USCGC Alert (WMEC-127)

USCGC Alert (WMEC-127) was a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter and was the fourth cutter to carry the name. The vessel was launched on 30 November 1926, commissioned 27 January 1927 and decommissioned 10 January 1969, later to be converted into a museum ship. Update 11-9-2021. The "Alert" has been sunk to the bottom of the Columbia River just west of the I5 Bridge.

Alert seen moored in Portland, Oregon in 2019.
History
United States
Builder	American Brown Boveri Electrical Corporation, Camden, NJ
Launched	30 November 1926
Commissioned	27 January 1927
Decommissioned	10 January 1969
Identification	IMO number: 7516931 Callsign: WZU9399
Status	Sank October 2021
General characteristics
Class and type	Active-class patrol boat
Displacement	232 tons
Length	125 feet
Beam	23.5 feet
Draft	7.5 feet
Propulsion	2 x 6-cylinder, 300 hp engines
Speed	Maximum: 13 knots, 1945 Cruise: 8.0 knots
Range	3,500 miles Max. Speed: 2,500 miles
Complement	3 officers, 17 men (1960)
Armament	1927: 1x 3"/27 1941: 1 x 3 in (76 mm)/23, 2 x depth charge tracks 1945: 1 x 40 mm Bofors/80 (single), 2 x 20 mm Oerlikon/80 (single), 2 x depth charge tracks, 2 x mousetraps 1960: 1 x 40mm/60

The ship is currently located in Portland, Oregon, and is being restored. [1]

While moored at Hayden Island, the Alert was part of a growing homeless encampment, named the "Pirates of the Columbia", due to criminal activity along the waterfront.[2] The ship was heavily damaged by graffiti and stripped of parts. In December 2020, the encampment was broken up and the dock to the Alert removed. On November 1, 2021, the Alert was reported as having sank in the river, by a local source. No cause has been determined yet. [3]