The service and sacrifice of the 23 Coast Guardsmen who died when the Cutter Blackthorn collided with a tanker 40 years ago was honored Tuesday during a memorial service in St. Petersburgh, Florida.
“We remember and we honor the crew of Cutter Blackthorn; both those surviving and those lost,” said Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf. “Each of them is forever a part of the Coast Guard’s legacy. And each of them is indelibly stamped into the fabric of our department and into the history of our nation.”
According to government reports, on the evening of Jan. 28, 1980, the Blackthorn and another ship, the Capricorn, were passing each other in the channel near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The lights of a nearby cruise ship may have made it difficult for the Blackthorn and Capricorn’s crews to see each other before the collision. In addition, an officer with relatively little experience assigned to the Blackthorn did not properly communicate with the Capricorn.
The ships hit nearly head-on. The Blackthorn moved down the port side of the Capricorn, whose anchor shattered the Blackthorn’s hull. The Blackthorn sank in less than 10 minutes. There were a total of 50 Coast Guardsmen aboard the Blackthorn. Twenty-three lost their lives.
“They have not, nor will they ever, pass from our memory,” Wolf said. “The tragedy of Cutter Blackthorn changed the Coast Guard forever, providing a painful lesson on risk management and training.”
Wolf said after the collision, critical improvements were made to readiness, training, and safety that still echo across the Coast Guard today.
“What also echoes across the service is the importance of the mission that the Cutter Blackthorn crew performed, aides to navigation,” he continued.
Wolf said that mission is critical to facilitating commerce safely.
“While the Port of Tampa Bay has always been a valuable port, it is different than it was 40 years ago,” he said. “Indeed, it has grown into the largest port in the region. Coast Guardsmen and women today are still performing this vital mission here in the Port of Tampa.”
Coast Guard Adm. Karl Shulz said the Blackthorn’s entire crew chose to put service before self.
"Each are part of our long blue line of heroes, and we remember their sacrifice every single day,” he said.
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Reach Julia LeDoux: Julia@connectingvets.com
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