USCGC Courageous ( WMEC - 622 ) USCGC " Courageous " ( WMEC - 622 ) was a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter . She was built by the American Ship Building Company in Lorain , Ohio and launched on 18 March 1967 . She commissioned on 19 April 1968 . She was decommissioned 19 September 2001 . Donation to Sri Lanka . The United States Coast Guard donated " Courageous " to Sri Lanka on June 24 , 2004 and a departure ceremony was held February 19 , 2005 . She is currently serving the Sri Lankan Navy as P - 621 " SLNS Samudura " . The Courageous was built at the American Shipyards in Lorain , Ohio and launched on 18 March 1967 . She was delivered to the Coast Guard and commissioned on 19 April 1968 . She was initially homeported in San Juan , Puerto Rico , and served there through 1972 , conducting search and rescue and law enforcement patrols . On 10 September 1968 she towed the disabled sailboat Ibex 20 miles north of Bimini to Miami . On 6 October 1968 she medevaced a boy suffering from the bends from the F / V M . M . Winter off the coast of Florida . On 21 April 1969 crewmen boarded the German M / V Helga Witt following a request by the Witt ' s commanding officer concerning armed men on board . The Courageous then escorted the German merchantman to San Juan . On 29 through 30 April 1969 she assumed duty of on - scene commander following fire on the British tanker Mobile Apex , taking the blazing tanker in tow and took her out of St . Croix , Virgin Islands . The cutter and crew were awarded the Coast Guard Unit Commendation " for exceptionally meritorious service during the period 29 April to 2 May 1969 " for this action . From 11 to 28 July Courageous participated in BOMAX ( Barbados Oceanographic and Meteorological Experiment ) , hosting Coast Guard cadets and scientists . The crew assisted scientists with assembling and launching devices for measuring ocean currents and temperatures . An article on this assignment was published in the August 1969 issue of Popular Science . On 7 August 1969 stood by the M / V Pionyr following its grounding until a commercial tug arrived on scene . On the 30th , Courageous assisted in a medevac from a sailboat 320 miles north of San Juan , Puerto Rico . On 12 October 1970 the cutter once again assisted in a medevac and then towed the F / V Janice Elaine to Miami . On 1 August 1971 Courageous seized the yacht White Cloud near Cuban waters and arrested two for aiding draft evaders . On 23 December 1971 RCC Miami notified Courageous to undertake a rescue of the 26 - foot S / V Ian ' s Cradle with 4 persons on board , during a severe gale , east of Fort Pierce . The sailing vessel and her crew had attempted to sail to Bimini in other than optimum weather conditions . By the time the request for assistance was broadcast , Ian ' s Cradle had been dismasted and had lost one person overboard and the remaining three , including an infant , were in mortal danger . The Courageous got underway and located the sailing vessel and after much trouble managed to secure a towline . Due to the worsening of the sea conditions , a helo was requested out of St . Petersburg , and the three survivors on Ian ' s Cradle were lifted off their vessel to safety . The Ian ' s Cradle sank ten minutes later . During this rescue , Courageous lost all of her helicopter nets , her long antenna , and sustained other damage . * * Unfortunately Courageous sustained another loss when an elevator in the galley collapsed and killed SS3 Dean Renolds in 1973 . She changed homeports in late 1971 to Cape Canaveral . On 21 December 1977 Courageous seized vessel Isla de Aruba carry illegal drugs , marking the beginning of her duties on the " front lines of the drug war . " On 18 March 1982 she seized the Cayman Island - flagged Damocles carrying 28 tons of marijuana . She changed homeports once again in 1982 to Key West . On 25 January 1984 she seized a work boat with 20 tons of marijuana on board . On 17 March 1984 Courageous seized another work boat with 20 tons of marijuana on board northwest of Providence Channel . On 20 March 1984 a boarding team seized the F / V Griffon 75 miles east of Great Abaco Island carrying 30 pounds of marijuana . On 6 May 1984 her boarding team once again seized the M / V Canta Dora 14 mile north of New Providence Island carrying 10 tons of marijuana and on 25 June 1984 again seized M / V Henry I 100 miles north of Yucatán Channel carrying 8 . 5 tons of marijuana . They again seized a small fishing vessel with 5 tons of marijuana on board near Rum Cay and on 18 August 1984 they seized P / C Mayo near Rum Cay with 5 tons of marijuana on board . On the same day her team seized the P / C Miriam C 65 miles northeast of Nassau carrying 15 tons of marijuana . On 24 August 1984 her crew took a break from law enforcement and rescued 10 from the M / V Rio Teta , which the crew had scuttled to avoid being searched . Courageous began a new year by seizing the F / V Black Stallion 330 miles northwest of Puerto Rico carrying 10 tons of marijuana on 14 January 1985 . In March 1987 she was decommissioned and entered Colonna ' s Shipyard in Norfolk , Virginia for her MMA ( see above for details of the conversion ) . Courageous was returned to the Coast Guard on 5 March 1990 in Portsmouth , Virginia . The cutter was then placed in commission " special status . " Following an extensive onload of needed supplies , the crew completed a five month engine overhaul in Portsmouth . During subsequent engine trials , a shaft alignment problem was discovered by the crew . A five month drydocking at the Coast Guard Yard for shaft repairs was required . In addition to shaft repairs , a new steering motor was installed , both anchors were replaced , and a new computer system was installed in the cutter ' s combat information center . Having completed the repairs to the shaft alignment and undergoing extensive crew training and ready for sea preparations , Courageous arrived at its new homeport of Panama City , Florida , on 3 February 1991 . She was formally recommissioned on 16 March 1991 . Courageous once again began performing her routine maritime law enforcement , search and rescue , and defense readiness patrols in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea . One of her commanding officers described her duties as follows : " Courageous is a 210 - foot Medium Endurance cutter with a crew of 63 enlisted , 12 officers , and a four - person aviation detachment when we have a helicopter embarked . Our patrol schedule generally takes us on six - week patrols throughout the Caribbean and Florida Straits with port calls in places like San Juan , St . Thomas , Jamaica , Grand Cayman , Key West , and the Dominican Republic to name a few . Patrols are usually followed by a six - week maintenance period in homeport . Our primary missions are law enforcement , migrant interdiction , and search and rescue . " On 8 September 2001 , a good Samaritan located a raft 25 miles south of Alligator Key , FL . Chincoteague on scene and embarked nine Cuban migrants . The raft was destroyed as a hazard to navigation . The migrants were transferred to cutter Courageous where Immigration and Naturalization Service ( INS ) interviews were conducted . On 12 September , the nine migrants were transferred to the cutter Nantucket ( WPB - 1316 ) and returned to Cuba . On 3 September , Coast Guard Station Marathon intercepted nine Cuban migrants , 10 miles south of Sombrero Light , FL . All nine migrants were transferred to cutter PADRE for further transfer to cutter Courageous for INS interviews . On 9 September , the nine migrants were returned to Cuba by cutter Key Largo . On 3 September , a good Samaritan spotted two Cuban migrants on a raft , 30 miles south of Key West , FL . Cutter Padre embarked the migrants for further transfer to cutter Courageous for INS interviews . On 9 September , the two Cuban migrants were returned to Cuba by cutter Key Largo . Additionally , on 3 September , utter Courageous intercepted two Cuban migrants on a raft , 40 miles south of Marathon , FL . Cutter Courageous embarked the migrants where INS interviews were conducted . One of the migrants was returned to Cuba on 9 September , the remaining migrant was transferred to cutter Nantucket and returned to Cuba on 12 September . On 3 September , an Air Station Miami HH - 25 aircraft spotted a 25 - foot vessel with approximately 28 Cuban migrants on board . Cutter Courageous intercepted the raft , 39 miles southeast of Marathon , FL . All 28 Cuban migrants were taken aboard cutter Courageous where INS interviews were conducted . The raft was destroyed as a hazard to navigation . On 9 September cutter Key Largo returned all 28 migrants to Cuba . On 5 September , cutter Courageous located a raft with six Cuban migrants , 10 miles north of Cay Sal Bank , Bahamas . On 7 September , the migrants were transferred to cutter Manitou and later transferred to Bahamian authorities in Freeport , Bahamas . On 5 September , cutter Courageous intercepted 19 Cuban migrants on a go - fast 11 miles north of Cay Sal Bank , Bahamas . Two of the migrants are suspected to be smugglers and were turned over to the U . S . Boarder Patrol . INS interviews were conducted on cutter Courageous . On 12 September , the migrants were transferred to cutter Nantucket and returned to Cuba . As of October 2001 , a memo from the cutter noted that : " During a recent 45 - day deployment , Courageous patrolled the waters between Key West and Cuba , and was primarily involved with the interdiction and repatriation of Cuban migrants in the Straits of Florida . Courageous intercepted 58 Cuban migrants on the high seas , and was responsible for the care and feeding of 94 additional migrants from other Coast Guard units . Courageous also rescued 3 Cubans who were stranded on Cay Sal Island , a small , deserted island 110 miles south of Miami . Courageous experienced her most challenging migrant mission on September 5 , when she stopped a 30 - ft speedboat 50 miles south of the Florida Keys , with the assistance of a Coast Guard HH - 60 Jayhawk helicopter . The Courageous boarding team discovered that the " go - fast " was smuggling migrants from Cuba to South Florida , and had 17 migrants secreted into a small locker in the bow of the speedboat . Most of the Cubans were unconscious and near death from dehydration , and the crew of the Courageous quickly recovered all seventeen onboard where the ship ' s medical technicians quickly stabilized the most critical migrants . After subsequent INS interviews , the migrants were repatriated to Cuba one week later . In addition to the migrant interdiction missions , Courageous was also the on - scene commander during the Coast Guard ' s search and rescue mission for a downed Cuban aircraft on September 19 and 20 . The nine survivors , including three children , were rescued by the passing 580 - foot Panamanian freighter Chios Dream . Courageous embarked a medical technician on the merchant vessel in heavy seas to perform emergency medical care ; after the evacuation of the most critical survivor by helicopter , the remaining survivors were transferred ashore for medical treatment in Key West . The final two weeks of the deployment were spent at Naval Station , Mayport where the crew underwent an intense period of classroom training and practical underway exercises to hone their navigation , damage control , first aid , and seamanship skills . " She was decommissioned on 19 September 2001 .