San Diego

Ride Along With Sector San Diego Coast Guard Patrol Shows Challenges of Maritime Smuggling Enforcement

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There has been a 700% increase in the number of migrant maritime crossings since 2017, according to the U.S. Coastguard Sector San Diego. NBC 7 took a ride with a patrol crew on Cutter Petrel to see how they're adapting to the surge.

There might not be a military branch that wears as many hats as the USCG. Sector San Diego patrols are responsible for keeping international commerce moving, enforcing maritime law, drug interdiction and human smuggling in this stretch of ocean.

"They get themselves in dangerous situations. The boat breaks down and then the person that was operating the boat leaves the people out there. They are just stuck," Sector San Diego Enforcement Chief, Commander Eric Watkins said.

Lt. Commander Watkins said the cartels and those in the business of human smuggling have little sympathy for those they transport.

"They don’t care if they are moving people, if they are moving drugs, they don’t care about the safety of the people they just want as much money as they can," Watkins said.

Coast Guard Cutter Petrel is 87 feet long and patrols between San Diego and the Channel Islands. Its primary mission is to preserve life at sea, but as maritime crossings increase, that mission gets harder.

"We do the best that we can to put our assets at the best place that they can to try to interdict these vessels, but a lot of times it’s just not it. Yes, it is hard to keep tabs on this much ocean," Watkins said.

Sector San Diego’s three patrol ships are closing ranks. While they generally patrol from the Maritime border to Los Angeles, the recent increase in crossings and attempted crossings have them spending more time patrolling San Diego shores, according to Watkins.

Recently, two pangas capsized near Black's Beach. Eight people were found dead the other 15 are unaccounted for. While traffickers are often a problem, getting the boat to shore often proves to be the greatest danger.

"The surf is unpredictable. If you aren’t used to the surf here in San Diego you can get yourself in trouble. That’s what we’ve seen happen. You go parallel to the beach and you get a wave come over and now all the people are in the water," Watkins said.

The coast guard says it did not intercept the boats that capsized near Black’s Beach — They were only involved in the search and rescue. But, weather conditions that day made it difficult to search for survivors.

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