US coast guard cutter Rush renamed BNS Somudra Abhijan after induction

The US Coast Guard has decommissioned a 45-year old cutter vessel ‘Rush’ and transferred it to Bangladesh Navy at an official ceremony in California.

Ambassador Marcia Bernicat officially handed it over to the Bangladesh Navy at a signing ceremony at Coast Guard Island Alameda on Wednesday local time, the US embassy in Dhaka says.

The 378-foot Rush has been renamed BNS Somudra Abhijan.

It will join its sister ship the Somudra Joy, formerly US coast guard vessel Jarvis.

They are the largest ships in the Bangladesh Navy, gifted by the US as part of its growing security cooperation with Bangladesh Navy for the maritime ‘peace and stability’ in the Asia-Pacific region.

The US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman recently said by improving its naval capabilities, Bangladesh will become “a key maritime security provider in the Bay of Bengal”.

The US embassy in Dhaka says the endurance cutters are designed to provide maritime security through higher sustained transit speeds, and greater endurance and range.

The ship has the ability to launch and recover small boats, provide aviation support facilities and a flight deck for helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.

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 US embassy says in a statement.

It was launched on Nov 16, 1968 at New Orleans.

The US offers ships to Bangladesh under an Excess Defense Articles (EDA) through a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme.