Coast Guard Cutter Diligence returns to the Port City following 53-day patrol

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WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - The Coast Guard Cutter Diligence returned to Wilmington last week following a 53-day patrol.

During the patrol, the Diligence spent 32 days in the Florida Straits in support of Operation Vigilance Sentry and Operation Blue Hammer.

The Diligence's crew rescued 62 Cuban migrants from six unseaworthy vessels and worked with agency partners to coordinate the rescue and care for a total of 600 Cuban, Haitian, Jamaican, and Guyanese migrants.

Operation Blue Hammer focuses on migrant interdiction and repatriation operations in the Florida Straits.

The migrant interdiction operations were coordinated with federal and interagency partners, including Customs and Border Patrol, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, U.S. Public Health Service and several state and local law enforcement agencies from Florida.

The Diligence is a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Wilmington with a crew of approximately 80. Its missions typically include counter drug and migrant interdiction, enforcing federal fishery laws, and search and rescue operations.