CG BRANT

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Course/Position

Latest news

Coast Guard Cutter decommissioned

The 'Brant' was decommissioned in St. Petersburg, Florida, March 17, 2022. Like the other Marine Protector-Class Coastal Patrol Boats (CPB), the 'Brant' was built in the Bollinger shipyards in southern Louisiana, in July 2002 before the cutter class was discontinued in 2009. Named for a North American small goose, the '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. The 'Brant' later moved its homeport to Gulfport, Mississippi. She 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. The 'Brant' arrived in St. Petersburg in 2019 and has supported NASA and SpaceX capsule recovery operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The 'Brant' was also one of the first underway platforms utilized in the creation of the Coast Guard’s drone program. 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. 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.

Fire on Coastguard cutter

Members from Gulfport Fire Department and a Coast Guard member extinguished a fire aboard the "Brant", which was moored in Gulfport, Mississippi, on Oct 18, 2017. At approximately 5 a.m., two Coast Guard members who were aboard the Coastguard cutter became aware of the fire, located on the portside-aft area of the vessel, and took initial actions to put out the fire using an on board fire extinguisher. Members from Gulfport Fire Department arrived on scene at 5:05 a.m. and extinguished the fire. The two Coast Guard members on board the vessel were evaluated by emergency medical services and have been released. The cause of the incident is under investigation. Report with photo: http://coastguardnews.com/coast-guard-gulfport-fire-department-extinguish-fire-aboard-coast-guard-cutter-brant/2017/10/18/