Bollinger Shipyards LLC has delivered the 154'x25'5"x9'6" Maurice Jester to the Coast Guard in Key West, Fla. This is the 178th vessel Bollinger has delivered to the Coast Guard over a 35-year period and the 52nd fast response cutter (FRC) delivered under the current program.
FRCs are being deployed in support of the full range of missions within the Coast Guard and other branches of the U.S. armed services. The cutters have conducted operations as far as the Marshall Islands — a 4,400-nautical-mile trip from their homeport.
FRCs have a flank speed of 28 knots, state of the art C4ISR suite (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), and stern launch and recovery ramp for a 26', over-the-horizon interceptor cutter boat.
For the FRC, Bollinger is using a proven, in-service parent craft design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708. Main propulsion comes from twin MTU 20V4000 M93L diesel engines, producing 2,900 hp each.
The Maurice Jester will be the third of six FRCs to be homeported in Boston The Boston sector is responsible for coastal safety, security, and environmental protection from the New Hampshire-Massachusetts border southward to Plymouth, Mass., out to 200 nautical miles offshore. Sector Boston directs over 1,500 active duty, reserve, and auxiliary members whose mission is to protect and secure vital infrastructure, rescue mariners in peril at sea, enforce federal law, maintain navigable waterways, and respond to all hazards impacting the maritime transportation system and coastal region.
Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who distinguished themselves in the line of duty. Maurice Jester enlisted in the Coast Guard as a surfman in 1917, working his way up to chief boatswain's mate by 1935 while serving on five cutters.
