USCG receives 23rd Sentinel-class fast response cutter USCGC Benjamin Dailey

The US Coast Guard (USCG) has taken delivery of its 23rd Sentinel-class fast response cutter (FRC), USCGC Benjamin Dailey, from Bollinger Shipyards.

The new cutter has been named in honour of Benjamin Dailey, Keeper of the Cape Hatteras Life-Saving Station. who was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal in 1885 for his bravery in one of the most daring rescues by the Life-Saving Service.

USCGC Benjamin Dailey will be the first FRC to be stationed in the 8th Coast Guard District in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Bollinger president and CEO Ben Bordelon said: “FRCs already in commission stationed in the mid-Atlantic and the South Eastern US have seized multiple tonnes of narcotics, interdicted thousands of illegal aliens and saved many lives.

“The FRC programme is a model programme for government acquisition and has surpassed all historical quality benchmarks for vessels of this type and complexity.

“We are extremely proud that the fast response cutters built locally on the bayou by Louisiana craftsmen are having such a major impact on our nation’s security.”

Bollinger has used in-service parent craft design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708 to build the cutter.

The 154ft-long patrol craft is equipped with advanced command, control, communications and computer technology, and a stern launch system for the vessel’s 26ft cutter boat. This vessel has a flank speed of 28 knots, Bollinger stated.

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Image: USCGC Benjamin Dailey during builders trials in the US Gulf of Mexico. Photo: courtesy of Bollinger Shipyards LLC.