LIFESAVER - ENFORCER - DEFENDER
Welcome aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter MOHAWK. The ship is named for the Algonquin tribe of Iroquoian Indians who lived in the Mohawk Valley of New York. MOHAWK is the third cutter to bear the name. The original MOHAWK (1902-1917), a first class, 205-foot, steel revenue cruiser was built in Richmond, Virginia, and commissioned on May 10th, 1904. She was used primarily as a training ship. In October of 1917 she was struck by another vessel and sank off Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
The second MOHAWK (1935-1948), a 165-foot, “A” class cutter, was built in Wilmington, Delaware and commissioned on January 19th, 1935. She served primarily as an escort and ice patrol ship in the north Atlantic. On January 8th, 1948, MOHAWK was decommissioned and was used as a pilot boat on the Delaware River for more than 30 years. She is located in Key West, Florida.
The third and current MOHAWK is the thirteenth and last of the 270-foot “Famous” class cutters. Built by the former Robert E. Derecktor Shipyards of Rhode Island, MOHAWK was christened on September 9th, 1989. Since the time of her commissioning in March of 1991, she has served the Coast Guard in a wide variety of missions including Search and Rescue, Maritime Law Enforcement, and Alien Migrant Interdiction Operations. MOHAWK has rescued thousands of Haitian, Cuban, and Dominican Republic migrants and has supported as many as 756 migrants on deck at one time. MOHAWK has also interdicted over 80 drug laden vessels, detaining hundreds of narcotics smugglers, and denying drug cartels hundreds of millions of dollars in profit from the sale of illicit narcotics. This, as well as MOHAWK's role in several search and rescue cases and hundreds of boardings to enforce our nation's laws, has earned MOHAWK numerous Coast Guard Unit Commendations and Joint Service awards. MOHAWK is homeported in Key West, Florida.