USCGC White Lupine

• WAGL/WLB-546: USCGC White Lupine was originally designated as WAGL-546 and later reclassified as WLB-546, serving as a 180-foot Cactus-class buoy tender in the United States Coast Guard. • Launched during World War II: White Lupine was built by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Company in Duluth, Minnesota, and was launched on 5 July 1943, entering service during the height of World War II. • Support for the War Effort: During WWII, she performed vital navigational aid maintenance and search and rescue operations, ensuring safe passage for military and merchant convoys across the Great Lakes and East Coast. • Great Lakes Service: For much of her early career, White Lupine operated out of Ogdensburg, New York, maintaining aids to navigation, breaking ice, and providing search and rescue services on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. • Icebreaking Capability: Equipped with reinforced hulls, Cactus-class tenders like White Lupine played a key role in icebreaking missions, crucial for year-round shipping and emergency operations in icy waters. • Multiple Homeports: Over her decades of service, White Lupine was homeported in several locations, including Ogdensburg, Cleveland, Detroit, and eventually Rockland, Maine. • Notable Rescues: The cutter is credited with assisting numerous distressed vessels, notably participating in the rescue of the crew of the grounded tug Argo in 1976 off the Maine coast. • Cold War Era Operations: Throughout the Cold War, White Lupine continued to perform peacetime missions, including environmental protection, law enforcement, and maintaining maritime safety infrastructure. • Decommissioning: After over 50 years of service, USCGC White Lupine was decommissioned in 1998, marking the end of an era for the reliable Cactus-class tenders. • Legacy: White Lupine is remembered as one of the longest-serving tenders in the Coast Guard fleet, embodying the motto “Semper Paratus” through her steadfast service to the nation’s waterways.