 The USCGC Benjamin Bottoms in San Francisco
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sentinel class |
| Operators | United States Coast Guard |
| Planned | 77 |
| Completed | 60 |
| Active | 58 |
| Retired | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Cutter |
| Displacement | 353 long tons (359 t) |
| Length | 46.8 m (154 ft) |
| Beam | 8.11 m (26.6 ft) |
| Depth | 2.9 m (9.5 ft) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 28+ knots |
| Endurance |
|
| Boats & landing craft carried | 1 × Cutter Boat – Over the Horizon – jet-drive |
| Complement | 4 officers, 20 crew |
| Sensors & processing systems | |
| Armament | 1 × Mk 38 Mod 2 25 mm machine gun system (and 4 × crew-served Browning M2 machine guns on some cutters) |
The Sentinel-class cutter, also known as the Fast Response Cutter or FRC due to its program name, is part of the United States Coast Guard's Deepwater program.[2][3][4] At 154 feet (46.8 m), it is similar to, but larger than, the 123-foot (37 m) lengthened 1980s-era Island-class patrol boats that it replaces. At least 77 vessels are to be built by the Louisiana-based firm Bollinger Shipyards, using a design from the Netherlands-based Damen Group, with the Sentinel design based on the company's Damen Stan 4708 patrol vessel. The Department of Homeland Security's budget proposal to Congress, for the Coast Guard, for 2021, stated that, in addition to 58 vessels to serve the Continental US, they requested an additional six vessels for its portion of Patrol Forces Southwest Asia.[5]
In March 2007, newly appointed United States Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen announced that the USCG had withdrawn a contract from Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for the construction of an initial flawed design of what would eventually become the Sentinel class.[6][7][8][9] Allen announced that instead of the initial high-tech design Bollinger would build vessels based on an existing design, and the new program would focus more on existing "off-the-shelf" technology.
The design chosen was largely based on the Damen Stan 4708 patrol vessels from the Netherlands firm the Damen Group. The South African government operates three similar 154 ft Lillian Ngoyi-class vessels for environmental and fishery patrol.[10]
In September 2008, Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, Louisiana, was awarded US$88 million to build the prototype first vessel in its class.[11] That prototype was the first of a projected series of 46.8-meter (154 ft) cutters. In September 2008 the series was expected to comprise a maximum of 24 to 34 cutters[12] but by the time the prototype cutter, which became USCGC Bernard C. Webber, entered service in 2012 the planned number of Sentinel-class cutters had grown to 58. They replaced the 37 remaining aging, 1980s-era 110 ft Island-class patrol boats.[13]
USCGC Bernard C. Webber and all following Sentinel-class vessels are named after enlisted Coast Guard heroes.[14] Bernard C. Webber was launched in April 2011, and commissioned in April 2012 at the Port of Miami. She and five sister ships are stationed in Miami, Florida. The second cohort of six vessels is homeported in Key West, Florida. The third cohort of six vessels is homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[15] As of October 2024, the Coast Guard plans to station most of the Sentinel-class cutters in the United States, but a cohort of six is stationed with the Coast Guard's largest unit outside the United States, Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA), whose homeport is Bahrain in the Persian Gulf. As many as six more are planned to be stationed in the Indo-Pacific region.[16][17]
A second contract was awarded on December 15, 2009 for an additional three Sentinel-class cutters at a cost of US$141 million. By April 2010 the Coast Guard's contract with Bollinger allowed for the order of up to 34 Sentinel-class cutters at a cost of up to US$1.5 billion. Even then, the Coast Guard was planning to build a total of 58 Sentinel-class cutters. [18]
In September 2013, Marine Link reported that the Coast Guard had placed orders with Bollinger Shipyards for additional cutters, bringing the number of such cutters ordered by then to thirty.[19]
In July 2014, it was announced that the U.S. Coast Guard had exercised a $225 million option at Bollinger Shipyards for construction through 2017 of an additional six Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs), bringing the total number of FRCs under contract with Bollinger to 30. Later that number was increased to 32 cutters.
In May 2016, Bollinger Shipyards announced that the U.S. Coast Guard had awarded it a new contract for building the final 26 Sentinel-class fast-response cutters. That brought to 58 the total number of FRCs that the USCG ordered from Bollinger.[20] Acquiring the 58 cutters was expected to cost the federal government $3.8 billion — an average of about $65 million per cutter.
By June 2016, 38 of the projected 58 FRCs had been ordered and 17 were in service. The Miami and Key West chorts were complete. The 18th fast response cutter, Joseph Tezanos, was delivered to the Coast Guard in Key West, Florida, in June 2016 en route to completing the San Juan cohort.[21]
On August 9, 2018, the Coast Guard exercised its contract option to order six more Sentinel-class cutters. These would be the 45th through 50th cutters of that class. With this order, the total value of orders under the contract grew to almost US$929 million. On August 21 the 30th fast response cutter, Robert Ward, was delivered.[22]
On July 31, 2019, the Coast Guard exercised its contract option to order another six Sentinel-class cutters. These would be the 51st through 56th cutters of that class. With this order, the total value of orders under the contract grew to about US$1.23 billion. Under the contract, the Coast Guard could order as many as 58 cutters, at a total cost of US$1.42 billion. The six new cutters were expected to be delivered starting in late 2022 and ending in late 2023.[23]
In September 2020, the Coast Guard announced it was ordering four more FRCs from Bollinger, to be delivered in 2024. These would be the 56th through 60th cutters of that class. At that time, 40 FRCs had been delivered and 38 had been commissioned. The Coast Guard had recently modified its contract with Bollinger to increase the maximum number of cutters that could be ordered under the contract to 64. The modified contract had a potential value of US$1.74 billion.[24]
In 2017, the Coast Guard announced two FRCs would be stationed in Astoria, Oregon starting in 2021.[25] In 2018, the Coast Guard announced four more would be stationed in San Pedro, California in 2018 and 2019.[26] Also in 2018, the Coast Guard revealed plans to eventually homeport a total of six FRCs in Alaska, with one cutter in Sitka, one in Seward, and two in Kodiak, joining two already operating from Ketchikan.[27] Boston, Massachusetts and St. Petersburg, Florida would eventually be FRC homeports.[28][29]
In June 2019, the United States House Committee on Armed Services approved a requirement for the US Navy to study the possibility of buying a version of the FRC, and basing them in Bahrain.[30]
In 2019 Lieutenant Commander Collin Fox (USN), and columnist David Axe suggested that, when the US Navy started to develop unmanned patrol ships to replace the Cyclone class, which are similar in size to the Sentinel class, the hulls and other elements of the robot ships would be based on the Sentinels, and built in the same factory.[31][32]
In August 2021, the Coast Guard exercised its option to order four more Sentinel-class cutters—the 61st through 64th—from Bollinger. Bollinger planned to build the ships at Bollinger's Lockport, Louisiana facility[33] and deliver the first of the four vessels in the fall of 2024 and the last in the summer of 2025.[34]
In 2022, the Coast Guard awarded a $30 million contract to install a fixed pier and two floating docks to accommodate FRCs at East Tongue Point in Oregon. The first new cutter is expected to arrive at Astoria, Oregon in March 2024 rather than in 2021 as originally planned.[35]
In March 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2022, which provided $130 million in funding for two additional FRCs, bringing the total number to 66.[36][37] In August 2022, the Coast Guard exercised its contract option for the first of these additional cutters, to be delivered by Bollinger in 2025.[38] This order expanded the total value of the Phase 2 contract with Bollinger Shipyards to US$1.8 billion.[39]
In March 2024, a Congressional Research Service report revealed that the Coast Guard's long term procurement plan called for the purchase of up to 71 FRCs. Six of the new cutters would be deployed to the Indo-Pacific region for engagement with allies and partner countries.[40]
On May 8, 2024, the Coast Guard exercised a contract option for two additional FRCs, bringing the total vessels built by or under contract with Bollinger to 67[41] and the total value of the Phase 2 contract to about US$2 billion. The two new FRCs are expected to be delivered in fiscal year 2028.[42]
On September 10, 2025, the Coast Guard announced that it had exercised a contract option for ten additional FRCs, increasing the number of FRCs ordered from Bollinger from 67 to 77. Congress had authorized US$1 billion for this purpose in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. These new FRCs are expected to be delivered starting in fiscal year 2028.[43]
The vessels perform various Coast Guard missions which include but are not limited to PWCS (Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security), Defense Operations, Maritime Law Enforcement (Drug/migrant interdiction and other Law Enforcement), Search and Rescue, Marine Safety, and environment protection.[44]
The vessels are armed with a remote-control Mark 38 25 mm Machine Gun System and four crew-served .50-caliber (12.7 mm) M2HB heavy machine guns. They have a bow thruster for maneuvering in crowded anchorages and channels. They have small underwater fins, for coping with the rolling and pitching caused by large waves. They are equipped with a stern launching ramp, like the Marine Protector-class and the eight failed expanded Island-class cutters. They are manned by a crew of 22. The Fast Response Cutter deploys the 26-foot (7.9 m) Cutter Boat - Over the Horizon (OTH-IV) for rescues and interceptions.[45]
Modifications to the Coast Guard vessels from the Stan 4708 design include an increase in speed from 23 to 28 knots (43 to 52 km/h; 26 to 32 mph), fixed-pitch rather than variable-pitch propellers, stern launch capability, and watertight bulkheads.[46] The vessels are built to ABS High Speed Naval Craft rules and some parts of the FRC also comply to ABS Naval Vessel Rules.[47] The vessels meet Naval Sea Systems Command standards for two compartment damaged stability and meet the Intact and Damage Stability and reserve buoyancy requirements in accordance with the “Procedures Manual for Stability Analyses of U.S. Navy Small Craft".[48][49]
The vessels have space, weight, and power reserved for future requirements which includes weapons and their systems. The cutters have a reduced radar cross-section through shaping.[50] The bridge is equipped with a handheld device that allows crew members to remotely control the ship's functions, including rudder movement and docking.[51]
In February 2013, the Department of Homeland Security requested tenders from third party firms to independently inspect the cutters, during their construction, and their performance trials.[52]
At the September 2022 commissioning of USCGC Douglas Denman, it was announced that she had several upgrades compared to the two cutters deployed to Ketchikan, Alaska six years previously. These include an improved bow thruster and radar system and the addition of a forward-looking infrared camera.[53] Though initially stationed at Ketchikan, Douglas Denman will eventually be homeported at Sitka when port infrastructure improvements have been completed there.[54]
Prior to the deployment of the Marine Protector class, the Coast Guard decided that all its cutters, even its smallest, should be able to accommodate mixed-gender crews. The Sentinel-class cutters are able to accommodate mixed-gender crews. When USCGC Rollin Fritch was commissioned, a profile in The Philadelphia Inquirer asserted off-duty crew members had access to satellite television broadcasts.[51] The vessels come equipped with a desalination unit.[51]
 | This section may contain an excessive number of citations. (February 2021) |
| Name | Hull number |
Delivered | Commissioned | Home port |
Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernard C. Webber | WPC-1101 | April 21, 2011 | April 14, 2012 | Miami, Florida | Active service[55] |
| Richard Etheridge | WPC-1102 | August 18, 2011 | August 3, 2012[56] | Miami, Florida | Active service[55] |
| William Flores | WPC-1103 | November 10, 2011 | November 3, 2012[57] | Miami, Florida | Active service[55] |
| Robert Yered | WPC-1104 | November 17, 2012[58] | February 15, 2013 | Miami, Florida | Active service[55] |
| Margaret Norvell | WPC-1105 | January 13, 2013[59] | June 1, 2013[60] | Miami, Florida | Active service[55] |
| Paul Clark | WPC-1106 | May 18, 2013[61] | August 24, 2013 | Miami, Florida | Active service[55] |
| Charles David Jr. | WPC-1107 | August 17, 2013[62][63] | November 16, 2013[64] | Key West, Florida | Active service[55] |
| Charles Sexton | WPC-1108 | December 10, 2013[65] | March 8, 2014[66] | Key West, Florida | Active service[55] |
| Kathleen Moore | WPC-1109 | March 28, 2014[67] | May 10, 2014 | Key West, Florida | Active service[55] |
| Raymond Evans[Note 1] | WPC-1110 | June 25, 2014[68] | September 6, 2014[69] | Key West, Florida | Active service[55] |
| William Trump | WPC-1111 | November 25, 2014[70][71][72][73] | January 24, 2015 | Key West, Florida | Active service[55] |
| Isaac Mayo | WPC-1112 | 2015-01-13[74] | 2015-03-28[75] | Key West, Florida | Active service[55] |
| Richard Dixon | WPC-1113 | April 14, 2015[76] | June 20, 2015 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Active service[15][55] |
| Heriberto Hernandez | WPC-1114 | July 30, 2015[77] | October 16, 2015 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Active service[15][78][55] |
| Joseph Napier | WPC-1115 | October 20, 2015[79] | January 29, 2016 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Active service[15][55] |
| Winslow Griesser | WPC-1116 | December 23, 2015 | March 11, 2016 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Active service[15][55] |
| Donald Horsley | WPC-1117 | March 5, 2016[80] | May 20, 2016 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Active service[55] |
| Joseph Tezanos | WPC-1118 | June 22, 2016 | August 26, 2016[81] | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Active service[55] |
| Rollin Fritch | WPC-1119 | August 23, 2016 | November 19, 2016 | Cape May, New Jersey | Active service[55] |
| Lawrence Lawson | WPC-1120 | October 20, 2016 | March 18, 2017[82] | Cape May, New Jersey | Active Service[55] |
| John McCormick | WPC-1121 | December 13, 2016[83] | April 12, 2017[84] | Ketchikan, Alaska | Active service[55] |
| Bailey Barco | WPC-1122 | February 7, 2017[85][86] | June 14, 2017[87] | Ketchikan, Alaska | Active service[55] |
| Benjamin Dailey | WPC-1123 | April 20, 2017[88][89][90] | July 4, 2017[91] | Decommissioned[92] after being heavily damaged by fire on December 10, 2021.[93] | |
| Oliver Berry | WPC-1124 | June 27, 2017[94] | October 31, 2017[95] | Honolulu, Hawaii | Active service[55] |
| Jacob Poroo | WPC-1125 | September 5, 2017[96] | December 8, 2017[97] | Pascagoula, Mississippi | Active service[55] |
| Joseph Gerczak | WPC-1126 | November 9, 2017[98] | March 9, 2018[99] | Honolulu, Hawaii | Active service[55] |
| Richard Snyder | WPC-1127 | February 8, 2018[100] | April 20, 2018[101] | Atlantic Beach, North Carolina | Active service[55] |
| Nathan Bruckenthal | WPC-1128 | March 29, 2018[102] | July 25, 2018[103] | Atlantic Beach, North Carolina | Active service[55] |
| Forrest Rednour | WPC-1129 | June 7, 2018[104] | November 8, 2018[105] | San Pedro, California | Active service[55] |
| Robert Ward | WPC-1130 | August 21, 2018[106] | March 2, 2019[107] | San Pedro, California | Active service[55] |
| Terrell Horne | WPC-1131 | October 25, 2018[108] | March 22, 2019[109] | San Pedro, California | Active service[55] |
| Benjamin Bottoms | WPC-1132 | January 8, 2019[110] | May 1, 2019[111] | San Pedro, California | Active service[55] |
| Joseph Doyle | WPC-1133 | March 21, 2019[112] | June 8, 2019[113] | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Active service[55] |
| William Hart | WPC-1134 | May 23, 2019[114] | September 26, 2019[115] | Honolulu, Hawaii | Active service[55] |
| Angela McShan | WPC-1135 | August 1, 2019[116] | October 26, 2019[117] | Cape May, New Jersey | Active service[55] |
| Daniel Tarr | WPC-1136 | November 7, 2019[118][119] | January 10, 2020[120] | Galveston, Texas | Active service[121][55] |
| Edgar Culbertson | WPC-1137 | February 6, 2020[122] | June 11, 2020[123] | Galveston, Texas | Active service[55] |
| Harold Miller | WPC-1138 | April 2, 2020[124] | July 15, 2020[125] | Galveston, Texas | Active service[121][55] |
| Myrtle Hazard | WPC-1139 | May 28, 2020[126] | July 29, 2021[127] | Santa Rita, Guam | Active service[55] |
| Oliver Henry | WPC-1140 | July 30, 2020[128] | July 29, 2021[127] | Santa Rita, Guam | Active service[55] |
| Charles Moulthrope | WPC-1141 | October 22, 2020[129] | January 21, 2021[130] | Manama, Bahrain | Active service[55] |
| Robert Goldman | WPC-1142 | December 21, 2020[131] | March 12, 2021[132] | Manama, Bahrain | Active service[55] |
| Frederick Hatch | WPC-1143 | February 10, 2021[133] | July 29, 2021[127] | Santa Rita, Guam | Active service[55] |
| Glen Harris | WPC-1144 | April 22, 2021[134] | August 6, 2021[135] | Manama, Bahrain | Active service[55] |
| Emlen Tunnell | WPC-1145 | July 1, 2021[136] | October 15, 2021[137] | Manama, Bahrain | Active service[55] |
| John Scheuerman | WPC-1146 | October 22, 2021[138] | February 23, 2022[139] | Manama, Bahrain | Active service[55] |
| Clarence Sutphin Jr. | WPC-1147 | January 6, 2022[140] | April 21, 2022[141] | Manama, Bahrain | Active service[55] |
| Pablo Valent | WPC-1148 | March 17, 2022[142] | May 11, 2022[143] | St. Petersburg, Florida | Active service[55] |
| Douglas Denman | WPC-1149 | May 26, 2022[144][37] | September 28, 2022[145] | First Ketchikan, then Sitka, Alaska | Active service[55] |
| William Chadwick | WPC-1150 | August 4, 2022[146] | November 10, 2022[147] | Boston, Massachusetts | Active service[55] |
| Warren Deyampert | WPC-1151 | December 22, 2022[148] | March 30, 2023[149] | Boston, Massachusetts | Active service[55] |
| Maurice Jester | WPC-1152 | March 2, 2023[150] | June 2, 2023[151] | Boston, Massachusetts | Active service[55] |
| John Patterson | WPC-1153 | May 11, 2023[152] | August 10, 2023[153] | Boston, Massachusetts | Active service[55] |
| William Sparling | WPC-1154 | July 20, 2023[154] | October 19, 2023[155] | Boston, Massachusetts | Active service[55] |
| Melvin Bell | WPC-1155 | November 16, 2023[156] | March 28, 2024[157] | Boston, Massachusetts | Active service[55] |
| David Duren | WPC-1156 | March 14, 2024[158] | June 27, 2024[159] | Astoria, Oregon | Active service[55] |
| Florence Finch | WPC-1157 | June 13, 2024[160] | October 24, 2024[161] | Astoria, Oregon | Active service[161] |
| John Witherspoon | WPC-1158 | November 7, 2024[162][163] | April 3, 2025 | Kodiak, Alaska | Active service[164] |
| Earl Cunningham | WPC-1159 | March 6, 2025[165] | August 11, 2025 | Kodiak, Alaska | Active service[166] |
| Frederick Mann | WPC-1160 | June 16, 2025 | December 2025[167] | First Kodiak, then Seward, Alaska[55] | Delivered[168] |
| Olivia Hooker | WPC-1161 | 2025 | Pascagoula, Mississippi[169] | Under construction[34][55] | |
| Vincent Danz | WPC-1162 | 2025 | 2026 | Santa Rita, Guam | Under construction[170][171] |
| Jeffrey Palazzo | WPC-1163 | 2026 | 2026 | Santa Rita, Guam | Under construction[170][171] |
| Marvin Perrett | WPC-1164 | 2027 | Under construction[34][55] | ||
| TBD | WPC-1165 | 2028 | Under contract[38] | ||
| TBD | WPC-1166 | 2028 | Under contract[41] | ||
| TBD | WPC-1167 | 2028 | Under contract[41] | ||
| TBD | WPC-1168 | Planned[16] | |||
| TBD | WPC-1169 | Planned[16] | |||
| TBD | WPC-1170 | Planned[16] | |||
| TBD | WPC-1171 | Planned[16] | |||
| TBD | WPC-1172 | Authorized[43] | |||
| TBD | WPC-1173 | Authorized[43] | |||
| TBD | WPC-1174 | Authorized[43] | |||
| TBD | WPC-1175 | Authorized[43] | |||
| TBD | WPC-1176 | Authorized[43] | |||
| TBD | WPC-1177 | Authorized[43] |
Press coverage of the vessels' operational histories suggests they have been effective at interdicting refugees who resort to dangerous overloaded small boats, and effective at capturing drug smugglers.[174][175][176][177][178]
The cutters have intercepted smugglers carrying large shipments of drugs.[179] In February 2017 Joseph Napier intercepted a shipment of over four tons of cocaine, reported to be the largest drug-bust in the Atlantic Ocean since 1999.
Cutters are given tasks like looking for shipping containers full of toxic cargo that have fallen from container ships, as USCGC Margaret Norvell did in December 2015, when 25 containers fell from the barge Columbia Elizabeth.[180][181] Similarly, Charles Sexton helped search for the freighter El Faro when she was lost at sea during Hurricane Joaquin in October 2015.[182]
In 2018 and 2019 Oliver Berry and Joseph Gerczak made voyages beyond the design range, on missions from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands and American Samoa.[183][184] Both voyages took nine days.
In August 2022, one of the ships in the Sentinel class, Oliver Henry, was stuck in the Solomon Islands after the country's government failed to respond to a fuel request.[185]
In February 2024, Clarence Sutphin Jr. intercepted a shipment of weaponry on its way to the Houthi militia in the Red Sea.[186]
Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, who was then the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, is credited with leading the initiative of naming the vessels after enlisted rank individuals who served heroically in the Coast Guard or one of its precursor services.[187] Originally, the first vessel of the class was to be named USCGC Sentinel.[188]
In October 2010 the Coast Guard named the first fourteen individuals the vessels will be named after, and has provided biographies of them. [189][190][191] They are: Bernard C. Webber, Richard Etheridge, William Flores, Robert Yered, Margaret Norvell, Paul Clark, Charles David Jr, Charles Sexton, Kathleen Moore, Joseph Napier, William Trump, Isaac Mayo, Richard Dixon, Heriberto Hernandez. A second group of eleven names was announced on April 2, 2014.[192][failed verification]
In 2013 the name of Joseph Napier was reassigned to WPC-1115 when WPC-1110 was named after the recently deceased Commander Raymond Evans. The other ten new namesakes were: Winslow W. Griesser, Richard H. Patterson, Joseph Tezanos, Rollin A. Fritch, Lawrence O. Lawson, John F. McCormick, Bailey T. Barco, Benjamin B. Dailey, Donald R. Horsley, and Jacob L. A. Poroo. The 17th cutter (ex-USCGC Richard Patterson) was renamed as Donald Horsley after request of the Patterson Family, and the 24th cutter (ex-USCGC Donald Horsley) then was renamed as Oliver Berry.
In July 2014, Coast Guard Commandant Paul Zukunft announced that the Coast Guard would name an additional cutter after Senior Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne, the first Coast Guard member to be murdered in the line of duty since 1927.[193][194][195]
In February 2015, the Coast Guard publicized ten more names tentatively assigned to cutters 26 through 35.[196] They were: Joseph Gerczak, Richard T. Snyder, Nathan Bruckenthal, Forrest O. Rednour, Robert G. Ward, Terrell Horne III, Benjamin A. Bottoms, Joseph O. Doyle, William C. Hart, and Oliver F. Berry.
In December 2017, the Coast Guard announced the names of the 35th through 54th cutters.[197] The twenty namesakes are: Angela McShan, Daniel Tarr, Edgar Culbertson, Harold Miller, Myrtle Hazard, Oliver Henry, Charles Moulthrope, Robert Goldman, Frederick Hatch, Glen Harris, Emlen Tunnell, John Scheuerman, Clarence Sutphin, Pablo Valent, Douglas Denman, William Chadwick, Warren Deyampert, Maurice Jester, John Patterson, and William Sparling. The 35th cutter (ex-USCGC Oliver Berry) is to be named as Angela McShan since the 24th cutter (ex-USCGC Donald Horsley) was renamed as Oliver Berry.
In October 2019, the Coast Guard named the namesakes of cutters 55 through 64. They are: Melvin Bell, David Duren, Florence Finch, John Witherspoon, Earl Cunningham, Frederick Mann, Olivia Hooker, Vincent Danz, Jeffrey Palazzo, and Marvin Perrett.[198]
The new robotic patrol boat could borrow the hull of the Coast Guard's 350-ton-displacement Sentinel-class cutter, Fox pointed out.
The Dutch design was selected in 2008 because in 2007, the Coast Guard was finally forced to admit defeat in its effort to build an earlier design for Fast Response Cutters. The shipbuilders (Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman) screwed up, big time. While the Coast Guard shares some of the blame, for coming up with new concepts that didn't work out, the shipbuilders are the primary culprits because they are, well, the shipbuilding professionals and signed off on the Coast Guard concepts. Under intense pressure from media, politicians, and the shame of it all, the Coast Guard promptly went looking for an existing (off-the-shelf) design and in a hurry. That had become urgent because of an earlier screw-up.
With six cutters operating out of Miami, Florida, and six based in Key West, plus the two in San Juan, the USCG has 14 FRCs in service.
Under the original POR [program of record], all 58 FRCs would be for domestic use. The Coast Guard has since modified the POR to call for procuring up to 71 FRCs, including 59 (rather than 58) for domestic use, another 6 for use by the Coast Guard in the Persian Gulf as elements of a Bahrain-based Coast Guard unit, called Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA), which is the Coast Guard's largest unit outside the United States, and up to 6 more for use in the Indo- Pacific region.
On Dec. 15, 2009, the Coast Guard awarded a $141 million contract option to Bollinger to begin low-rate initial production on three additional Sentinel-class FRCs. The current contract is worth up to $1.5 billion if all options for 34 cutters are exercised. The Coast Guard plans to build a total of 58 Sentinel-class FRCs.
The Navy should latch onto the Coast Guard's WPC program to acquire a PC(R) that could also serve as a MDUSV development platform and, eventually, a MDUSV... A vessel based on the WPC would take advantage of the Coast Guard's sunk development costs and production learning curve, while also leveraging multiyear procurement to achieve still greater cost savings.
If the United States and Iran go to war in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy's smallest warships could be the first to see combat.
The Coast Guard exercised a contract option Aug. 9 for production of one Sentinel-class fast response cutter (FRC)...This option brings the total number of FRCs under contract with Bollinger to 65...The FRC built under this option will be delivered in 2025.
The U.S. Coast Guard has exercised a contract option to award Bollinger Shipyards two additional Sentinel-Class Fast Response Cutters. This announcement brings the total number of FRCs awarded to Bollinger up to 67 vessels since the program's inception.
Design features include reduced signature through shaping
Although the cutter is far from luxurious, its crew quarters provide slightly more room and comfort than earlier models, with larger staterooms, more toilets and sinks, greater storage space, and DirecTV access in the mess areas.
Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Richard Etheridge reveal the ship's name placard during the cutter's commissioning.
The William Flores' location of the commissioning honored the history of the cutter's namesake. On the night of Jan. 28, 1980, Coast Guard Seaman William "Billy" Flores, 18, died while assisting his shipmates after the Coast Guard Cutter Blackthorn, collided with a large merchant vessel in the Tampa Bay ship channel.
The 154 foot patrol craft 'Margaret Norvell' is the fifth vessel in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program. To build the FRC, Bollinger Shipyards used a proven, in-service parent craft design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708.
The Coast Guard accepted delivery of Paul Clark, the sixth vessel in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter (FRC) recapitalization project on May 18 in Key West, Florida.
The 154-foot patrol craft Charles David Jr. is the seventh vessel in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program. To build the FRC, Bollinger Shipyards used a proven, in-service parent craft design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708. It has a flank speed of 28 knots, state of the art command, control, communications and computer technology, and a stern launch system for the vessels 26 foot cutter boat. The FRC has been described as an operational "game changer," by senior Coast Guard officials.
The 154-foot Charles David Jr. was delivered Friday to the 7th Coast Guard District in Key West, Florida, where it will be commissioned in November.
The vessel was delivered to the 7th Coast Guard District in Key West, Fla., where the Coast Guard expects to commission it in March 2014.
Coast Guard Cutter Charles Sexton was commissioned into service March 8 at Coast Guard Sector Key West, Fla. The Sexton is the second of six Fast Response Cutters to be homeported in Key West, and the eighth vessel to be delivered through the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC recapitalization project.
The Coast Guard took delivery on March 28, 2014 in Key West, Florida and is scheduled to commission the vessel in Key West, Florida during May, 2014.
The Coast Guard took delivery on June 25, 2014 in Key West, Florida and is scheduled to commission the vessel in Key West, Florida during September, 2014.
The first of these cutters, the CGC CHARLES DAVID JR, was commissioned at sunset on Saturday, 16 November 2013, the second CGC CHARLES SEXTON on March 8, 2014, the CGC KATHLEEN MOORE on May 10th, the CGC RAYMOND EVANS on 6 September 2014, and the latest CGC WILLIAM TRUMP on 24 January 2015 at US Coast Guard Sector Key West.
We are extremely happy to announce the delivery of the latest FRC built by Bollinger, the William Trump, to the 7th Coast Guard District in Key West, Florida," said Bollinger Chief Operating Officer, Ben Bordelon. "We are looking forward to honoring and celebrating the heroic acts of William Trump at the vessel's commissioning.
The Coast Guard commissioned Isaac Mayo, the 12th fast response cutter and sixth to be based in Key West, Florida, March 28, 2015.
We are very pleased to announce the delivery of the latest FRC built by Bollinger, the Richard Dixon, to the Seventh Coast Guard District in Puerto Rico," said Bollinger's President and CEO, Ben Bordelon. "We are looking forward to honoring and celebrating the heroic acts of Richard Dixon at the vessel's commissioning.
The Coast Guard took delivery on July 30, 2015 in Key West, FL, and is scheduled to commission the vessel in Puerto Rico during October, 2015.
Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, LA, has delivered the Joseph Napier, the 15th Fast Response Cutter (FRC) to the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard took delivery on October 20, 2015 in Key West, Florida, and is scheduled to commission the vessel in Puerto Rico during January, 2016.
The 154-foot patrol craft is the 17th vessel in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program.
Today we usher in a new era for the Coast Guard in Alaska. At a ceremony in Ketchikan, Coast Guard Cutter John McCormick will officially enter the fleet...While we're commissioning this Fast Response Cutter today, it is the first of six of its kind that will call Alaska home.
The U.S. Coast Guard has taken delivery of USCGC Bailey Barco on February 7, 2017 in Key West, Fla. The vessel is scheduled to be commissioned in Ketchikan, Alaska in June, 2017.
This vessel is named after Barco, who was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal on Oct. 7, 1901, for his heroic action to rescue the crew of the Jennie Hall, a schooner that had been grounded during a winter storm off Virginia Beach, Va.
The Coast Guard took delivery of the 154-foot patrol craft on April 20, 2017 in Key West, Fla. The vessel's commissioning is scheduled for July 4, 2017 in Pascagoula, Miss.
Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, La., has delivered the 154'x25'5″x9'6″ Benjamin Dailey to the Coast Guard, the 23rd fast response cutter (FRC).
This vessel is named after Coast Guard Hero Benjamin Dailey. Dailey, Keeper of the Cape Hatteras Life-Saving Station, was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal on April 24, 1885 for his exceptional bravery in one of the most daring rescues by the Life-Saving Service.
One ship, Coast Guard Cutter (CGC) Benjamin Dailey (WPC 1123), was severely damaged in a shipyard fire in December 2021. Coast Guard subject matter experts determined that repair of the vessel was not feasible. If repaired, the cutter would not have fulfilled its expected service life and would have incurred higher operational costs. CGC Benjamin Dailey has been de-commissioned.
USCGC Richard Snyder will be the first Sentinel-class cutter (FRC) stationed in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, and will be commissioned in April.
The cutter will be the first of three planned FRCs stationed in Galveston, Texas.
Lockport-based Bollinger Shipyards delivered the USCGC Daniel Tarr, the 36th fast response cutter, to the U.S. Coast Guard on Nov. 7 in Key West, Florida.
Adm. Karl Schultz, commandant, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), offers remarks during a commissioning ceremony on U.S. Naval Base Guam July 29. The ceremony commissioned three new USCG sentinel-class fast response cutters stationed on Guam: USCG Cutter Myrtle Hazard, USCG Cutter Oliver Henry, and USCG Cutter Frederick Hatch.
The Charles Moulthrope will be based in Manama, Bahrain, replacing a 110-foot Island Class Patrol Boat built by Bollinger 30 years ago. The new ship will support U.S. defense missions in southwest Asia, the Coast Guard's largest overseas presence.
A 20-hour high-speed boat chase that at times resembled a James Bond movie ended about 65 miles west of Cuba on Christmas Eve when the three suspects just gave up, law enforcement officials said.[permanent dead link]
Three suspected boat thieves led the Coast Guard on a 345-mile high-speed chase lasting nearly 20 hours before they were eventually captured off Mexico, officials in Florida said Sunday.
The 10 survivors are believed to be migrants trying to get the United States from the Bahamas.
The four suspected smugglers were transferred to U.S. authorities for prosecution. The Friesland transferred the suspects and contraband to the Coast Guard Cutter Bernard C. Webber who was returning home from a successful counterdrug patrol off of Puerto Rico in support of Operation Unified Resolve.
In this case, the interdiction operation involved the Coast Guard and the HNLMS Friesland, an offshore patrol vessel from the Royal Netherlands Navy.
A Coast Guardsman offloads cocaine at Coast Guard Sector Miami Beach, Florida, Nov. 20, 2015.
On the Webber, Gould and Mike Cortese, commanding officer of Coast Guard Station Miami Beach, show the SLEP group what the Coast Guard does if it catches a target of interest making an illicit run from Bimini to the United States carrying migrants, drugs, money or guns.
The crew of the Napier, which is based in Port Canaveral, Florida, towed the 70-foot (21-meter) fishing vessel, the Lady Michelle, to St. Vincent and four men on board from Guyana were taken to the U.S. Virgin Islands to face possible criminal charges. The Coast Guard took the cocaine to Puerto Rico and turned it over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
In July Oliver Berry's crew set a new milestone by deploying over the horizon to the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The 4,400 nautical mile trip marked marking the furthest deployment of an FRC to date for the Coast Guard and is the first deployment of its kind in the Pacific.
'It was a good transit, the longest we've conducted yet, nine days at sea and we're proving the capabilities of these new cutters to operate over the horizon throughout the remote Pacific,' said Lt. James Provost, commanding officer of Joseph Gerczak.
After the passing of several well-known Coast Guard heroes last year, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles "Skip" Bowen mentioned in his blog that the Coast Guard does not do enough to honor its fallen heroes.
Previously designated to be named the Coast Guard Cutter Sentinel, the cutter Bernard C. Webber will be the first of the service's new 153-foot patrol cutters. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen approved the change of the cutter's name to allow this class of vessels to be named after outstanding enlisted members who demonstrated exceptional heroism in the line of duty. This will be the first class of cutters to be named exclusively for enlisted members of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services.
All of these boats will be named after enlisted Coast Guard heroes, who distinguished themselves in USCG or military service. The first 25 have been named, but only 8 have been commissioned...
The Commandant personally informed the Horne family earlier today a fast response cutter will bear Terrell Horne's name in honor of his sacrifice and faithful service in defense of his nation.
Two Mexican nationals from Ensenada who were apprehended on a smuggling panga in December 2012 were convicted today in the death of Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III.
Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III's death made him the first Coast Guardsman murdered in the line of duty since 1927, officials said. Horne, who spent 14 years with the Coast Guard, was posthumously promoted to the rank of senior chief petty officer.
The Coast Guard recently announced the names of the 26th through 35th Sentinel-class fast response cutters through a series of posts on its official blog, the Coast Guard Compass.
The U.S. Coast Guard has announced the names and corresponding hull numbers for its next 20 Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs), each vessel being named for a deceased leader, trailblazer or hero of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, the U.S. Lifesaving Service and the U.S. Lighthouse Service, according to a Dec. 12 Coast Guard release.
These namesakes include recipients of the Gold Lifesaving Medal, Silver Star Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and Medal of Freedom. These new cutters are scheduled for delivery starting in 2023 and will be named for the following people:
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