Name USCGC Willow (WLB-202) Commissioned April 1997 Launched June 1996 Builder Marinette Marine | Namesake Willow tree Status in active service Length 69 m | |
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Motto IN OMNIA PARATUS (Prepared for Everything) Class and type Juniper-class seagoing buoy tender | ||
Uscgc willow wlb 202 passes by katherine walker port sides
The USCGC Willow (WLB-202) is a United States Coast Guard seagoing buoy tender, the third of her name and the second of the Juniper-class. She is home-ported in Newport, Rhode Island, and normally tends some 189 buoys from her home port to Bar Harbor, Maine, along the New England coast to the Canada–United States border, however she is also responsible for maintenance support of National Data Buoy Center's offshore weather buoys. In addition to her primary aids-to-navigation (ATON) role, Willow also performs other duties, such as maritime border security, marine environmental protection, maritime law enforcement, and search and rescue.
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Construction and characteristics
USCGC Willow was built by the Marinette Marine Corporation in Wisconsin, launched in June 1996 and commissioned in April 1997. She has a length of 225 ft (69 m), a beam of 46 ft (14 m), and a draft of 13 ft (4.0 m). Willow is propelled by two Caterpillar diesel engines rated at 3,100 horsepower, and has a top speed of 16 knots. She has a single controllable-pitch propeller, which along with bow and stern thrusters, allow the ship to be maneuvered to set buoys close offshore and in restricted waters. A dynamic global positioning system coupled with machinery plant controls and a chart display and information system allow station-keeping of the ship with an accuracy of within five meters of the planned position without human intervention. Willow is also equipped with an oil-skimming system known as the Spilled Oil Recovery System (SORS), which is used in her mission of maritime environmental protection. The cutter has a 2,875 square foot buoy deck area with a crane that is used for servicing large ocean buoys.
Mission
USCGC Willow has an area of responsibility within the First Coast Guard District between Bar Harbor, Maine, and Newport, Rhode Island. While her primary mission is servicing ATON, she is also tasked with maritime law enforcement, marine pollution prevention and response, treaty enforcement, defense and homeland security, and search and rescue. Willow is also responsible for the periodic servicing of weather buoys operated by the National Data Buoy Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Willow has an icebreaking capability of 14 in (0.36 m) at 3 knots and 3 ft (0.91 m) backing and ramming.
History
Upon commissioning, Willow conducted the first trans-Atlantic crossing by a U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender in 33 years. On her 68-day voyage she represented the United States in several international festivals and events and made port calls in Ireland, Portugal, France, and Germany. Willow has made a cruise to the Straits of Florida to conduct alien migration interdiction operations. During May 2011, she attended Fleet Week in New York Harbor along with other U.S. Coast Guard cutters. In August 2011, Willow participated in Operation Nanook with Canadian Forces ships HMCS St. John's, HMCS Moncton, and HMCS Summerside. The ten day joint exercise was used to practice search and rescue techniques in an arctic environment as well as exercise arctic sovereignty for the United States and Canada. Willow was the first Coast Guard ATON asset to reach New York City after Hurricane Sandy struck in October 2012. She assisted in the re-opening of New York Harbor by resetting and replacing damaged buoys to mark shipping channels thereby allowing other ships carrying urgently needed gasoline and heating oil safe passage to the harbor.