USCGC Juniper (WLB-201)

USCGC "Juniper" (WLB-201) is the lead ship of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Seagoing Buoy Tenders. She is outfitted with some of the most advanced technological and navigational capabilities currently available.

Predecessors

Her namesake, the first "Juniper", was commissioned into the U.S. Lighthouse Service (USLHS) back in 1903. The USLHS was its own uniformed service completely separate from the Coast Guard, which up until 1915 was the Revenue Cutter Service. "Juniper", homeported in Baltimore, Maryland, was responsible for resupplying lighthouses and maintaining navigational buoys in the Chesapeake Bay until its decommissioning in 1932. While comparatively small at 95 feet long and 125 tons, "Juniper" was of solid construction and served as a civilian cargo vessel out of Norfolk up until 1979.

In late 1930s, the USLHS designed the second "Juniper" which was to be the lead ship for its newest class of 177 ft buoy tenders. However, when the USLHS merged with the Coast Guard in 1939, the Coast Guard decided to build the "Juniper" as a unique vessel and redesign a new class of buoy tenders that were capable of other missions such as search and rescue and icebreaking. This "Juniper" operated out of Tampa, Florida until her decommissioning in 1975. This new class of buoy tenders was commissioned during World War II and served for many decades, and it was these ships that the newest "Juniper" was designed to replace.

WLB-201

The advances made from the 180 foot vintage seagoing buoytenders to the current "Juniper" class are all-encompassing. The current "Juniper" is much larger at 225 feet and 2000 tons, and was the first cutter to fully leverage and implement many technological advances such as electronic charting, position keeping, and remote engineering monitoring and control. "Juniper" is also designed to skim and recover oil in the event of an oil spill.

"Juniper's" Integrated Ship Control System has an Electronic Charting Display and Information System (ECDIS) which enables fixing her position to within five meters every second. Her Dynamic Positioning System (DPS) uses this positioning information, the ship's controllable pitch propeller, and the stern and bow thrusters to keep the ship on station without any human input.

These systems allow "Juniper" and her crew to work more buoys in less time, more efficiently and safely, and in tougher environmental conditions than her predecessors. "Juniper's" Machinery Plant Control and Monitoring System (MPCMS) has over 1000 sensors throughout the ship. This system makes it possible for one person in the engineroom control center to monitor the ship’s plant while underway. "Juniper" and her crew are adept at handling various missions such as aids to navigation, law enforcement, homeland security, ice breaking, environmental pollution response, and search and rescue.

"Juniper" assisted in the recovery operations following the crashes of TWA Flight 800 and Egypt Air 990. She also participated in anti-terrorist and force protection operations in New York immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

On February 3, 2007, "Juniper" participated in reef building efforts off New Jersey, deploying 160,000 pounds of concrete sinkers recovered from old buoy markers to aid in the recovery of local fish populations. [http://www.uscg.mil/d1/units/cgcjuniper/images/news/Bulletin-07.pdf]

References

* [http://www.uscg.mil/d1/cgcjuniper/ USCG "Juniper"]