On Tuesday, Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, La., delivered the 154'x25'5"x9'6" Jacob Poroo, the 25th fast response cutter (FRC), to the Coast Guard in Key West, Fla. The vessel’s commissioning is scheduled for Nov. 8 in New Orleans.
The new patrol boat, which features a steel hull and aluminum superstructure, is the 25th vessel in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program. The FRC has been described as an operational “game changer,” by senior Coast Guard officials. 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 and state of the art command, control, communications and computer technology, and a stern launch system for the vessel’s 26' cutter boat.
Powered by pairs of MTU 20V 4000 M93L diesel engines producing 2,900 hp each and turning fixed-pitch wheels, the new cutters must have a minimum endurance of five days at sea. The boats must also be capable of underway operations for a minimum of 2,500 hours annually.
The FRC has a maximum speed of more than 28 knots and is outfitted with a stabilized 25mm machine-gun mount and four crew-served .50-caliber machine guns.
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 Jacob Poroo. For heroic and courageous action during his efforts to attempt a rescue and respond to a major building fire at the LORAN station in Adak, Alaska, in 1968. Poroo was posthumously awarded the Coast Guard Medal.
“We are excited to announce the delivery of the latest FRC, the USCGC Jacob Poroo,” Ben Bordelon, Bollinger president & CEO, said in a prepared statement.
The new FRC will be the second FRC to be stationed in Pascagoula (Miss.). Previous cutters have been stationed in Florida; San Juan, P.R.; Cape May, N.J.; Ketchikan, Alaska; Pascagoula, Miss., and Honolulu.
