Coast Guard Cutter Walnut: From Iraq to Port Allen

The 225-foot U.S. Coast Guard cutter Walnut returned to Hawai‘i this summer following a tour of duty in Iraq.

The ship’s crew assignments include maintaining the channel markers, navigational lights and other naviational equipment at Port Allen.

The ship is based in Honolulu.

The U.S. Coast Guard also maintains beacons on Kaua‘i mounted at Kilauea Point and Ninini Point, a duty once done by the federal Lighthouse Service.

The ship can be turned into an ice breaker if needed when on duty in cold climatees.

The crew uses global positioning satellite equipment to precisely place the buoys, said Lt. Rick Wester, the Walnut’s executive officer.

The cutters deployment to the Arabian Gulf began on Jan. 18 and the ship returned home on June 28. On the way to Iraq, the ship stopped in Guam, Singapore and Kuwait.

While in the Gulf, the crew repaired buoys that hadn’t been maintained in years. Walnut was one of two coalition ships stationed in Iraq to accomplish that mission and was one of six cutters in the region during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Prior to the invasion the Walnut was used for some inspection duty, including the boarding of suspcious container ships.

Its mission included replacing worn-out buoys in the Khor Abd Allah Waterway, so coalition ships could safely sail into the port of Umm Qasr.

The Walnut’s crew was also ready to clean up an oil spill if one had occured in Iraqi waters.

Some 95 percent of shipments of freight to Hawai‘i and the mainland go by sea, Wester said, emphasizing the importence of keeping navigational aids well maintained.