U.S. to hand over decommissioned coast guard ship to Vietnam

Isa Khan · May 26, 2021

According to the VOV news of Vietnam, the United States is testing its USCGC John Midgett coast guard ship, a Hamilton-class cutter in Washington, and is expected to deliver it to Vietnam in the coming weeks.

The US newspaper My Edmonds News has just published the latest images of the ship painted with the number and symbol of the Vietnam Coast Guard.

Accordingly, the vessel has carried hull number 8021, and its chimney has been painted with the Vietnamese flag. The US is doing a test run in Elliott Bay and Puget Sound, Washington State, before transferring it to Vietnam.

Original radar systems on Hamilton-class cutter ships, including AN/SPS-40E air search radar, AN/SPS-78 surface search radar, AN/WLR-1H electronic warfare system and MK 92 fire control system. When transferred to Vietnam, John Midgett will only be equipped with AN/SPS-40 air search radar, AN/SPS-64V surface search radar and AN/WLR-1CG Countermeasures Receiver.

In terms of weapons, the original equipment on the Hamilton-class ships included a 76mm gun, two 25mm Mk38 cannons, six 12.7mm machine guns and one 20mm Phalanx CWIS. John Midgett now had only one 76mm gun. The Phalanx complex, along with all other weapons, were removed.

According to the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry: “The comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and the United States have in recent times developed well in many fields, including national defense and security cooperation”.

This is the second Hamilton-class cutter the US will have handed over to Vietnam under its Excess Defence Articles (EDA) program. The EDA offers excess military equipment to US partner and allied countries in support of military and security modernization efforts.

In May 2018 the US Coast Guard transferred its first High Endurance Cutter named CSB 8020 to Vietnam.

The ship is expected to improve the Vietnam Coast Guard’s maritime domain awareness, increase its capacity to perform maritime law enforcement operations, and conduct search and rescue and other humanitarian response operations.