US Coast Guard cutter Mellon decommissioned after 52 years of service

The US Coast Guard decommissioned the Hamilton-class high endurance cutter Mellon during a ceremony at Coast Guard Base Seattle on Thursday, August 20.

Commissioned in 1968, Mellon was the third of 12 high-endurance cutters built for long-range, high-endurance missions, including maritime security roles, drug interdiction, illegal immigrant interception, and fisheries patrols.

Highlight of the vessel’s operational service include deployments to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, during which it provided naval gunfire support to friendly ground forces, and the successful multi-vessel rescue of all passengers and crew from the stricken cruise ship Prinsendam on October 4, 1980.

Mellon‘s decommissioning leaves Douglas Munro as the sole Hamilton-class cutter still in service with the US Coast Guard. Douglas Munro is earmarked for transfer to the Vietnamese government following decommissioning, which is also scheduled for this year.