The following is the text of a news release from Bollinger Shipyards Inc.:
(LOCKPORT, La.) — Bollinger Shipyards Inc. has delivered the Raymond Evans, the 10th fast response cutter (FRC) to the United States Coast Guard.
The announcement was made by Bollinger President Chris Bollinger. “We are extremely proud to announce the delivery of the Raymond Evans, the latest FRC built by Bollinger, to the 7th Coast Guard District in Key West, Fla. The Raymond Evans, as well as the previous nine FRC deliveries, were proudly delivered on time and on budget. We look forward to the vessel’s commissioning, honoring and celebrating the heroic acts of Cmdr. Raymond Evans.”
The 154-foot patrol craft Raymond Evans is the 10th 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 25 in Key West, Fla., and is scheduled to commission the vessel in Key West during September.
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 Cmdr. Raymond Evans. Evans, who began his career as an apprentice seaman, was part of a dramatic rescue of a group of Marines pinned down by machine gun fire during the battle of Guadalcanal in September 1942, where he earned the Navy Cross. Evans performed his mission with valor and bravery.
Bollinger Shipyards Inc. (www.bollingershipyards.com) is a leading designer and builder of fast military patrol boats, ocean-going double hull barges, offshore oil field support vessels, tug boats, rigs, liftboats, inland waterways push boats, barges, and other steel and aluminum products from its new construction shipyards. Bollinger has 10 shipyards and all are strategically located between New Orleans and Houston with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River and the Intracoastal Waterway. Bollinger is the largest vessel repair company in the Gulf of Mexico region with a total of 28 dry docks in Louisiana and Texas.
