The following is the text of a news release from Bollinger Shipyards:
(LOCKPORT, La.) (April 14) — Bollinger Shipyards LLC has delivered Richard Dixon, the 13th fast response cutter (FRC), to the United States Coast Guard.
The announcement was made by Bollinger’s president and CEO, Ben Bordelon: "We are very pleased to announce the delivery of the latest FRC built by Bollinger, the Richard Dixon, to the 7th Coast Guard District in Puerto Rico. We are looking forward to honoring and celebrating the heroic acts of Richard Dixon at the vessel’s commissioning.”
The 154-foot patrol craft Richard Dixon is the 13th 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 April 14 in Key West, Fla., and is scheduled to commission the vessel in Tampa, Fla., during June.
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 Richard Dixon. Dixon, a first class boatswains mate stationed at Tillamook Bay, was awarded two Coast Guard medals for his heroic actions on the July Fourth weekend in 1980. A series of dangerous storms swept across the Pacific Northwest and two boating incidents could have ended in disaster. Dixon and his crew courageously performed two separate rescues that weekend in the treacherous storm conditions.
