U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell said that she secured a commitment from U.S. Coast Guard Acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday to support the construction of new docks that can support the station’s critical heavy surf fleet of rescue boats, and the new replacement fleet for the 52-foot rescue boats at the Coast Guard’s Station Cape Disappointment in Southwest Washington.
“ The Cape Disappointment [base is] critical to our…important strategy for the region, but also for the motor lifeboat school, which is really very impressive ,” Sen. Cantwell said to Adm. Lunday during a committee hearing on Wednesday. “We need a solution to new docks that accommodate replacement of 52s, and a cutting-edge facility to support the workforce and training and to help with critical infrastructure like protecting the rescue capacity at Ilwaco by doing dredging.”
Adm. Lunday added: “The Coast Guard is going to expend $110 million from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to address the dredging issue that you described at Ilwaco. Rather than the continual dredging challenges, we spoke about a more permanent solution and so we’re going to work for our design that will be able to do that effectively.”
In September 2022, Sen. Cantwell joined former USCG Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan for a tour of the Coast Guard facilities at Cape Disappointment.
During the tour, they heard from servicemembers that the station needs more resources – for rescue boat infrastructure, as well as housing and training facilities.
The Coast Guard is working on potential permanent solutions to persistent shoaling issues impacting the station at Cape Disappointment and the National Motor Lifeboat School. Currently, the Coast Guard maintains waterways with dredging, which is only a temporary fix.