USCGC ''Vigorous'' (WMEC-627) is a

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

Reliance Class

medium endurance cutter The Medium Endurance Cutter or WMEC is a type of United States Coast Guard Cutter mainly consisting of the Famous- and ''Reliance''-class cutters. These larger cutters are under control of Area Commands (Atlantic Area or Pacific Area). These cutt ...

Service summary

Her keel was laid down by

American Ship Building Company The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the World War II, Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio in 1898. It changed ...

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 65 ...

10 November 1967 and she was launched 4 May 1968. ''Vigorous'' was commissioned 2 May 1969 and her current homeport is

Virginia Beach, VA Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

. Her initial homeport was in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

where she was moored at the United States Coast Guard Academy. She was decommissioned for modernization at the United States Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, in early 1992 and was recommissioned on 11 January 1993. During the 2010 Caribbean Games in Mayaguez,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, the ''Vigorous'' maintained a security zone in Mayaguez harbor. On 11 February 2013, the ''Vigorous'' stood by the disabled 102,000-ton cruise ship ''

Carnival Triumph ''Carnival Sunrise'' (formerly ''Carnival Triumph'') is a operated by Carnival Cruise Line. As she and her three younger sisters (, , and ) are each a redesigned version of the lead ship in the class, she is sometimes referred to as the first o ...

'' adrift in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

waiting to be towed. On Sunday, 10 February 2013 at 5:30 a.m. CST, the ''Carnival Triumph'' suffered a fire in her aft engine room. Although the fire was automatically extinguished and there were no injuries to passengers or crew, it resulted in a loss of

propulsion Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived from ...

and power to all support systems. With 4,229 persons on board, raw sewage began to back up into the lower passenger deck areas. This caused the media to dub the event "The Poop Cruise." A Coast Guard supplied emergency generator was providing minimal electrical power, while the ship was adrift about 150 miles off the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the

. The ship was originally expected to be towed to the Mexican port of Progreso. However, after being carried north by currents while awaiting arrival of large, seagoing

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

s, she was towed to

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

instead. ''Vigorous'' escorted ''Carnival Triumph'' during her tow. During May 2014, the ''Vigorous'' was spearheading the search for the

Yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

Cheeki Rafiki ''Cheeki Rafiki'' was a Bénéteau First 40.7 sailing yacht. Her sinking on May 16, 2014 resulted in an extended debate over the safety of modern sailing boats. The yacht lost her keel about 720 nautical miles Southeast of Nova Scotia and subseque ...

'' one thousand miles east of

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

, which went missing on a delivery voyage from

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, England. The overturned hull of the

capsized Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fro ...

''Cheeki Rafiki'' was found on the evening of 23 May 2014 with the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

broken off and the uninflated life raft inside the hull. All four sailors on board were presumed lost at sea.

Awards

While in service, ''Vigorous'' has been awarded: *Coast Guard Presidential Unit Citation *United States Secretary of Transportation's Gold Medal for Outstanding Achievement *4 Coast Guard Unit Commendations *6 Coast Guard

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...

s *

Meritorious Team Commendation The Meritorious Team Commendation (MTC) is a unit award of the United States Coast Guard. Created on 22 December 1993, the Meritorious Team Commendation is awarded for performance of exceptional actions that would normally warrant a Commandant's ...

Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation The Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation was a unit award of the United States Coast Guard which was awarded to all active, reserve, auxiliary, and civilian personnel of the Coast Guard for service from March 1989 to October 1989. The award ...

*15 Coast Guard "E" Ribbons *3 National Defense Service Medals * Global War on Terrorism Service Medal *2

Humanitarian Service Medal The Humanitarian Service Medal (HSM) is a military service medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created on January 19, 1977 by President Gerald Ford under . The medal may be awarded to members of the United States military (includi ...

s *Department of Transportation 9-11 Ribbon *2 Coast Guard

Special Operations Service Ribbon The Special Operations Service Ribbon is a service award of the United States Coast Guard which was first created 1 July 1987 by order of Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Paul A. Yost Jr. The award is authorized for certain acts of non-comb ...

s *13 Coast Guard

Sea Service Ribbon A Sea Service Ribbon is an award of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, the United States Army, U.S. Army, and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps which recognizes thos ...

References

External links

USCGC ''Vigorous'' home page
* CGC Vigorous monitors cruise ship Carnival Triumph

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vigorous Historic American Engineering Record in Virginia Reliance-class cutters Ships of the United States Coast Guard 1968 ships Ships built in Lorain, Ohio