WHEC 719 Boutwell
BOUTWELL is one of twelve Hamilton class High Endurance Cutters and the third cutter to bear the name BOUTWELL. Named for George S. Boutwell, the Secretary of the Treasury under President Ulysses S. Grant, BOUTWELL's keel was laid in 1966 by Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans and construction was completed in 1967 at a cost of 16 million dollars. The ship was commissioned in 1968 and homeported in Boston. BOUTWELL moved to Seattle in 1973 and then to the current homeport of Alameda, California following an extensive renovation and modernization project in 1990.
BOUTWELL's primary missions are conducted in support of the Coast Guard's Strategic Goals of Safety, Protection of Natural Resources, Mobility, Maritime Security, and National Defense. These missions range over a wide area of the Pacific, from the Bering Sea to Central and South America.
BOUTWELL is powered by two Pratt and Whitney gas turbines, which deliver 36,000 shp, or by two Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines, which provide over 7,000 shp for economical cruising. Speeds in excess of 27 knots can be attained when using gas turbines, although normal cruising is done on diesels at about 12 knots. This capability enable BOUTWELL to engage in extended law enforcement and fisheries patrols, as well as be able to respond quickly to search and rescue. The two 13 foot diameter controllable pitch propellers make the ship extremely maneuverable for its size. A retractable bow propulsion unit provides Omni-directional thrust at the bow and provides sideways movement of the ship at low speed maneuvering situations.
BOUTWELL and its crew have established a long legacy of faithful service, often under harrowing conditions. In 1980, it played an integral role in the rescue of over 500 passengers and crew from the Dutch cruise ship Prinsedam, which had caught fire and eventually sank in the Gulf of Alaska. This was the largest at-sea rescue ever conducted.
BOUTWELL has made numerous seizures of illegal drugs in both Alaskan waters and off Central America. Evidence of this success is displayed on the bridge wings along with numerous unit citations and commendations.
In 1998 the cutter was deployed for 201 days. During this period BOUTWELL and its crew forcibly seized a Chinese fishing vessel in the North Pacific fishing with illegal indiscriminate nets, termed High Seas Drift Nets. This type of fishing is banned worldwide by a United Nations resolution. The vessel was escorted to China for further investigation.
On the next patrol, BOUTWELL took custody of the Chih Yung, a 165-foot fishing vessel attempting to smuggle nearly 200 Chinese migrants into U. S. by way of Baja California. After careful investigation and evidence gathering, the vessel was escorted into San Diego, where the Chih Yung's crewmembers were arrested and the migrants were processed by immigration authorities. This was the largest high-seas drift net bust in Coast Guard history.
BOUTWELL was then unexpectedly sent back out on patrol. While transiting off Central America, orders were received to head south to locate a tanker vessel suspected of spilling an estimated 30,000 gallons of oil off the coast of San Francisco. BOUTWELL intercepted the vessel off the coast of Guatemala where BOUTWELL's crew boarded, gathered evidence, and escorted the ship to Panama for additional Coast Guard inspection. During this groundbreaking, first-ever prosecution of U. S. pollution law on the high seas, BOUTWELL gathered enough evidence to allow federal prosecutors to indict and convict key crewmembers and the ship's owners under federal law. For these efforts and others BOUTWELL and its crew were awarded the prestigious Admiral John B. Hayes Award for Unit Excellence and the Special Operations Service Ribbon.
In 2002, Boutwell continues her pursuit of historic achievement. Over the past year, Boutwell seized over 100 million dollars in cocaine. In doing this, Boutwell was exercising the newly developed Go-Fast Response Team. With the help of the new HITRON helicopter, Boutwell could stop and seize drugs from every Go-Fast it pursued.
On January 3 2003 the Boutwell departed Alameda for the beginning of a sixth month deployment. She will transit with the Tarawa ARG to the Persian Gulf where whe will take part in MIO.
George S. Boutwell
George S. Boutwell was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant to be the 28th Secretary of the Treasury. He served from March 12, 1869 until March 16, 1873.
Boutwell had spent a long career in public service, including tours of duty as the first Commissioner of Internal Revenue during 1862 and 1863. He also served as a Congressman from 1863 until 1869, before being appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant as Secretary of the Treasury in 1869. His chief objectives as Secretary of the Treasury were to improve the organization of the Department and to continue reducing the national debt.
Boutwell set up a system for the manufacture of money which made it easier to detect counterfeit currency and he reorganized the Mint, which became part of the Treasury Department in 1873 after seventy-four years as an independent agency. He also instituted an efficient system of bookkeeping and accounting for the customs houses.
Shortly after his appointment, Boutwell had to rise to the challenge of the infamous "Black Friday" of September 23 , 1869, when speculators on Wall Street tried to corner the gold market. He successfully blocked their scheme by releasing great quantities of Treasury gold and thereby flooding the market.
George S. Boutwell was born in 1818. When Boutwell left Treasury in 1873, he returned to the Senate. He died in 1905.
The First Boutwell (1873)
This iron-hulled vessel was fitted with unusual machinery in which the two cylinders could operate independently or together as a compound engine. The Boutwell was constructed for the southern coast. She was driven aground by a hurricane in1881 and refloated. The Boutwell was decommissioned in Baltimore, MD and sold 23 Oct. 1907 for $2,010.
The Second Boutwell (1873)
This class of vessels was one of the most useful and long lasting in the service with 16 cutters still in use in the 1960's. The last to be decommissioned was the MORRIS in 1970; the last in service was the CUYAHOGA, sunk in 1978. They were designed for the outer line of patrol during Prohibition: trailing mother ships. They gained a reputation for durability only enhanced by their re-engining in the late 1930's; their original 6-cylinder diesels were replaced by significantly more powerful 8-cylinder units that used the original engine beds and gave the vessels 3 additional knows. All served in World War II, but two ( the JACKSON and the BEDLOE) were lost in a storm in 1944. Ten were refitted as buoy tenders during the war and reverted to patrol work afterward.
This vessel was stationed at New York until transferred to Charleston, SC, in September 1032. She was at Curtis Bay, MD (1936) and later at Panama City, FL (1940). She remained in the Gulf through World War II, rescuing forty-four people from the tanker R. W. Gallagher 13 July 1942. She was at Port Isabel, TX (1952-53) and then at Brownsville, TX
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