Coast Guard Cutter Cypress Arrives in Kodiak, Replaces SPAR

The operational history of Cypress includes the recovery of a US Navy “Blue Angels” F/A-18A Hornet that had sunk in 40 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico after a training accident in 2004. The Cypress crew had served thereafter as the center point for the annual Blue Angels’ air show at Pensacola Beach until her arrival at the Coast Guard Yard for major maintenance in August of 2020. In 2010, Cypress responded to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, conducting oil recovery operations with specialized oil recovery equipment alongside sister ships Juniper, Walnut, Sycamore, Aspen, Oak, and Elm, together recovering over 500,000 gallons of spilled oil and coordinating environmental cleanup activities between numerous federal, state, local, and private entities.

The crew began preparing Cypress for her voyage to Alaska in August and is returning to Kodiak after four months away from home.

From One Gulf to Another

The Cypress crew transited over 7,600 nautical miles south along the east coast of the United States, through the Caribbean and Panama Canal, and north along the west coast of the United States, through the Alaskan Inside Passage to their new homeport at Coast Guard Base Kodiak.

During her 34-day transit, Cypress made port calls in Mayport, Florida; Key West, Florida, Long Beach, California; and Ketchikan, Alaska. The Cypress crew took full advantage of the long transit time to conduct damage control training, small boat training, engineering and navigation drills, and qualifying sixty-three individuals for watch proficiency.

The Cypress crew looks forward to returning to their families, serving their Alaska community, and returning to the important work of servicing aids to navigation that support the maritime transportation system vital to Alaska’s robust maritime economy.