Coast Guard Cutter Decommissioned, Transferred to Bangladesh Navy

The U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned and transferred a cutter to the Bangladesh Navy during a ceremony in Alameda Wednesday, coast guard officials said.

The Bangladesh Navy will leave Alameda with the cutter later this year and until then former Rush crewmembers will advise and assist crewmembers from Bangladesh as they prepare to take the boat to their country. Bangladesh officials have renamed the boat BNS Somudra Avijan, according to the Coast Guard.

The U.S. commissioned the Cutter Rush on July 15, 1969, Coast Guard officials said. The cutter was the ninth of the Hamilton Class High Endurance Cutters, which are being replaced by National Security Cutters, according to the Coast Guard.

Coast Guard officials said that compared with the high endurance cutters, the NSCs are designed for higher sustained travel speeds and greater range and endurance, among other things.

The NSCs also can launch and recover smaller boats and the NSCs have a flight deck for helicopters, according to the Coast Guard.

--Bay City News

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