DHAKA: US Ambassador Marcia Bernicat officially handed over the second US Coast Guard Cutter “Rush” to the Bangladesh Navy which has been renamed BNS Somudra Avijan. 

The US Coast Guard decommissioned and transferred the Cutter Rush to the Bangladesh Navy as the BNS Somudra Avijan during an official signing ceremony on Coast Guard Island in Alameda of California, on Wednesday afternoon.

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

A team from the Bangladesh Navy is in Alameda working and training with the current Rush crew to become familiar with the ship.  The ship is scheduled to depart for Bangladesh later this year.

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.

BDST: 1622 HRS, MAY 07, 2015
BD/RS