CGC Forward - UNITAS

MK2 Jason Ingram reassembles the Cutter Forward’s evaporator, this device converts saltwater into fresh drinking water. The Forward is operating on the same evaporator it’s had since it was commissioned in 1990. Many of the medium endurance cutters in the Coast Guard fleet have been converted to reverse osmosis, a more reliable and technologically advanced method of saltwater conversion, but the Forward is one of the last cutters to receive this technology. This aging piece of equipment breaks frequently and requires constant maintenance by Forward engineers. If this machinery breaks, the crew of Forward is left with out showers and laundry for many days at a time. This is just another example of why there needs to more support of the Coast Guard’s Deepwater Project, a long-term effort by the Coast Guard to repair or replace its aging fleet.