Marine Protector-class patrol boat

The Marine Protector class is a class of coastal patrol boats of the United States Coast Guard. The 87-foot-long vessels are based on the Stan 2600 design by Damen Group, and were built by Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, Louisiana. Each boat is named after a marine predator.[3]

For other uses, see Protector class.
The class leader USCGC Barracuda underway. Note the boat launching ramp at the stern. The fifty caliber machine guns mount on pintles, port and starboard, just forward of the red stripe. The black smudge in the hull abaft the superstructure is the exhaust of the port engine.
Class overview
Name: Marine Protector class
Builders: Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana
Operators:  United States Coast Guard
In commission: 1998-present[1]
Active: 73
General characteristics
Displacement: 91 Long tons
Length: 87 ft (27 m)
Beam: 19 ft 5 in (5.92 m)
Draft: 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Propulsion: 2 x MTU diesels
Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)+
Range: 900 nmi (1,700 km)
Endurance: 3 days
Complement: 10
Sensors and
processing systems:		 1 x AN/SPS-73 surface search radar
Armament: 2 × .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns
Notes: [2]
USCGC Cochito launching a small boat from the stern ramp
USCGC Sailfish in New York City

The Coast Guard placed its original order in 1999 for 50 boats, which were delivered by mid-2002.[4] Several additional orders brought the class to a total of 74 ships, with the last, USCGC Sea Fox, being completed in October 2009.[3][5][6] Four additional vessels were built for Foreign Military Sales, with two each going to Malta and Yemen.[7]

The Marine Protector class replaced the 82-foot Point class. These older boats had one small and one large berthing area, and they had to stop for five or more minutes to deploy or retrieve their pursuit inflatable boat via a small crane. The last Point-class cutter was decommissioned in 2003.[8][9]

In 2020 the Department of Homeland Security proposed a budget for the Coast Guard for 2021 where 8 Marine Protector cutters would be decommissioned, as their missions could be taken by new Sentinel class cutters.[10]

General characteristics

Missions include combating drug smuggling, illegal immigration, marine fisheries enforcement and search and rescue support. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks many have a homeland security mission in the form of ports waterways and coastal security (PWCS) patrols.[11]

Boarding parties can be launched while the vessel is underway, through the cutter's stern launching ramp.[3] The attached rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) has been upgraded since the initial inception of this class of cutter, in an effort to increase speed and sea state sustainability for boarding parties and rescue and assistance teams. The stern launching system requires just a single crewmember to remain on deck to launch or retrieve the boarding party.

Their high-speed pursuit boat uses the same diesel fuel as the cutters.[3]

The cutters consume approximately 165 gallons of diesel per hour at their maximum speed of 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph).

Like all new U.S. Coast Guard vessels, the Marine Protector class are designed to accommodate crews of mixed gender with five separate small berthing spaces accommodating standard crews of ten with maximum berthing for 12.[3]

Sea Dragon and Sea Dog assigned to guard a United States Navy submarine base in Kings Bay, Georgia, and Sea Devil and Sea Fox guard another submarine base in Bangor, Washington, mount an additional machine gun, one operated by remote control.[3]

Boats in class
Image Name Hull Number Builder Commissioned Homeport Status Active
USCGC Barracuda WPB-87301 Bollinger Shipyards 1998 Eureka, CA Active
USCGC Hammerhead WPB-87302 Woods Hole, MA
USCGC Mako WPB-87303 Cape May, NJ
USCGC Marlin WPB-87304 Fort Myers Beach, FL
USCGC Stingray WPB-87305 Mobile, AL
USCGC Dorado WPB-87306 Crescent City, CA
USCGC Osprey WPB-87307 Port Townsend, WA
USCGC Chinook WPB-87308 New London, CT
USCGC Albacore WPB-87309 New London, CT
USCGC Tarpon WPB-87310 Tybee Island, GA
USCGC Cobia WPB-87311 Mobile, AL
USCGC Hawksbill WPB-87312 Monterey, CA
USCGC Cormorant WPB-87313 Fort Pierce, FL
USCGC Finback WPB-87314 Cape May, NJ
USCGC Amberjack WPB-87315 South Padre Island, TX
USCGC Kittiwake WPB-87316 Honolulu, HI
USCGC Blackfin WPB-87317 Santa Barbara, CA
USCGC Bluefin WPB-87318 Fort Pierce, FL
USCGC Yellowfin WPB-87319 Charleston, SC
USCGC Manta WPB-87320 Freeport, TX
USCGC Coho WPB-87321 Panama City, FL
USCGC Kingfisher WPB-87322 Mayport, FL
USCGC Seahawk WPB-87323 Carrabelle, FL
USCGC Steelhead WPB-87324 Port Aransas, TX
USCGC Beluga WPB-87325 Little Creek, VA
USCGC Blacktip WPB-87326 Oxnard, CA
USCGC Pelican WPB-87327 Abbeville, LA
USCGC Ridley WPB-87328 Montauk, NY
USCGC Cochito WPB-87329 Little Creek, VA
USCGC Manowar WPB-87330 Galveston, TX
USCGC Moray WPB-87331 Jonesport, ME
USCGC Razorbill WPB-87332 Gulfport, MS
USCGC Adelie WPB-87333 Port Angeles, WA
USCGC Gannet WPB-87334 Dania, FL
USCGC Narwhal WPB-87335 Corona Del Mar, CA
USCGC Sturgeon WPB-87336 Grand Isle, LA
USCGC Sockeye WPB-87337 Bodega Bay, CA
USCGC Ibis WPB-87338 Cape May, NJ
USCGC Pompano WPB-87339 Gulfport, MS
USCGC Halibut WPB-87340 Marina Del Rey, CA
USCGC Bonito WPB-87341 Pensacola, FL
USCGC Shrike WPB-87342 Port Canaveral, FL
USCGC Tern WPB-87343 San Francisco, CA
USCGC Heron WPB-87344 Sabine Pass, TX
USCGC Wahoo WPB-87345 Port Angeles, WA
USCGC Flyingfish WPB-87346 Boston, MA
USCGC Haddock WPB-87347 San Diego, CA
USCGC Brant WPB-87348 Corpus Christi, TX
USCGC Shearwater WPB-87349 Portsmouth, VA
USCGC Petrel WPB-87350 San Diego, CA
87351[12] Malta
USCGC Sea Lion WPB-87352 Bellingham, WA
USCGC Skipjack WPB-87353 Galveston, TX
USCGC Dolphin WPB-87354 Miami, FL
USCGC Hawk WPB-87355 St. Petersburg, FL
USCGC Sailfish WPB-87356 Sandy Hook, NJ
USCGC Sawfish WPB-87357 Key West, FL
USCGC Swordfish WPB-87358 Port Angeles, WA
USCGC Tiger Shark WPB-87359 Newport, RI
USCGC Blue Shark WPB-87360 Everett, WA
USCGC Sea Horse WPB-87361 Portsmouth, VA
USCGC Sea Otter WPB-87362 San Diego, CA
USCGC Manatee WPB-87363 Corpus Christi, TX
USCGC Ahi WPB-87364 Honolulu, HI
USCGC Pike WPB-87365 San Francisco, CA
USCGC Terrapin WPB-87366 Bellingham, WA
USCGC Sea Dragon WPB-87367 Kings Bay, GA In Active Service
USCGC Sea Devil WPB-87368 Bangor, WA
USCGC Crocodile WPB-87369 St Petersburg, FL
USCGC Diamondback WPB-87370 Miami Beach, FL
USCGC Reef Shark WPB-87371 San Juan, PR
USCGC Alligator WPB-87372 St. Petersburg, FL
USCGC Sea Dog WPB-87373 Kings Bay, GA
USCGC Sea Fox WPB-87374 Bangor, WA In Active Service

References
  1. "WPB 87' Marine Protector Class". Globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 2016-12-03. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  2. "Coastal Patrol Boat" (PDF). USCG Acquisition Directorate. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  3. HMC James T. Flynn, Jr., USNR(ret) (2014-06-23). "U. S. Coast Guard: Small Cutters and Patrol Boats 1915 - 2012" (PDF). US Coast Guard. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-11-19. The four boats which are stationed at Kitsap, WA and Kings Bay, GA submarine bases have an extra remotely operated 50 cal. m.g.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. "Patrol Boat". Marine Talk. 1999-10-18. Archived from the original on 2010-11-26.
  5. Keyon K. Jeff (2009-10-11). "Bollinger Shipyards delivers final Marine Protector-class CPB". Tri-Parish Times. Archived from the original on 2009-10-11. We're very sad to see the Sea Fox leave. This contract was supposed to end at 51 vessels, and now we're at 75," said Christopher Bollinger, executive vice president of new construction. "We're excited to see the workmanship continue as we start the next contract for 36 boats.
  6. "USCG Contract for Bollinger". Marine News. July 2007. p. 8. Archived from the original on 2014-07-18. Retrieved 2014-07-17. The Bollinger built CPBs are based on the Damen STAN 2600 design developed for the Hong Kong police.
  7. "International Acquisition Programs". United States Coast Guard. 2009-12-15.
  8. "87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat (WPB) - Marine Protector Class". Marine Protector Class datasheet. US Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-17. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  9. ""Last of the Class": USCGC PT BROWER (WPB 82372)". Transquest. 2003-03-28. Archived from the original on 2003-04-17. Retrieved 2020-02-13. On March 28th, 2003, the United States Coast Guard will transfer Coast Guard Cutter Point Brower (WPB 82372) to the country of Azerbaijan thus bringing an incredible era of “Point Class” vessels to an end.
  10. "Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Budget Overview, Fiscal Year 2021, Congressional Justification" (PDF). Department of Homeland Security. 2020. p. 27. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-02-11. Retrieved 2020-02-13. This initiative decommissions eight 87-foot Marine Protector Class CPBs. This initiative is based on the acquisition of the Fast Response Cutter (FRC) and Response Boat – Medium (RB-M), both of which are more capable than the legacy assets that they replace.
  11. "Office of Counterterrorism & Defense Operations Policy (CG-ODO)". US Coast Guard. 2016-12-28. Archived from the original on 2017-05-20. Retrieved 2020-02-13. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 divided the Coast Guard’s eleven statutory missions between homeland security and non-homeland security. Reflecting the Coast Guard’s historical role in defending our nation, the Act delineated Ports, Waterways and Coastal Security (PWCS) as the first homeland security mission.
  12. The number 87351 was assigned to a vessel that was given to Malta, where it became P51
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