TAMPA, Fla. (April 20, 2021) – The U.S. State Department under the Biden administration is preparing to transfer ownership of the Coast Guard cutter that oversaw federal maritime security and rescue operations in New York Harbor on Sept. 11, 2001, despite efforts by a Tampa-based non-profit organization to obtain the ship to turn it into a museum and memorial.
However, organizers with the non-profit believe there is still hope to save the ship.
TAMPA, Fla. – The U.S. State Department under the Biden administration is preparing to transfer ownership of the Coast Guard cutter that oversaw federal maritime security and rescue operations in New York Harbor on Sept. 11, 2001, despite efforts by a Tampa-based non-profit organization to obtain the ship to turn it into a museum and memorial.
However, organizers with the non-profit believe there is still hope to save the ship.
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Adak (WPB-1333), which was originally homeported in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, was on-scene in New York Harbor on September 11, 2001 shortly after two commercial airliners were hijacked by radical Islamic terrorists and flown into the World Trade Center killing nearly 3,000 people and injuring more than 6,000 others.
On that day, the Adak served as the federal on-scene commander in New York, responsible for overseeing and coordinating the largest water-borne rescue in world history, when more than 500,000 people were evacuated from lower Manhattan by private, commercial and government vessels.
Later, in 2003, the Adak was deployed to the northern Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the ship has continued to patrol the Arabian Gulf ever since.
“This is only a small part of this cutter’s rich history,” said James Judge, founder and executive director of the USCGC Adak Historical Society, and a former crewmember of the Adak from 2004-2005. “In addition to capturing some of the first enemy prisoners of war in Iraq, the Adak also operated in the Florida Straits to rescue Cuban immigrants during the mass migration in 1994.”
Last year, a notification was sent out that the Adak, along with the other five, 110-foot Coast Guard island-class patrol boats, serving under the Coast Guard’s Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA), would be decommissioned in 2021. PATFORSWA operates under the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet based in the Kingdom of Bahrain and is scheduled to receive new cutters soon to replace the aging fleet.
As a result, former crewmembers of the Adak began working on a plan to bring the Adak home to the U.S. to turn the ship into a museum, 9/11 memorial and educational platform for youth programs.
“We established a 501(c)(3), developed a plan, garnered supporters and Congressman Bilirakis was gracious enough to sponsor legislation to give the Adak to our non-profit organization, so we could turn the ship into a museum and a 9/11 memorial,” said Judge. “We even offered to pay for the cost to bring the ship home or take possession of the ship in the Middle East to save the government money, but we learned earlier this week that the Coast Guard has decided to transfer possession of the Adak to Indonesia instead before the legislation could be voted on.”
According to the Coast Guard, their reason for doing so is to avoid significant costs for overseas storage or shipping back to the United States. As a result, the Coast Guard plans to dispose of the vessel, following its decommissioning on July 14, through the Foreign Assistance Act.
The Coast Guard says the Indonesian Navy completed a joint visual inspection with them on February 24, 2021, and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) completed notifications to Congress on April 2, 2021.
“The most shocking part about all of this, is that we gave the Coast Guard a third option before they met with the Indonesian Navy and before they notified Congress,” said Judge. “We proposed a plan and got congressional support for the legislation that would allow for the transfer of the Adak to the non-profit. The path we provided would allow it to become a museum and 9/11 memorial, at no cost to the Coast Guard.”
Following the notification to Congress, the FAA requires the Coast Guard to wait 30 days before formally offering the vessel to the foreign government recipient, which the Coast Guard and Department of State have identified as Indonesia.
According to the Coast Guard, an agreement between the two countries to transfer the vessel is expected to be completed in June after the 30-day waiting period is over.
However, the USCGC Adak Historical Society says there is still hope.
“If enough people speak up and say something about this, we absolutely can still save the Adak,” Judge said. “Congress still has the power to do something, the State Department still has the power to do something, and most certainly, the Biden administration still has the power to do something.”
To learn more about the Coast Guard Cutter Adak and the effort to save the ship, visit savetheadak.com
The USCGC Adak Historical Society, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving U.S. Coast Guard and armed forces history.
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