US Coast Guard commissions 31st, receives 33rd fast response cutter

The US Coast Guard commissioned its 31st fast response cutter in a March 22 ceremony in San Pedro, California.

Cutter Terrell Horne (WPC-1131) is the third FRC to be homeported at Coast Guard Base Los Angeles-Long Beach and will operate throughout the 11th Coast Guard District, which includes all of California and international waters off Mexico and Central America.

The cutter is named after Senior Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III who was killed by drug smugglers who intentionally rammed the boat he and fellow Coast Guardsmen were aboard during law-enforcement operations near Santa Cruz Island off the Southern California coast in December 2012. Horne pushed one of his shipmates out of the way of the oncoming vessel attack and sustained fatal injuries.

In a separate ceremony on March 21, the Coast Guard accepted delivery of its 33rd fast response cutter (FRC), Joseph Doyle, in Key West, Florida.

It will be the seventh FRC stationed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and will be commissioned in June.

The FRCs are replacing the 1980s-era 110-foot patrol boats and are designed for a crew of 24. They have a range of 2,500 miles and are equipped for patrols up to five days.