He remarked that given her age, USCGC Mellon is a tougher ship to keep up, but that her service history shows the value of that investment. Mellon was laid down on 25 July 1966 at Avondale Shipyards near New Orleans, Louisiana. CGC MELLON’s "balloon shelter" was replaced with a telescoping helicopter hangar. The Seattle-based Coast Guard Cutter Mellon (WHEC 717) moors at U.S. Coast Guard Base Kodiak's fuel pier in Kodiak, Alaska, July 10, 2020. Soon after her mission shift, the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 was enacted. The master of the PRINSENDAM ordered the vessel abandoned at approximately 0630. [1] At roughly 1115 hrs the next morning, Mellon reached the area where the vessel Tamerlane (Norway) was rescuing survivors from the now deserted tanker. CGC MELLON was launched on February 11, 1967 and was commissioned on January 9, 1968. Those in critical condition were transferred to the USCGC BOUTWELL and taken to Sitka, Alaska for treatment. All but 7 of the survivors were recovered and taken on CGC MELLON back to Honolulu. CGC MELLON embarked a para-rescue team from the U.S. Air Force. CGC MELLON is often called upon to assist a disabled vessel or to transport an injured crewmember ashore via helicopter. She was named for Andrew W. Mellon, the 49th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1921-1932 and launched on 11 February 1967 by the wife of John W. Warner, Jr., sponsor and granddaughter of Andrew Mellon. Demonstrating consummate seamanship, CGC MELLON was able to recover 16 of 33 crewmen who were clinging to logs and debris in the storm-tossed seas. While deployed on ocean station duty, Mellon also performed oceanographic research operations. This recognition is presented to the Coast Guard Pacific Area unit which by its overall achievements, demonstrated commitments to excellence and professionalism embodied in the traditions and lore of the Coast Guard. By the mid-1970s, technological advances rendered ocean station duty obsolete. Sexual Assault Prevention & Response Resources, Non-Tank Vessel Response Plan Requirements, Restricted Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessel Endorsements, Pacific Regional Fisheries Training Center, National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC), Marine Safety Information Bulletins (MSIB). In February 1974, Mellon played a major role rescuing the crew of the Italian supertanker Giovanna Lolli-Ghetti. SEAWATCH is the most advanced system in use in the Coast Guard. This included training in international law, defensive tactics, counter narcotic trafficking methods, boarding procedures, and medical training. The nearby Novikov Priboy from Russia arrived to give additional medical aid. The task force seized large quantities of war material, preventing it from reaching enemy hands. In March 1970, Mellon was involved in pursuit of mutineers involved in the SS Columbia Eagle incident during the Vietnam War. CGC MELLON arrived around 1830 that night and dispatched a team to provide medical assistance onboard the WILLIAMSBURGH. Work History Seaman, 06/2013 to 09/2014 USCGC MELLON (WHEC-717) – Seattle, WA Performed routine maintenance tasks, including lowering, raising and cleaning ship's small boats. A towering wave, estimated at over 100 feet, rolled the sloop and broke the mast. Join TWS for Free Today! She was also fitted with a Phalanx Close in Weapon System, or "CIWS." The diesel engines are Fairbanks-Morse and are larger versions of a 1968 diesel locomotive design. The vessel’s operator was able to make a distress call with the only surviving piece of electronic equipment, a four pound HAM radio. During helicopter evolutions, these cameras eliminate "blind spots" on the ship and enable the crew to conduct these operations with an enhanced degree of safety. Shortly after her arrival in Honolulu, Mellon departed for a naval show in San Diego, CA. Much further to the south, CGC MELLON plays a key part in a national strategy known as "STEEL WEB," an effort to deny narcotics smugglers access to the United States via maritime routes. From time to time, she patrols the Maritime Boundary Line between the United States and Russia. The CARNELIAN I was located 100 miles North of Oahu. CGC MELLON was one of the newer ships of her class to have a joystick helm. During this refit, CGC MELLON was equipped with the latest command and control technologies. The Gunnery award was first presented to the CGC SNOHOMISH in 1927 and last presented to the CGC CAMPBELL in 1940. This hangar can be extended to house one helicopter and protect it from rough seas and harsh weather. Aft mast of USCGC Mellon(WHEC-717) at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka July 26, 2019.jpg 5,568 × 3,712; 4.14 MB Here she performed search and rescue and oceanographic research missions. The twin screws can use 7,000 diesel shaft horsepower to make 17 knots, and a total of 36,000 gas turbine shaft horsepower to make 28 knots. Seven of the crew were not recovered. She was named for Andrew W. Mellon, the 49th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1921-1932 and launched on 11 February 1967 by the wife of John W. Warner, Jr., sponsor and granddaughter of Andrew Mellon. CGC Mellon WHEC-717 saw extensive service during the conflict in Vietnam. These improvements vastly improved CGC MELLON’s capabilities. Perhaps the most noteworthy of these efforts was her successful test firing of a Harpoon anti-ship missile. This cover is in good, but not perfect condition. [2] The rest were taken back to Honolulu on Mellon.[3]. Please look at the scan and make your own judgement. She demonstrated the ability to reach speeds greater than 20 knots within two ship lengths from a standing stop. CGC MELLON was classified as a "high endurance cutter," one which was designed to remain at sea for extended periods of time to undertake mid-ocean search and rescue operations and to conduct law enforcement and national security missions. Exclusive Economic Zone. She sailed as part of Task Force 115 (U.S. Navy Coastal Surveillance Force) which maintained close surveillance over 1,200 miles of Vietnamese coastline and 64,000 licensed watercraft. She was able to be maneuvered into a narrow berth, without the assistance of tugs, through the use of her bow propulsion unit. CGC MELLON was unable to communicate directly with the SORCERY and relied on two unknown HAM operators to relay vital information between SORCERY and MELLON. Mellon was laid down on 25 July 1966 at Avondale Shipyards near New Orleans, Louisiana. Improvements in long range communications and the installation of weather and navigation satellite constellations made it unnecessary for the Coast Guard to station high endurance cutters at sea to perform these missions. USCGC Mellon in Seattle for SeaFair Fleet Week, Media related to USCGC Mellon (WHEC-717) at Wikimedia Commons, Learn how and when to remove this template message, http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DS19740225.2.16, "The History and Legacy of the United States Coast Guard Cutter BOUTWELL (WHEC 719)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=USCGC_Mellon_(WHEC-717)&oldid=983718374, Articles needing additional references from April 2009, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 1 × 500KW Solar Model 101506-2001 gas generator, AN/WLR-1H Electronic Support Surveillance Equipment, This page was last edited on 15 October 2020, at 21:01. Mellon was modernized from 1985 to 1989 during the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program. She also worked closely with elements of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), gathering weather information. She and a portion of the Hamilton-class were outfitted with Harpoon anti-ship missiles, test firings of the harpoon were conducted on the Mellon in January 1990. CGC MELLON rescue and assistance personnel boarded the vessel and pumped 250 tons of seawater overboard. Her efforts to track and report the identity of vessels that were illegally discharging oil into the ocean were praised highly in the citation. Mellon saw extensive service during the conflict in Vietnam. CGC MELLON was one of the first naval vessels built with a combined diesel and gas turbine propulsion plant. Coast Guard cutters conducting Ocean Station operations were a primary communication link for commercial aircraft making trans-oceanic flights. CGC MELLON and other cutters diverted to assist. I love history and military science, so I created this website as a place to share my passion to you. CGC MELLON put the Italian crew into one berthing area and gave them clean clothes and warm food. Apr 12, 2020 - This Pin was discovered by Bill Crum. CGC MELLON was also one of the first cutters to employ closed circuit TV cameras to monitor engineering systems and operations on deck. CGC Mellon was originally homeported in Honolulu, HI. CGC MELLON received the CG Unit Commendation Medal from 6 February 1989 to 27 February 1990, for her successful execution of several military readiness missions. USCGC Mellon was a High Endurance Cutter homeported in Seattle and served as an asset in completing Coast Guard missions around the world for 52 years. Mellon’s primary area of operation shifted northward to the icy waters of the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea where she conducted search and rescue operations and enforced U.S. laws and regulations pertaining to fishing in these areas. Commissioned in 1968, the Mellon … At around 0100 the next morning, some 18 hours after the ordeal had begun, the BOUTWELL spotted a flare from the lifeboat. Peek inside Seattle-based Coast Guard cutter From chasing mutineers in Vietnam to rescues to cocaine busts, the ship has seen it all in 50 years' service 1 of 44 The USCGC Mellon … Find People you served with from USCGC Mellon (WHEC-717) . The gunnery direction system was replaced with the Mk92 Fire Control System. The ship was recently equipped with the AN/SPS-78 digital surface radar system that incorporates a state of the art computerized collision avoidance system. On her first Alaskan patrol from Seattle, she participated in the rescue of four survivors from the crash of a military C-130 on Attu Island in 1982. She was twice awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation during the Vietnam War. Her main battery was upgraded from the 5-inch 38 to the later Mk 75, 76mm gun system. Mellon was launched Feb. 11, 1967, and commissioned Jan. 9, 1968. Forecasters used this meteorological data to develop weather forecasts for U.S. coastal areas. She was named after Andrew W. Mellon 49th Secretary of the Treasury from 1921-1932. Two survivors with severe burns were airlifted off Mellon by a USCG HH-52 helicopter flown off HMAS Melbourne. In October 1999, CGC MELLON’s achievements in gunnery operations earned the unit the Commandant’s Gunnery Award. After the rescue operations were completed, the Mellon remained on scene in a futile attempt to fight the fire, that had originated in the Prinsendam engine room and progressed throughout the ship. USCGC Mellon 2016 (WHEC 717) - Duration: 5:58. During these earlier Alaskan patrols, CGC MELLON was away from homeport for approximately three months and covered approximately 7000 miles while enforcing laws and treaties established to preserve commercial fishing resources. They survived an explosion, fire and then sinking of the tanker. WILLIAMSBURGH arrived at 0745 and immediately passengers and crew were transferred from the lifeboats into the helicopter and then to the deck of the supertanker. The crew began training at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, HI before Mellon's commissioning. The fire severely burned 2 crewmembers and disabled the loaded freighter. The ASW and Harpoon launching systems were later removed due to budget constraints. The Coast Guard Command in Juneau directed the USCGC BOUTWELL and an HC-130 Hercules to search for the missing lifeboat. CGC MELLON makes full use of recent technological advances in shipboard electronics. CGC MELLON is equipped with multiple redundant navigation systems including the Differential Global Positioning System (dGPS). On the next patrol in August 1975, CGC MELLON responded to a distressed vessel RYUKYO MARU in the waters adjacent to St. Paul Island in the Pribilof Island chain in the Bering Sea. The wave destroyed all marine navigation equipment. USCGC Mellon [WHEC 717] sits in full dress at the pier before a decommissioning ceremony in Seattle on Aug. 20, 2020. Mellon was commissioned 9 January 1968. Do you know more about the USCGC MELLON? A nearby Russian vessel NOVIKOV PRIBOY arrived with many doctors for further medical assistance. USCGC Morgenthau (WHEC-722) Last updated October 18, 2019 This article needs additional citations for verification. On March 6, 1977 CGC MELLON spotted a volcanic eruption just a few hours old on Seguam Island in the Aleutian chain. The crew and passengers of the cruise liner filled the lifeboats with only 15 passengers and 25 crewmembers remaining on the PRINSENDAM. Further south, along the Alaskan peninsula, CGC MELLON enforces regulations promulgated by the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect domestic fish stocks. These survivors were then transferred to the CGC MELLON for medical assistance. It is worth noting that CGC MELLON was among the first American vessels to use jet aircraft-type turbines for propulsion. The crowds were also impressed with her maneuverability. Named for Andrew W. Mellon the 49th Secretary of the Treasury from 1921-1932 and launched February 11, 1967 by Mrs. John W. Warner, Jr., sponsor and granddaughter of Andrew Mellon. USCGC Mellon (WHEC-717) was a United States Coast Guard Hamilton-class high endurance cutter based out of Seattle, Washington. She also launched weather balloons to record conditions in the upper levels of the earth’s atmosphere. Hope you find something interesting when visiting Military-Wiki.com. Her first crew numbered approximately 150 personnel. The 1000-foot supertanker, WILLIAMSBURGH, also diverted to render assistance. The cutter was named after Andrew W. Mellon, the 49th Secretary of the Treasury from 1921-1932. At midnight Mellon was advised of a distress call from 900 miles northeast of Hawaii. Due to global pandemic, USPS delivery may be temporarily delayed. CGC MELLON arrived on scene at around 1115 the next morning where the Norwegian vessel TAMERLANE was rescuing survivors who had abandoned the Italian tanker. She was sponsored on her commissioning date by Mrs. John W. Warner Jr. granddaughter of the late Secretary Andrew W. Mellon. “I think it really captures everything the Coast Guard does as an armed service.” To carry the injured sailor to treatment ashore the stylized Northwestern Coastal Indian harpoons symbolize combat readiness and to. 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