Marine Safety

In the early 1930s, Coast Guard Commandant Frederick Billard decided to acquire state-of-the-art flying boats capable of performing rescues by landing on the open sea. The first aircraft designed from the start for Coast Guard use, these new amphibians became known as the Coast Guard’s “FLBs” (for Flying Lifeboats).

“SOS! SOS! This is the Prinsendam. We have fire in the engine room and we are dead in the water. SOS!” The order to “Abandon ship” came shortly after 5 a.m.. The ship was beginning to list, and the captain suspected that lower decks were taking on water. The almost 500 passengers and other crewmembers had to leave.

From fragile wooden hulls of the Age of Sail to the steel giants of the early 20th century, the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service—and later the Coast Guard—evolved to meet the icy challenges of America's northern waterways. As steam power and steel hulls unlocked frozen frontiers, cutters shifted from surviving the winter to breaking its grip. Discover how daring missions, innovative ship design, and a presidential mandate forged the legacy of America’s first icebreakers.

Those familiar with Coast Guard history know that the service’s development has been shaped by the nation’s natural and man-made disasters. Many Coast Guard missions were written in blood. Nowhere is that clearer than the marine safety mission.

The day war was declared on the Empire of Japan, President Franklin Roosevelt referred to Dec. 7, 1941, day of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, as “a date which will live in infamy.” Little did he know the nation would face a similar date nearly 60 years later.

The story of how three United States Coast Guard cutters successfully break through and officially chart what had become known as the fabled Northwest Passage.