An armed guard spotted on the US Coast Guard cutter Dallas berthed at Penno's Wharf in St. George's is a normal security measure, the ship's agent said yesterday.

The Dallas arrived yesterday morning from May Port in Florida with 22 officers and 155 ratings on board, but local agents John S. Darrell said they could not reveal where she is headed for security reasons.

John S. Darrell president Donald MacPherson said: "They stopped in for a little R and R (rest and relaxation), but I cannot say where they are going.

"It is normal for the ship to have an armed guard, as it is a military ship. The ship is not open for public for tours."

The Dallas is a 378-foot, 3,300-tonne Hamilton class cutter and her main duties have been maritime law enforcement and search and rescue missions, but she has been involved with drug enforcement agencies in the US and Caribbean.

When many Cubans and Haitians were escaping to the US, the crew were involved in plucking refugees out of the sea.

She was also involved in the re-enactment of the Normandy D-Day Invasion in 1994.

The Dallas also supported the allied forces in the Mediterranean and Black Seas during the Bosnian conflict.

The ship was originally commissioned in 1967 and was completely refitted in 1990.