US sends naval vessel to patrol off Guyana’s coast

…to boost maritime security in region

In keeping with efforts to increase maritime security in the Atlantic Ocean, the United States (US) Navy has sent a brand-new cutter vessel that will patrol offshore a number of countries in the region, including Guyana.

According to a statement from the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS), the warship, which is called the USCGC Stone (WMSL 758), was sent from Pascagoula, Mississippi in the US just ahead of Christmas.
The ship in question is a Legend-class cutter, considered one of the most technologically advanced ships in the US Coast Guard’s fleet with a range of 12,000 nautical miles. They usually measure 127 metres, with a 54-foot beam (width at the widest point of the ship) and can reach a top speed of over 28 knots.
It was explained by DVIDS that the ship will be on a multi-month deployment to the South Atlantic Ocean and will be tasked with countering illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, while also strengthening relationships for maritime sovereignty and security throughout the region.
“The brand-new Legend-class national security cutter, one of the U.S. Coast Guard’s flagships, will provide a presence and support national security objectives throughout the Atlantic. This patrol is the cutter’s initial shakedown cruise following delivery in November,” the statement said.
It was also noted in the statement that this is the service’s “first patrol to South America in recent memory, and is being undertaken with support from Guyana, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Portugal. The cutter has embarked a ship rider from the Portuguese Navy under a non-binding international agreement.”
According to the statement, Operation Southern Cross is being conducted in conjunction with US Southern Command. It is charged with managing operations in Central and South America by collaborating to ensure the security of the Western Hemisphere.
It was only in September that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Guyana and signed a maritime patrol pact with officials in Guyana to guard against narcotics and other regional security threats.
President Dr Irfaan Ali had explained that the maritime pact would see joint patrols to interdict narcotics trafficking. The President had also noted that it would allow for the improvement of technical and human capabilities in monitoring Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone. That move, he had noted, would augur well for stronger collaboration and broader technical assistance to help combat both domestic and transnational organised criminal networks.
“In relation to our Exclusive Economic Zone, it is not only from a maritime perspective, because we would have raised also with the Secretary radar coverage of our Exclusive Economic Zone, which is critical at this time. We have had various difficulties, and I think we welcome any help that would enhance our security, that would enhance our ability to protect our borders and, importantly, enhance our capability and ability to ensure that we go after criminal elements. And this allows us to do that. It strengthens our capacity and it builds that partnership and gives us that additional capacity that is so needed,” President Ali had said.
At present, Guyana and Venezuela are locked in a dispute wherein the Spanish-speaking country has laid claim, without cause, to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass, the Essequibo region, and a portion of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in which more than eight billion barrels of oil have been discovered…offshore Guyana.
Having ruled via majority that it has jurisdiction to hear the border controversy case between Guyana and Venezuela over a week ago, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has set January 15, 2021 for case management.
During this hearing, the World Court, which is located in The Hague, Netherlands, is expected to decide on the time to be allocated for the different elements of the hearing – presentation by the two sides and responses, then deliberation by the judges.