USCGC Morgenthau (WHEC-722)

USCGC Morgenthau (WHEC 722), commissioned on March 10, 1969, was the eighth of twelve 378-foot turbine/diesel powered Hamilton-class high endurance cutters (WHECs) built by Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana. The ship was homeported at Governors Island, New York.

In late 1970 the ship sailed to South Vietnam for service in the U.S. Navy's Operation Market Time. (Operation Market Time was the United State's naval operation to intercept and halt North Vietnamese ships and boats using South Vietnam waterways to supply arms and ammunition to the North Vietnam army and Viet Cong.) The Morgenthau was extremely active in the Vietnam War: boarding ships and boats suspected of running guns and ammo, providing naval gunfire support, providing medical care to Vietnamese villagers, and 24/7 patrol duties off the coast of Vietnam. The Morgenthau received a Meritorious Unit Citation for sinking a 180' gunning running ship in a multi-hour battle on Easter Sunday morning 1971. The Morgenthau served in Vietnam until relieved by a 311' Casco-class cutter in July 1971.

In 1977, Morgenthau became the first cutter to have women permanently assigned, followed shortly thereafter by USCGC Mellon WHEC-717. Her Pacific coast activities have included drug interdiction and seizures, foreign and domestic fisheries enforcement, search and rescue, and alien migrant interdiction.

In 1989, Morgenthau was decommissioned to undergo a major mid-life renovation, the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) to upgrade berthing and living spaces, rejuvenate engineering systems, and modernize her major weapons and sensors. Upon recommissioning in 1991, Morgenthau resumed her missions in the Pacific Ocean.

Her current motto, translated from Latin, is "Pride of the Pacific." Morgenthau was homeported at Integrated Support Command Alameda, Coast Guard Island, Alameda, California until December 2012. On December 13, 2012 a hull swap was performed with the crew of the USCGC Jarvis and the new crew sailed the Morgenthau back to her new home port in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Operational activities
In the fall of 1996, Morgenthau was the first U.S. Coast Guard Cutter to deploy to the Persian Gulf. Participating in Operation Vigilant Sentinel, Morgenthau enforced Iraq’s compliance with United Nations sanctions. After returning from the Persian Gulf, Morgenthau continued her Pacific duties, often deploying to the Maritime Boundary Line in the Bering Straits to monitor Alaska’s valuable fisheries and environmental resources, as well as continued alien migrant and drug interdiction efforts off the coasts of Guam and Central and South America.

During a drug interdiction patrol off the coast of Mexico in early 2001, Morgenthau seized $32 million worth of cocaine. Also in 2001, during a fisheries patrol, Morgenthau discovered a Russian vessel fishing in U.S. waters. When the vessel refused to heave to and allow a Coast Guard law enforcement team aboard, Morgenthau pursued the vessel across the Bering Sea and up to Russian territorial seas. This resulted in a joint US-Russian law enforcement action, which further cemented cooperative law enforcement actions between the two nations. Later in 2001, during an extensive dry-dock period, Morgenthau was the first 378-foot cutter to install a stern flap, improving her fuel efficiency and ride quality. Because of the increased fuel efficiency, Morgenthau has never since been able to complete full power trials on turbines, as she reaches her maximum speed at a shaft horse power significantly lower than other ships in her class.

After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, Morgenthau participated in Operation Noble Eagle to safeguard America’s prominent port cities through closer scrutiny of maritime traffic.

In 2002, Morgenthau traveled to Southeast Asia to assist, train, and teach law enforcement techniques to naval forces of several nations in the East Asian littoral.

In November 2010, Morgenthau provided an emergency escort along with medical and security assistance to passengers stranded aboard the cruise ship Carnival Splendor, which was rendered inoperable in the Pacific Ocean by an engine fire.