Cutter Rush decommissioned to Bangladesh Navy

The US Coast Guard decommissioned and transferred the Cutter Rush to the Bangladesh Navy during an official signing ceremony on Coast Guard Island in Alameda, California, yesterday afternoon.

Marcia Bernicat, US Ambassador in Bangladesh, officially handed over the second US Coast Guard Cutter Rush to the Bangladesh Navy, said a press release of US Embassy. 
The ship is scheduled to depart for Bangladesh later this year.

At 378 feet, the Rush (renamed BNS Somudra Avijan) will join its sister ship the Somudra Joy (formerly USCG Jarvis) as the two largest ships in the Bangladesh Navy, read the release.

A team from the Bangladesh Navy is in Alameda working and were training with the current Rush crew to become familiar with the ship.

The endurance cutters are designed to provide maritime security through higher sustained transit speeds, greater endurance and range, and the ability to launch and recover small boats, as well as aviation support facilities and a flight deck for helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.