Two of three Ketchikan-based U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutters were recently deployed to the U.S./Mexico border, a USCG official stated in an email on Thursday.

The Coast Guard cutters John McCormick and Bailey Barco “are currently completing short-duration deployments to the United States’ southern border,” Travis Magee, a spokesperson for the U.S.Coast Guard Arctic District, said Thursday in an email to the Ketchikan Daily News.  

“These operations are part of the Coast Guard’s commitment to secure the U.S. maritime border and its approaches,” Magee said.

Vessel tracking data, which is available to the public at marinetraffic.com, shows that the Bailey Barco on May 30 began traveling from Ketchikan to waters off southern California. The John McCormick on May 30 began sailing north from the port of San Diego; it returned to Ketchikan on Sunday evening.

The voyage by sea between the ports of Ketchikan and San Diego is 1,575 nautical miles in each direction, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data shows.

Meanwhile, the Douglas Denman – the third fast response cutter homeported in Ketchikan – has remained in Southeast Alaska this month.

Both the John McCormick and Bailey Barco usually remain in coastal Alaska waters, to complete patrols with duties including search and rescue and fisheries law enforcement.

The two ships are being deployed to the U.S./Mexico border at a time when military agencies across the country are focusing assets on assisting with federal immigration law enforcement and drug interdiction efforts.

The Coast Guard is the only military branch housed within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. USCG responsibilities include at-sea enforcement of U.S. immigration laws and policies, and detecting and interdicting contraband and illegal drug traffic.

In the three months after President Trump began his second term in office on January, 20, 2025, the USCG Pacific Area tripled its forces operating on the southern border, according to a March 2025 press release from USCG.

As the John McCormick and Bailey Barco each traveled between Ketchikan and the U.S./Mexico border last week, Southeast Alaska fishermen were participating in commercial and recreational fisheries, cruise ships were transporting visitors by the thousands, and recreational boating was ramping up.

Magee stated by email last week that while the John McCormick and Bailey Barco were “temporarily supporting critical national security missions down south, we want to assure the community that these deployments do not affect our search and rescue readiness back home.”

The Daily News reached out to several marine safety professionals in Southeast Alaska with inquiries regarding the importance of the Ketchikan-based cutters, and potential safety implications associated with their deployments to the U.S./Mexico border.

Alaska Marine Safety Education Association director Leann Cyr stated in an email to the Daily News on Friday that AMSEA leaders “do not know whether this deployment will affect search and rescue operations in Southeast Alaska.”

“Regardless, AMSEA encourages mariners to be prepared to operate safely and independently,” Cyr wrote.

“Coast Guard search and rescue services are an important part of Alaska’s maritime safety system, but safe operation begins with vessel operators through proper maintenance, attention to weather, and safety equipment and training,” Cyr said.

Marine tracking data

Maritime tracking system data, which is publicly available via marinetraffic.com, shows that the Bailey Barco traveled from Ketchikan to southern California last week, while the John McCormick returned from southern California to Ketchikan.

The Bailey Barco departed Ketchikan at about 10 a.m. May 30, according to marinetraffic.com. Early on Monday, the Bailey Barco was offshore of western Washington.

By Thursday morning, the Bailey Barco had reached a harbor in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles; on Sunday morning the ship was approaching waters off San Diego, the most recent data from marinetraffic.com shows.

Meanwhile, on the morning of May 30, the John McCormick departed San Diego and began sailing north along the west coast of California.

As of Tuesday morning, the John McCormick was offshore of Salinas, California.

On Wednesday morning, the John McCormick was offshore of Eureka, California.

On Thursday morning, the John McCormick was offshore of Aberdeen, Washington.

As of 10 a.m. Friday, the John McCormick was moored at the Port Angeles, Washington harbor. By Sunday evening the ship had returned to Ketchikan, marinetraffic.com data shows. 

The 154-foot John McCormick was commissioned in Ketchikan in April of 2017, and the 154-foot Bailey Barco was commissioned in Juneau in June of 2017. The 154-foot Douglas Denman was commissioned in Ketchikan in 2022.

All three of the Sentinel-class cutters are now homeported in Ketchikan, although USCG has plans to relocate the Douglas Denman to Sitka within the next few years.

Each of the Sentinel-class cutters operates with a standard complement of 24 crew members, according to USCG information.