Welcome to the U.S. Coast Guard Station Bellingham page. For the official source of information about the U. S. Coast Guard, please visit www.uscg.mil
Station Bellingham is the northern-most station in the Coast Guard's 13th district. Its area of responsibility includes the San Juan Islands north to the Canadian Border. Since Sept. 11, 2001 Station Bellingham averages 150 search and rescue cases, and 300 maritime law enforcement boardings per year. Every year station personnel assist approximately 150 people, saving dozens of lives and almost a half a million dollars in property annually.
The Coast Guard has had a permanent presence in the Bellingham area since 1947. The first units in Bellingham were an 83-foot Coastal Patrol Boat with a crew of 14 and a 50-foot Harbor Patrol Boat with a crew of eight. In 1966 the patrol boats were replaced by the 65-foot Harbor Tug Bitt, which was later transferred to Valdez, Alaska. The first station was commissioned in 1977 with a crew of six. As mission definitions expanded, and the personnel increased, new station facilities were built in 1986 and again in 1999. The present day station was commissioned July 9, 1999.
With its proximity to Canada, Station Bellingham also conducts Homeland Security patrols in cooperation with federal, state, local, and Canadian law enforcement agencies to provide a waterborne presence and deter threats to the nation. Personnel and resources from Station Bellingham also support numerous other Coast Guard missions including aids to navigation, marine environmental protection, fisheries conservation enforcement, and port safety and security.
