The United States’ oldest buoy tender is scheduled to be decommissioned, after more than 60 years of service.
USCGC Cowslip will be decommissioned in a traditional naval decommissioning ceremony Wednesday, at 10 a.m. at the Coast Guard facility at Tongue Point in Astoria, Ore.
USCGC Cowslip (WLB 277), an “A” Class, 180-foot seagoing buoy tender commissioned Oct. 17, 1942, is the oldest vessel still servicing the Nation’s maritime aids to navigation, as well as one of the oldest commissioned ships in U.S. service.
The Cowslip is responsible for the maintenance of more than 160 buoys along the Oregon and Washington coasts, home to some of the U.S. coastline’s most hazardous sea and bar conditions. The buoys help military ships, merchant ships, fishing boats, and recreational boats navigate safely. These buoys are especially important to the safe operation of a port and thereby directly affect the economic impact a port has on a local community.
USCGC Fir (WLB 213) will replace Cowslip during the summer of 2003. Coast Guard assets will be in place for the purpose of covering the perspective area of responsibility during the transitional period.
USCGC FIR is part of a new class of 225-foot seagoing buoy tenders – “B” Class – being built for the Coast Guard that include state-of-the-art electronic suites, automated systems, and living arrangements for the optimally sized crew. These ships are being built at Marinette Marine Corporation in Marinette, Wis. A total of 16 ships are planned and eleven have been delivered to date.
Most of Cowslip’s crew will transfer to Fir.
Media are invited to attend and cover the decommissioning ceremony.
Additional information, interviews and photos of Cowslip are available by contacting LT Glynn Smith at (503) 325-1601.
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