USCGC Narwhal

USCGC Narwhal
A white Coast Guard patrol boat with a red stripe under way on open water
Narwhal under way
History
United States
NameNarwhal
NamesakeNarwhal
OperatorUnited States Coast Guard
BuilderBollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana
Home portCorona del Mar, California
IdentificationHull number: WPB-87335
Honors and
awards		Meritorious Unit Commendation (2017–2020)
StatusIn active service
General characteristics
Class & typeMarine Protector-class patrol boat
Length87 ft (27 m)

USCGC Narwhal (WPB-87335) is an 87-foot (27 m) Marine Protector-class of the United States Coast Guard. It has been based at Corona del Mar in Newport Beach, California, since 2001. Its missions include search and rescue, drug interdiction, migrant interdiction and the enforcement of fisheries laws off Southern California. In September 2019 Narwhal was the first Coast Guard cutter on scene at the fire aboard the dive boat Conception off Santa Cruz Island, in which 34 people died. The cutter is sponsored by the Newport Beach Council of the Navy League of the United States.

Design

Narwhal is one of the Marine Protector-class coastal patrol boats built for the Coast Guard by Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, Louisiana, under a contract first awarded on March 13, 1996. The class replaced the older 82-foot Point-class cutters.

Service history

Narwhal arrived at Corona del Mar in 2001. The cutter's crew has hosted public tours in Newport Harbor. It has also visited the Ocean Institute in Dana Point for public tours.

Conception fire

At about 3:15 a.m. on September 2, 2019, Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach received a mayday from the 75-foot (23 m) dive boat Conception, which was on fire near Santa Cruz Island. The sector sent helicopters from Point Mugu and San Diego along with Narwhal, which had been on routine patrol nearby. Narwhal was the first Coast Guard cutter to arrive and crews began setting up pumps to remove water from the burning boat, hoping to keep it stable enough to tow ashore, but Conception sank before the equipment was ready. Five crew members escaped, but all 34 people below deck died. The Coast Guard suspended its search for survivors after about 23 hours and some 160 square miles (410 km2) searched.

Narwhal later received the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation for its service from July 2017 to February 2020. This citation specifically noted its swift response to the Conception fire.

Migrant interdictions

In the 2020s Narwhal carried out a series of interdictions of migrant boats off Orange and San Diego counties:

  • In November 2024 its crew stopped a 34-foot (10 m) boat carrying 21 migrants about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Newport Beach. The migrants were transferred to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
  • On April 6, 2025, it interdicted 22 people aboard a 45-foot (14 m) cabin cruiser about 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Point Loma.
  • On April 9, 2026, a Narwhal boarding team interdicted three people about 5 miles (8.0 km) off Point Loma.
  • At about 12:54 a.m. on July 20, 2026, a boarding team stopped an 18-foot (5.5 m) Sea Ray about 7 miles (11 km) off Point Loma with seven people aboard. They were taken to Ballast Point and handed over to the United States Border Patrol.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "New Commanding Officer USCG's Cutter Narwhal". Seapower. June 20, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Newport Beach Council's USCGC Narwhal Awarded Meritorious Unit Commendation". Navy League of the United States. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Coast Guard interdicts 22 aliens west of San Diego" (Press release). United States Coast Guard. April 7, 2025. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Coast Guard first responders reflect on the personal toll of the Conception response". KCRW. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 "Coast Guard Calls Off Search for Dive Boat Fire Survivors". The Maritime Executive. September 3, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Bollinger Shipyards Celebrates Success". MarineLink. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
  7. ↑ "87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat (WPB) – Marine Protector Class". U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
  8. 1 2 "U.S. Coast Guard welcomes public tours of cutter Narwhal in Corona del Mar". Patch. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
  9. ↑ "U.S. Coast Guard Cutter 'Narwhal' Returns to Ocean Institute on Saturday". Dana Point Times. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
  10. ↑ "UPDATE 1: Coast Guard, local agencies continue response to boat fire near Santa Cruz Island" (Press release). United States Coast Guard. September 2, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Coast Guard crew reflects on Conception boat tragedy". Spectrum News 1. November 19, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Coast Guard interdicts 21 migrants off coast of Newport Beach" (Press release). United States Coast Guard. November 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Coast Guard interdicts 3 aliens near Point Loma" (Press release). United States Coast Guard. April 2026. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Coast Guard interdicts 3 aliens near Point Loma". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. April 9, 2026. Retrieved November 10, 2026.
  15. ↑ "CORRECTION: Coast Guard apprehends 7 aliens near Point Loma" (Press release). United States Coast Guard. July 2026. Retrieved November 10, 2026.