U.S. Donates Estonia's Largest Coast Guard Ship
The former U.S. Coast Guard ship once known as the "Bittersweet" arrived at the Border Guard Harbor at Kopli on Saturday, September 27 at 10:00 A.M. following its Atlantic crossing. The
Bittersweet, now renamed the "VALVAS," was turned over to the Estonian Defense Forces on September 5 this year in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. It will be used by the Estonian Border Guards for
ice-breaking and patrolling operations, and will be the largest vessel to date in the Estonian fleet.
The displacement of the ship is 757 tons, 1034 tons when fully loaded. Its dimensions are meters 54.9x11.3x3.8, with a 1200-horse power engine that gives it a maximum speed of 13 knots/hour,
and an economic speed of 8.3 knots/hour.
The ship was built in Minnesota, U.S. in 1944 for navigation and ice-breaking missions. The Bittersweet was completely renovated in 1976 and its engine was fully upgraded in 1988. Now the ship
has also Raytheon SPS 64 radar, a modern navigation system, a new radio system, and a Global Position System, which tracks the location of the ship using satellite signals.
In World War II, the Bittersweet rescued survivors of plane crashes and, in August 1945, it escorted Soviet warships in the Bering Sea. The Bittersweet subsequently participated in search and
rescue missions off the coast of Alaska, took part in Coast Guard seizure of contraband marijuana cargoes, patrolled for the America's Cup Race in 1980, and finally functioned as a mobile
laboratory for hydrographic data in Woods Hole, Massachusetts from 1987-1997.
The 20-member Estonian crew and Commander Knut Mitt received training in the U.S. before beginning their transatlantic voyage to Tallinn on September 6, 1997. The Estonian Ministry of Defense
will give the Bittersweet to the Border Guard for use in patrolling the coast as well as icebreaking.
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