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USCGC ''Durable'' (WMEC-628) was a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. The ''Durable'' was the first cutter in Coast Guard history to hold this name. Like all ships in the Reliance-Class of medium endurance cutters, ''Durable'' was named for an aspirational trait meaning to be capable of withstanding wear or decay. The Coast Guard Yard laid ''Durable's'' keel on 1 July 1966. Mrs. Alton A. Lennon, the wife of Congressman Alton A. Lennon of North Carolina, sponsored the new cutter at ''Durable's'' christening and launching on 29 April 1967. The Coast Guard commissioned ''Durable'' on 8 December 1968 at Coast Guard Base Galveston, under the command of CDR Richard M. Thomas. She was initially home-ported at Galveston, Texas. The following year, in June, 1969, she transferred to Brownsville, Texas, where she operated from until 1986. On her first day of duty at Brownsville ''Durable'' assisted the grounded fishing vessel Dahlia south of Galveston. On 25 June 1969 CDR Paul E. Schroeder took command of the cutter. In February and March 1970 she monitored the situation following a fire on an oil rig off the entrance to the Mississippi River. She sailed to the assistance of the shrimp trawler Mr. Tucker in December 1970 after the trawler had been hijacked from the port of Freeport, Texas. The trawler's crew killed the two hijackers and then requested assistance. The ''Durable'' towed her back into port.〔United States Coast Guard. (Durable History ).〕 ==1970s== In March 1972, under the command of CDR William Drew, she acted as the on-scene commander for the multi-unit search for survivors of the T/V San Nicholas which had broken in half and sank on 5 March. During this operation, a Coast Guard HH-52A became the 1,000th helicopter to make a successful landing on ''Durables flight deck. On 15 March, while still acting as the on-scene commander, she responded to a medical emergency on board the M/V Constellation. A passing merchant ship managed to save two survivors of San Nicholas, but all the cutter found was debris. In October 1973 ''Durable'', now under the command of CDR William J. Brogdon, Jr., responded to a distress call from the F/V Tiki 7, which was disabled and in danger of sinking. The cutter arrived to find the vessel nearly submerged. She rescued her seven crewmen and marked the vessel as a hazard to navigation. In 1975 ''Durable'' accomplished one of the longest tows on record. The tug Beaver became disabled while towing two decommissioned U.S. Navy destroyers to a scrap yard. With a tropical storm approaching the three vessels, ''Durable'' was sent to the rescue. Arriving on scene, the cutter made up a towline and fought winds and seas while towing all three vessels to safety. During the first six months of 1978, ''Durable'' saved six lives and one vessel while assisting 26 other people. Although search and rescue was always one of the Coast Guard's primary missions, during the mid-1970s and on the Coast Guard's efforts to interdict narcotics smuggling by sea became a focus of the Coast Guard and ''Durables history reflects that shift. During this same six-month period, she gained international attention for her law enforcement activities that overshadowed this successful search and rescue work. On 6 December 1977 she seized the M/V Lemarca I after a boarding party discovered 55,060 pounds of marijuana on board and arrested her 9-man crew. On 4 May 1978 she seized the F/V Pappy with 31,772 pounds of marijuana on board and arrested her 5-man crew. On 3 June 1978, with a television news crew aboard who were filming the cutter's enforcement of fisheries laws, she seized the F/V Adeline Marie after discovering 49,400 pounds of marijuana on board. Her three-man crew was taken into custody and the television crew captured the entire event on camera and ''Durable'' and her crew were soon on the evening news. The following month ''Durable'', now under the command of CDR Gary F. Crosby, set a personal record of seizures that again made the local media. On 5 July 1978 she seized the Bonos Margie after discovering 26,912 pounds of marijuana on board and arrested her six-man crew. Later that month, on 12 July, she seized a dive boat southwest of Key West, Florida, after her helicopter located the suspect craft and a boarding team discovered 1,000 bales of marijuana in the dive boat's hold. After taking the vessel's occupants into custody and placing a prize crew aboard, the cutter got underway, escorting the vessel, bound for St. Petersburg. En route, she came across the sport fisherman Miss Renee, boarded her and discovered over 17,000 pounds of marijuana. She seized that vessel and began escorting both back to Florida. Later that day she came across the F/V Joanne, located 20,148 pounds of marijuana on board, and seized her. Fifty-five miles south-southwest of St. Petersburg she located the yawl Carte Blance, boarded her, and discovered 15,396 pounds of marijuana. The ''Durable'' seized her as well and escorted all four of the arrested vessels to St. Petersburg. During her patrol, she conducted 37 helicopter landings, bringing her total since commissioning to 2,806. After returning to the Gulf of Mexico, she seized the coastal freighter Superfly II on 16 August 1978 when a boarding party located over 32½ tons of "high-grade Colombian" marijuana on board. Her 16-man crew was taken into custody and a prize crew was placed on board. The cutter then escorted her prize back to Brownsville, arriving there on 19 August 1978. For the period of 6 December 1977 through 31 August 1978, she seized nine vessels and 311,000 pounds of marijuana. In recognition of her outstanding performance in both search and rescue and law enforcement activities during the period from December 1977 through August 1978, the commander of the Atlantic Area, VADM R. T. Price, awarded the cutter and crew the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation. From December 1978 to August 1979, she inspected the entire fleet of Japanese tuna long-line fishing vessels that sailed in the Gulf of Mexico. She issued citations and notices of violations. She also continued her narcotics seizures. On 22 April 1979 she seized the F/V Cap'n Stud after discovering 15,000 tons of marijuana, however, the vessel and cargo were destroyed while hard aground on a reef. CDR Kent H. Williams took over command of the cutter in June 1979. On 12 July 1979 she seized the F/V Morning Star, which was attempting to smuggle 25,000 pounds of marijuana. Also in July, ''Durable'' responded to a distress call from the M/V Maritime Hawk which reported having a fire in her engine room. The cutter arrived within two hours and assisted the Maritime Hawk's crew in successfully fighting the fire.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USCGC Durable (WMEC-628)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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