USCG receives fifth Sentinel-class patrol boat

The US Coast Guard (USCG) has received the fifth Sentinel-class patrol boat or fast response cutter (FRC), Margaret Norvell from Bollinger Shipyards. in Key West, Florida, US.

Scheduled to be commissioned in late June 2013, the vessel has been named to honour an enlisted Coast Guard, Margaret Norvell for serving admirably with the US Lighthouse Service in Louisiana for 41 years.

Bollinger new construction executive vice president Chris Bollinger said, "The Margaret Norvell was delivered to the 7th Coast Guard District in Key West, FL, and will be stationed at USCG Sector Miami."

Being built under the Deepwater programme of the USCG, the Margaret Norvell craft has been developed based on in-service parent craft design of the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708.

Capable of cruising at a speed of 28k, the 46.93m-long cutter boats will replace the USCG’s ageing fleet of 110ft Island-class cutters.
Powered by two 20-cylinder MTU TIER II diesel engines, Sentinel-class cutters will be used by the USCG to conduct a range of missions which include maritime homeland security, search and rescue (SAR), fishery patrol and national-defence missions.

The boat’s command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) equipment are fully interoperable with the USCG’s existing and future units as well as partners in the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS).