The United States Coast Guard (USCG) vessel William Hart, docked at Avatiu harbour, is in the Cook Islands on a courtesy visit and training exercise.

Cook Islands Ports Authority harbour master John Jessie said the vessel arrived this morning.

“They’re here on a courtesy visit and presume training exercise with our Police patrol boat and patrols in our waters,” Jessie confirmed.

The vessel will be departing tomorrow morning to carry out patrols in Cook Islands waters with Te Kukupa II (TEK II) crew and conduct training exercise.

“William Hart and TEK II will return to port this Sunday 5 February 2023, the crew will have some downtime activities with our patrol boat crew over the next four days and will depart Thursday 9 February 2023 to its next port.”

According to the United States Coast Guard, the vessel is based out of Honolulu and its commanding officer is Commander Cynthia S. Travers and executive officer Lieutenant Meg Stanchi.

Its command philosophy states “we exist as a unit to execute the mission, whether it be responding to a mariner in distress, partnering with an island nation to safeguard local fisheries, or supporting our colleagues in the Department of Defense”.

USCG William Hart has a crew of 24, four active officers, and 20 active enlisted. It is the third 154’ Fast Response Cutter (FRC) homeported in Honolulu.

The vessel is part of the Sentinel-class cutter fleet which have a length of 154 feet (47 metres) and are powered by two 4,300 kW (5,800 shp) diesel engines. They have a top speed of more 28 knots and an endurance of 2500 nautical miles. Armaments can include Mark 38 25 mm machine gun systems and Browning .50 caliber machine guns.