USCGC Alder

USCGC Alder (WLB-216) is the final Juniper-class, 225-foot (69 m) seagoing buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard. Alder was built by Marinette Marine Corporation and launched on February 7, 2004. Alder's maiden voyage was on September 12, 2004. From commissioning until August 2022, Alder was assigned to Duluth, Minnesota as its home port. Alder replaced the previous cutter stationed in Duluth, USCGC Sundew, which retired after 60 years of service. In the summer of 2021, Alder was temporarily relocated to Baltimore, Maryland for a yearlong maintenance period. In August 2022, she was reassigned to the San Francisco Bay area. Her duties in the Twin Ports of Duluth/Superior were taken over by her sister tender USCGC Spar (WLB-206). Alder is designed as a multi-mission vessel, with its missions being Aids to Navigation, Icebreaking, Search and Rescue, Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, and Marine Environmental Protection.