Bollinger delivers 23rd fast response cutter

Benjamindailey

The following is the text of a news release from Bollinger Shipyards:

(LOCKPORT, La.) — Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the USCGC Benjamin Dailey, the 23rd fast response cutter (FRC), to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard took delivery on Thursday in Key West, Fla., and the vessel’s commissioning is scheduled for July 4 in Pascagoula, Miss.

"We are pleased to announce the delivery of the latest FRC, the USCGC Benjamin Dailey,” said Ben Bordelon, Bollinger president and CEO. "This FRC built by Bollinger Shipyards will be stationed in Pascagoula, Miss. FRCs already in commission stationed in the mid-Atlantic and the southeastern U.S. have seized multiple tons of narcotics, interdicted thousands of illegal aliens and saved many lives. In just one case, on Feb. 28, 2017, the Coast Guard announced that the Coast Guard cutter Joseph Napier, a Bollinger-built FRC, had seized 4.2 tons of cocaine in international waters north of Paramaribo, Suriname, in the Atlantic Ocean. The FRC program is a model program for government acquisition and has surpassed all historical quality benchmarks for vessels of this type and complexity. The results are the delivery of truly extraordinary Coast Guard cutters that will serve our nation for decades to come. 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. We at Bollinger Shipyards are looking forward to hearing of the heroic exploits of the USCGC Benjamin Dailey as it joins the Coast Guard’s operational fleet.”

The 154-foot patrol craft USCGC Benjamin Dailey is the 23rd vessel in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program. The FRC has been described as an operational "game changer” by senior Coast Guard officials. This will be the first FRC to be stationed in the 8th Coast Guard District in Pascagoula, Miss. Previous cutters have been stationed in Florida, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Cape May, N.J. and Ketchikan, Alaska. To build the FRC, Bollinger 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 vessel’s 26-foot cutter boat.

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 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.

By Professional Mariner Staff