1938: 2 x Cooper-Bessemer EN-9 600 bhp diesel engines 1944: 38 The Active-class patrol boat was one of the most useful and long-lasting classes of United States Coast Guard cutters.

[1] They were meant to be able to stay at sea for long periods of time in any kind of weather, and were able to expand berthing space via hammocks if the need arises, such as if a large number of survivors were on board.

The ships were repeatedly thrown from the top of swells into the wave trough, causing heavy listing and impacting maneuverability and communications.

High winds, waves, and sea pests hampered survival efforts as lifeboats were flipped and survivors scattered.

The rafts were spotted by a Coast Guard aircraft operating from Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

A third 38-foot cutter from Oregon Inlet Lifeboat Station picked up survivors to be transferred to a navy minesweeper before being hospitalized at Norfolk, Virginia.

[7][8] The original mission, to tow George Ade into port, succeeded in the sense that the ship suffered minimal damage and no casualties.

[9] On 20 October 1978 USCGC Cuyahoga (WIX-157) was underway in the Chesapeake Bay to train officer cadets with intentions to turn into port for the night.

The cutter was the oldest in-service ship in the Coast Guard's fleet and had fallen into a state of disrepair from lack of maintenance.

The Cuyahoga was planning to turn into port when the lights of Argentine bulk cargo vessel M/V Santa Cruz II were spotted.

The captain of the cutter considered the lights displayed to be that of a small fishing boat and failed to alter plans.

[10] The captain of Santa Cruz II believed the cutter would continue on course, allowing them to pass parallel to each other without incident.

Cuyahoga believed the assumed smaller sailboat would see the large cutter turn and change course accordingly and committed to the plan.

The Santa Cruz II sounded a whistle to notify that it would be the cutter's duty to maneuver out of a collision, yet received no response.

The bow of Santa Cruz II penetrated the starboard corner of the cutter's wheelhouse, cutting a three-foot hole in the hull as it moved aft at 2107 local time.

[11] It has been reported that the former USCGC Alert (WMEC-127) sank on 1 November 2021[12] west of the I5 Bridge in Portland, Oregon in the Columbia River after being moored off Hayden Island.

[13] The homeless groups and dock were removed December 2020, although officials had no long term plan for the ship as potential costs were too high.