The following is the text of a news release from Bollinger Shipyards:
(LOCKPORT, La.) — Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the USCGC Joseph Tezanos, the 18th fast response cutter (FRC) to the United States Coast Guard.
The announcement was made by Bollinger President and CEO Ben Bordelon. "We are very pleased to announce the delivery of the latest FRC built by Bollinger Shipyards, the USCGC Joseph Tezanos, to the U.S. Coast Guard. The fleet of FRCs already in commission have more than proven their worth with tons of narcotics seized, thousands of illegal aliens interdicted and many lives saved. We at Bollinger Shipyards are looking forward to hearing of the heroic exploits of the Joseph Tezanos as it joins the Coast Guard’s operational fleet.”
The 154-foot patrol craft is the 18th vessel in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program. 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. The FRC has been described as an operational "game changer” by senior Coast Guard officials.
The Coast Guard took delivery on June 22 in Key West, Fla., and is scheduled to commission the vessel in Puerto Rico in August.
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 Joseph Tezanos, who was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps medal for distinguished heroism while leading the rescue of more than 40 injured service members following the explosion of a Navy LST in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1944.
