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Home > US Coast Guard in bilateral maritime law enforcement ops in Tonga

US Coast Guard in bilateral maritime law enforcement ops in Tonga [1]

Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Monday, May 25, 2026 - 21:49

Tongan Royal Navy Lt. Cmdr. Toetuu Vaka and Sblt. Lehopoame Palaki with U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Alan Moriwaki, on the USCGC Hollyhock (WLB 214), while preparing for bilateral maritime law enforcement operations in Tonga’s exclusive economic zone May 18, 2026. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard - Seaman Yoeli Barrientos.

The crew of a United States Coast Guard vessel worked with Tongan partners and made port calls in Nuku'alofa and Vava’u, Tonga, as part of their first Operation Blue Pacific patrol, which commenced in April.

USCGC Hollyhock (WLB-214) crew conducted bilateral maritime law enforcement operations with Tongan Royal Navy officers in Tonga’s exclusive economic zone.

At the end of the operations, U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Jessica McCollum, hosted the Acting Governor of Vava'u, Penisimani Vainikolo, and representatives from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Revenue & Customs, Tonga Tourism Authority, Tonga Police, and His Majesty’s Armed Forces aboard the cutter in Vava’u, on May 19.

U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Jessica McCollum, commanding officer, Lt. Ryan Burk, executive officer, and Lt. J.G. Evan Burk, operations officer assigned to seagoing buoy tender USCGC Hollyhock (WLB 214), host Penisimani Vainikolo, Acting Governor of Vava’u, Tonga government officials, and His Majesty’s Armed Forces aboard the cutter in Vava’u, Tonga, May 19, 2026. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard.

While visiting Nuku’alofa earlier, on May 12, the crew hosted public tours aboard the 69 m Juniper-class cutter for over 170 students and community members.

The coast guardsmen also cleaned up litter from the beach near the "American Wharf" in Nuku'alofa.

The seagoing buoy tender is a type of United States Coast Guard Cutter used to service aids to navigation throughout the waters of the United States and wherever American shipping interests require.

The USCGC Hollyhock is based in Hawaii.

U.S. Coast Guardsmen assigned to seagoing buoy tender USCGC Hollyhock (WLB 214) cleaned up the beach near American Wharf in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, May 12, 2026. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard - Seaman Yoeli Barrientos.
Tonga College Atele students toured the seagoing buoy tender USCGC Hollyhock (WLB 214) in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, May 12, 2026. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard - Seaman Yoeli Barrientos.
Pacific Islands [2]
defence [3]
US Coast Guard [4]
USCGC Hollyhock [5]
Pacific Islands [6]

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Source URL:https://matangitonga.to/2026/05/25/us-coast-guard-bilateral-maritime-law-enforcement-ops-tonga

Links
[1] https://matangitonga.to/2026/05/25/us-coast-guard-bilateral-maritime-law-enforcement-ops-tonga [2] https://matangitonga.to/tag/pacific-islands?page=1 [3] https://matangitonga.to/tag/defence?page=1 [4] https://matangitonga.to/tag/us-coast-guard?page=1 [5] https://matangitonga.to/tag/uscgc-hollyhock?page=1 [6] https://matangitonga.to/topic/pacific-islands?page=1