivering 40,000 pounds of food, water, and shelter supplies to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Bear was one of 15 Coast Guard assets sent to assist the disaster recovery efforts in the Caribbean.

The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Bear conducts a hurricane relief supply onload in Port Everglades, Florida, Oct. 4, 2017.
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Bear conducts a hurricane relief supply onload in Port Everglades, Florida, Oct. 4, 2017. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

On the way back to Portsmouth, Bear patrolled 2,000 miles of coastline, enforcing domestic and international fishing laws. Bear’s crew inspected more than 5,000 pounds of fish, and several recreational and commercial fishing vessels, according to the service.

Since commissioning in 1983, Bear has deployed 50 times and been a part of 20 major drug seizures. Bear combed more than 1,900 nautical miles of ocean as part of the recovery effort following the January 1986 space shuttle Challenger disaster.

Ben Werner

Ben Werner

Ben Werner is a staff writer for USNI News. He has worked as a freelance writer in Busan, South Korea, and as a staff writer covering education and publicly traded companies for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., Savannah Morning News in Savannah, Ga., and Baltimore Business Journal. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree from New York University.

Get USNI News updates delivered to your inbox