JONESPORT – The Coast Guard cutter Point Hannon will be decommissioned at the beginning of the new year after 33 years of service in the Gulf of Maine.

After the decommissioning ceremony at Jonesport, the Point Hannon will depart for Florida, where the craft will be transferred to the Panamanian government.

The decommissioning ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 3, at the Coast Guard station at Jonesport.

All crew members who have served aboard the Point Hannon are welcome to attend and are asked to respond as soon as possible.

The Point Hannon, an 82-foot coastal patrol boat with its home port in Jonesport, was built in 1967 in Tacoma, Wash.

With more than 49,500 hours of underway time, the cutter’s main missions have been search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, marine environmental protection, and commercial vessel safety and port security.

The Coast Guard cutter Moray, an 87-foot coastal patrol boat, will be replacing the Point Hannon.

The Moray is scheduled to arrive in Jonesport in April and will be commissioned in late April or in early May.

Master Chief Gerry L. Moores, a native of Lubec, is the last officer in charge of the Point Hannon.

This is his third tour aboard the cutter and second tour as officer in charge.

He will have served aboard the Point Hannon for 10 years and 10 months at the time of its removal from service.