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ARC Valle del Cauca. Source: Colombian Navy Public Affairs
On Friday, June 21st, the Vice Ministers of the Presidency and Public Safety along with the Director of Costa Rica’s National Coast Guard Service welcomed the Valle del Cauca, a Colombian Navy patrol boat with a crew of about 100. The Valle del Cauca docked in Caldera for more than 1o days and was set to sail today.
A few days later, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Sherman (WHEC-720) was set to dock in Golfito for the purpose of fueling up and resupplying her food provisions in accordance with a standing Joint Patrol Agreement between Costa Rica and the U.S. However, the Hamilton-class heavy endurance cutter never made it to Costa Rica; in fact, the U.S. Coast Guard was forced to cancel the visit altogether. Why did the Sherman get snubbed?
A recent article in La Nacion explains that the Sherman lacked legislative approval to dock in Costa Rica. About three weeks ago, the U.S. Embassy advised President Laura Chinchilla’s office that U.S. Coast Guard vessels plus a U.S. Navy guided missile frigate intended to dock here. It is easy to imagine that such a permit would be part of the Joint Patrol Agreement, but that is not the case. Docking is handled separately by our Legislative Assembly.
There was a docking permit approved back in January, which recently expired. President Chinchilla urged legislators to advance the renewal approval three weeks ago, but that did not happen. This permit has been a matter of debate: Some legislators feel that the presence of U.S. military forces in Costa Rica goes against the country’s approach to keeping the peace without an army.
So how come the Colombian Navy’s Valle del Cauca was welcomed while the USCGC Sherman was snubbed? It comes down to the mission. In Colombia, the Valle del Cauca is tasked with a traditional coast guard mission. In fact, the Valle del Cauca used to be the USCGC Durable, a Reliance-class cutter before she was put into service in the Colombian Navy in 2003. Here in Costa Rica, the crew of Valle del Cauca was not here on patrol; they were here to train Tico members of the National Coast Guard Service on handling shipboard fires and damage control as well as maritime interdiction operations. Different missions, different docking policies and procedures.
