Feb. 8, 2017 —
The Coast Guard accepted delivery of the 22nd fast response cutter (FRC), Bailey Barco, in Key West, Florida, Feb. 7.
The cutter will be the second FRC stationed in Ketchikan, Alaska. The 22nd fast response cutter is slated for commissioning July 2017.
The cutter is named after the Dam Neck Mills, Virginia, lifesaving station keeper and boat coxswain Bailey Barco, who led a daring rescue of crewmembers of a schooner that had run aground off Virginia Beach, Virginia, Dec. 21, 1900. Barco was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal Oct. 7, 1901, for his actions.
The FRCs are replacing the 1980s-era 110-foot Island-class patrol boats and feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment; the ability to launch and recover standardized cutter boats from astern or via side davits; and improved seakeeping and habitability. The 154-foot FRC is designed to patrol coastal regions and has an endurance of five days.
The Coast Guard has ordered 38 of the planned 58 FRCs, and 19 are in service: one in Cape May, New Jersey; six in Miami; six in Key West, Florida; and six in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The 20th FRC, Lawrence Lawson, is slated to be commissioned in March 2017 and will be the second FRC stationed in Cape May. The FRC is complemented operationally by the national security cutter, which patrols the open ocean, and the extended range and patrol of the offshore patrol cutter .
For more information: Fast Response Cutter Program page