The state’s entire saltwater border with Canada falls under the command of U.S. Coast Guard Group Port Angeles today.
The shift reorganizes the areas of responsibility for Port Angeles and Group Seattle, adding the San Juan Islands to Group Port Angeles to enhance the Coast Guard’s multi-mission capabilities.
“It’s just better aligning the responsibilities of both Group Port Angeles and Group Seattle toward more of what each is best suited to do,” Capt. Mark D’Andrea, commanding officer of Group Port Angeles, said Thursday.
Putting the state’s entire international maritime border under one Coast Guard command enables the group to work more closely with regional law enforcement, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, county sheriff’s departments, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Coast Guard.
‘Seamless’ transition
The public likely won’t notice any changes as the command shifts, D’Andrea said.
“This will be seamless,” he said.
The reorganization adds about 800 square miles to the approximately 3,100 square miles Group Port Angeles now covers from Port Townsend to south of LaPush.
It brings about 350 people under D’Andrea’s command, including personnel at Station Bellingham, which operates a 47-foot motor life boat, two 27-foot utility boats and a 25-foot response boat.
The 87-foot cutter Sea Lion, also stationed in Bellingham, has been under Port Angeles’ command since it was placed into service in March.
