Coast Guard commissions first New England-based fast response cutter

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Nov. 14, 2022 —

fast response cutter

The Coast Guard Cutter William Chadwick (WPC-1150) sits moored at Coast Guard Base Boston during its commissioning ceremony in Boston, Massachusetts, on Nov. 10, 2022.

The Coast Guard commissioned the 50th fast response cutter (FRC), William Chadwick, Nov. 10, 2022, in Boston. William Chadwick is the first of six FRCs to be homeported in Boston.

Born in Dover, New Jersey, the cutter’s namesake was a keeper of the Green Island Lifeboat Station in New Jersey and recipient of the Congressional Gold Lifesaving Medal for his rescue of the crew of the schooner George Taulane on Feb. 3, 1880. Chadwick remained keeper of Green Island Station until his retirement in August 1886.

The Sentinel-class FRCs feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment; over-the-horizon cutter boat deployment to reach vessels of interest; and improved habitability and seakeeping. The cutters are designed for multiple missions including search and rescue; national defense; ports, waterways and coastal security; drug and migrant interdiction; and fisheries patrols.

The Coast Guard has ordered 65 FRCs to date. With this commissioning, 50 are in service: 13 in Florida; seven in Puerto Rico; six in Bahrain; four in California; three each in Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Texas and New Jersey; two each in Mississippi and North Carolina; and one in Massachusetts. Future FRC homeports include Astoria, Oregon, and Kodiak and Seward, Alaska.

For more information: Fast Response Cutter Program page

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