Coast Guard Cutter Hawser

Coast Guard Cutter Hawser

The mission is simple; the duty is not. “Breaking Ice and Taking Names” is the directive to the US Coast Guard Cutter Hawser and this challenge coin is meant for all who have lived the breaking and the taking. The Hawser is one of the most prestigious, yet among the smallest of cutters in the Coast Guard. Nicknamed the “Black Beauty of Bayonne,” it is one of two tugs stationed in Bayonne, New Jersey. The 60-year-old Hawser fills the role of “beat cop,” patrolling the waterways of the Hudson River from Troy, New York to Sandy Hook, New Jersey, including New York Harbor, one of the world’s busiest ports.

Winter is the busiest season for the USCGC Hawser crew, as its primary mission is breaking through ice along the Hudson River, allowing barges to navigate through the Northeast corridor’s hectic shipping lanes. After the ice has thawed from winter, the Hawser takes on other missions including port security, search and rescue, aids to navigation, law enforcement and maritime safety.

The USCGC Hawser challenge coin is minted in antique nickel and combines many important images meaningful to the 60 years of service of this dynamic crew. The modern US Coast Guard ensign is used as a bright enamel backdrop for the Hawser at the coin’s center. Below, the cutter insignia is flanked by the Machinery Technician and the Boatswain’s Mate enlisted rating insignia. These insignia represent the vast and crucial duties of the small tug crew who attend to the operation, maintenance, and mechanical functions of the Hawser. The reverse features a seal representing the US Coast Guard.