NAWILIWILI — Kaua‘i will lose the 87-foot U.S. Coast Guard cutter Kittiwake in the spring of next year, but not before a smaller replacement boat arrives from Maui, a Coast Guard spokesperson said. The Kittiwake is scheduled to transfer from
NAWILIWILI — Kaua‘i will lose the 87-foot U.S. Coast Guard cutter Kittiwake in the spring of next year, but not before a smaller replacement boat arrives from Maui, a Coast Guard spokesperson said.
The Kittiwake is scheduled to transfer from Kaua‘i to O‘ahu between April 2010 and June 2010, which is the normal transfer season for Coast Guard members, said Chief Petty Officer Chad Saylor, assistant external affairs officer, 14th Coast Guard District, in an e-mail Monday.
A 47-foot motor lifeboat (MLB) is scheduled to arrive at Station Kaua‘i at the end of October 2009, he said. No firm arrival date has been set. Coast Guard small boats do not have names.
The 87-foot Kittiwake patrol boat has a crew size of 10. There are four crew members required to operate an MLB: a coxswain (boat driver); an engineer; and two boat crew members, he said.
Kittiwake’s crew members, as well as their dependents, are authorized a permanent change-of-station move to O‘ahu, Saylor said.
While the Kittiwake’s replacement boat is smaller, mariners should not worry about any diminution in response time or effort, he said.
“Kaua‘i gains a very reliable, capable and fairly new Coast Guard boat. The 47s have been employed in the Coast Guard since the late ’90s and are very robust platforms,” he said.
“They are designed to operate in high seas, surf and heavy-weather environments. What’s unique about the 47 is that it is a self-righting and self-bailing vessel, which means it can return to an upright position in about 10 seconds” should it ever capsize, he said.
“The 47 will provide a 24-hours a day/seven days a week persistent presence for the people of Kaua‘i,” he said.
Because it is a smaller vessel, it will be able to get underway much faster than the Kittiwake, Saylor said in a brief telephone interview Monday afternoon.
The cutter Kittiwake will still maintain its patrol throughout the main Hawaiian Islands, providing search-and-rescue and law-enforcement assistance when needed, he said in the e-mail.
“Having Kittiwake home-ported in O‘ahu will keep it closer to our logistics center, allowing for timely maintenance and support,” said Saylor in the e-mail.
A public welcoming ceremony for the new boat will be scheduled shortly after the MLB arrives, said Saylor.
