The mission of Hamilton-class patrol ship

As the backbone of the Coast Guard, the "Hamilton" class patrol ship plays a very important role and also directly participates in combat operations. According to the different situations from daily to wartime, the tasks of the "Hamilton" class patrol ship are varied and mainly divided into the following three aspects.

The first is to carry out long-range maritime search and rescue and marine research. In these missions, the "Hamilton" class patrol ship not only directly participates in specific actions, but also provides navigation and meteorological information services for other ships and aircraft. During the operation, they usually patrol in the sea area of 1× 10, which is called "Ocean Observatory", providing instant information to ensure the safety of people and property at sea. The advanced communication equipment equipped on this patrol ship makes it a floating command center, which can coordinate the search and rescue of ships and planes and respond quickly to natural disasters and environmental accidents. In addition, the "Hamilton" class patrol ship can tow 10000 tons of ships and sail at a speed of 8 knots.

The second main task is to implement the law of the sea, that is, the function of maritime law, including protecting marine resources such as fisheries, preventing drugs from flowing into the United States from South America, cracking down on illegal immigrants, and checking whether ships entering and leaving the United States meet safety regulations. The coast guard can enforce all American laws, so it has broader powers. 1977, the U.S. government officially declared a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone to cope with the depletion of marine resources, which led to a rapid increase in the patrol area of the Coast Guard, especially in the North Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea and the long western coastline of the United States. Since then, the "Hamilton" class patrol ship of the Coast Guard has sailed in Alaska and the Bering Sea, the eastern Pacific Ocean and the vast waters of South America.

The third main task is to maintain military presence, armed alert, and even directly participate in combat operations. Unlike the coastguards of most other countries, the United States Coast Guard is one of its five major services, with strong combat strength, and its basic tasks are military presence, armed vigilance and combat. As early as during the Vietnam War, the "Hamilton" class patrol ship belonging to the 3rd Squadron of the Coast Guard was responsible for supporting "Operation Market Time". Its main task is to classify hundreds of small boats along the coast of Vietnam in order to search for ships transporting weapons to southern Vietnam.