Tag Archives: Seneca

Drydock love

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Here we see some great shots by the very talented USCG LCDR Krystyn Pecora of the Boston-based 270-foot medium endurance cutter USCGC Seneca (WMEC-906) as she nears the end of her periodic drydock availability.

A “Bear” or “Famous” class cutter, her keel was laid on 16 September 1982 at Robert Derecktor Shipyard, Middletown, RI, and she was commissioned in 1986, making her 31 years young.

She shares the name of the old USRC Seneca, commissioned in 1908, a former Warship Wednesday alum.

You can expect Seneca to put another decade or so under her hull before she is ultimately replaced by one of the new, larger Offshore Patrol Cutters, currently in the works. However, with her 76mm OTO Melara, helicopter hangar, economical diesel plant– and originally designed with weight and space reserved for Harpoon, Mk32, a towed array and CIWS– you can expect that she will likely be passed on to a third world ally for a second career.

Seven Weeks…on a 270-foot boat. Meh

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BOSTON, Mass. (DVIDS) – The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Seneca returned to their homeport in Boston on April 10, after completing a 53-day deployment which included two weeks of training at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Va., and five weeks of fisheries patrols off the coasts of New Jersey, Virginia, and North Carolina.

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An MH-60 from Air Station Elizabeth City making its final approach to the Coast Guard Cutter Seneca flight deck during day time launch and recovery exercises. (Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicole Lockhart)

The Seneca patrolled the Mid-Atlantic Ocean in support of the Coast Guard Fifth District’s Operation Ocean Hunter. They boarded 26 fishing vessels from March 2 until April 5. During the patrol, the Seneca ensured the commercial fishing fleet was in compliance with all federal fisheries regulations and issued two fisheries violations.

In addition to law enforcement, the Seneca conducted a workup with the Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team and other deployable specialized forces units. Using the Seneca’s flight deck, MSRT members completed 76 vertical insertions and 44 hoists. They also completed 210 climbs where they boarded the cutter from a tactical boat via a caving ladder. The Seneca also completed several helicopter in-flight refuels and vertical replenishments with Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. The Seneca underwent a post mission effectiveness project training availability period, led by Coast Guard Afloat Training Group Atlantic.

For two weeks, the Seneca conducted shipboard drills, and training and evolutions to improve overall crew proficiency in navigation, seamanship, force protection and damage control. The events included a successful underway refueling evolution alongside a Navy oiler and the completion of 51 standard drills and exercises