Ten Aircraft Join 13 Cutters In Bringing Relief To The Islands

The Coast Guard is continuing its hurricane response in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with 13 cutters and 10 aircraft.

Crews continue working to reopen affected ports and waterways to help the flow of humanitarian aid and resume maritime commerce. Reopening affected ports enables critical fuel supplies and commodities to flow into the port and be distributed throughout the affected regions. The Captain of the Port and his team will continue to work around the clock to get these port assessments completed and open as soon as it safe to do so.

"Our personnel, aircraft and cutter fleet have mobilized from throughout the Atlantic Area, bringing with them port security presence, humanitarian aid to augment our Federal Emergency Management Agency and Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency partners, as well as command and control capabilities while our shore based units in Puerto Rico continues to reconstitute their infrastructure," said Rear Adm. Peter Brown, commander of Coast Guard's District Seven. "Our newest National Security Cutter James along with our fast response cutter fleet, medium endurance cutters and seagoing buoy tenders mobilized quickly following Hurricane Maria to fulfill these missions and will continue to do so."

Multiple fixed wing and rotor wing aircraft have responded from Air Station Miami, Air Station Clearwater, FL, Air Station Elizabeth City, NC, and Air Station Borinquen, Puerto Rico.

The Coast Guard has delivered multiple loads of relief supplies via aircraft staged in part out of Coast Guard Air Station Miami. The crews' primary missions are search and rescue and port constitution.

(Image provided with U.S. Coast Guard news release)

FMI: www.uscg.mil