US Coast Guard receives 16th fast response cutter

The United States Coast Guard accepted delivery of the 16th fast response cutter, the Coast Guard Cutter Winslow Griesser, in Key West, Florida, December 23.

The cutter’s commissioning is scheduled for March 2016 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the ship will be stationed.

The 154-foot patrol craft Winslow Griesser is the 16th vessel in the Coast Guard’s Sentinel-class FRC program that are built by Bollinger Shipyards under a design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708.

It has a flank speed of 28 knots, and a stern launch system for the vessel’s 26-foot cutter boat. The FRC has been described as an operational “game changer,” by senior Coast Guard officials.

Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who distinguished him or herself in the line of duty. This vessel is named after Coast Guard Hero Winslow Griesser. Winslow W. Griesser, Keeper of the Buffalo Life-Saving Station in New York, was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal on February 23, 1901 for his heroic actions during a dramatic rescue on November 21, 1900.

The Coast Guard is acquiring 58 FRCs to replace the 110-foot Island-class patrol boats. The FRCs are designed for missions including drug and migrant interdiction; ports, waterways and coastal security; search and rescue; and national defense.

Fourteen FRCs are in service: six in Miami; six in Key West, Florida; and two in San Juan. The 15th FRC, the Joseph Napier, was delivered in October and is scheduled for commissioning in San Juan in January 2016.

[mappress mapid=”17560”]