US Coast Guard commissioned its 16th fast response cutter

USCG's Fast Response Cutter "Winslow Griesser"
(Credit: USCG/Ricardo Castrodad)

The 16th FRC was named after Winslow W. Griesser, a keeper of the Buffalo, New York, lifesaving station who was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for his rescue of a man thrown into the sea when two large boats broke loose from their moorings Nov. 21, 1900. Griesser’s great-granddaughter, Paula Griesser Fairfield, is the ship’s sponsor.

FRCs patrol the near-offshore environment conducting a variety of missions, including drug and migrant interdiction; ports, waterways and coastal security; fishery patrols; and search and rescue. The ships are 154 feet long, have a range of 2,950 nautical miles and feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment; stern cutter boat launch; and improved habitability and seakeeping. They are replacing the Island-class 110-foot patrol boats, which entered service in the 1980s.

The service has ordered 32 FRCs of 58 planned. The 17th FRC was delivered March 5 and is scheduled for commissioning in San Juan in mid-2016.