HONOLULU – The crew of U.S. Coast Guard cutter Harriet Lane (WMEC 903) returned to Pearl Harbor Aug. 12, 2026, following a 75-day patrol in support of Coast Guard’s Oceania District's Operation Blue Pacific.
Harriet Lane and its 100 crewmembers departed Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in June to conduct combined operations and territorial integrity missions within Oceania. Patrolling more than 16,000 nautical miles throughout the Pacific to include the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Australia, the cutter worked alongside regional partners in the Pacific to deter transnational criminal activities, facilitate the flow of commerce, and protect critical ocean resources.
During this patrol, Capt. Justin Matejka, commanding officer of Harriet Lane, hosted the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands aboard the cutter, alongside P. Daniel O’Hara, American Chargé d'Affaires, and Vice Adm. Joseph R. Buzzella, commander, Pacific Area, for a historic bilateral maritime law enforcement agreement signing between the two nations. This document allows for cooperative law enforcement operations between the Solomon Islands and the U.S. Coast Guard to further protect the island nation’s sovereignty, help enforce their fisheries regulations, and ensure that vessels in the Solomon Islands exclusive economic zone are operating safely and securely. Having been the first cutter to moor in Honiara since 2018, the crew visited the Douglas Munro Memorial at Point Cruz, paying honor and respect to the Coast Guard’s only Medal of Honor recipient.
“Sailing through the historic waters of Guadalcanal while signing a milestone bilateral agreement made this an extraordinary patrol,” said Matejka. “Places like Iron Bottom Sound hold sacred meaning for the Coast Guard, and visiting the Douglas Munro Memorial shortly after signing the bilateral law enforcement agreement with the Solomon Islands was deeply meaningful. We are grateful to stand with our regional partners as we combat illegal fishing and illicit activities to ensure a free, open, and secure Pacific.”
The Harriet Lane crew exercised further partnerships with Fiji and Papua New Guinea through bilateral maritime law enforcement operations, community relations, and domestic federal maritime law
enforcement operations. In total, the Harriet Lane crew assisted Fiji and Papua New Guinea’s enforcement officers conduct 42 boardings of fishing vessels.
Commissioned in 1984, Harriet Lane is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Honolulu to support Coast Guard missions in the Pacific region. The service's medium endurance cutter fleet supports a variety of Coast Guard missions including search and rescue, law enforcement, maritime defense, and protection of the marine environment.
For more information Follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
-USCG-