U.S. Coast Guardsmen assigned to medium endurance cutter USCGC Harriet Lane (WMEC 903) moor the cutter at a pier in Taiohae, French Polynesia, May 18, 2025. The crew visited Nuka Hiva, the largest of the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia, as part of their 73-day patrol supporting Operation Blue Pacific. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Kenneth Shellenberger)
Below is a news release from Coast Guard District Oceania. That Harriet Lane is patrolling in the Western Pacific is getting to be routine, but I am publishing it here, first because I love the photo above, but also because I thought you might be interested in the French Overseas Patrol Vessel Teriieroo a Teriierooiterai mentioned in the text. It is one of a class of six and was commissioned in July 2024.
I did a post on the class in June 2024, “The Félix Éboué class, a Modern, Minimalist, Medium Endurance Cutter.” I published the photos below as part of that post, but am posting them below for convenience. This class is essentially the embodiment of my Cutter X concept, taking the crew, equipment, and capabilities of a Webber class WPC and putting them in a more seaworthy hull with the greater endurance the Webber class lacks.
Earlier I compared the class to the Webber class, but let’s compare and contrast the French OPV with the Bear Class ships like Harriet Lane.
————————————Bear Class———————Félix Éboué class
- Displacement: ———–1800 tons————————–1300 tons
- Length: ——————-270 ft (82 m)———————-80 m (262 ft 6 in)
- Beam: ——————–38 ft (11.6 m)———————-11.8 m (38 ft 9 in)
- Draft: ———————14 ft 5 in (4.39 m)—————–3.5 m (11 ft 6 in)
- Propulsion: —————7,000 SHP————————10,320 SHP
- Speed: ——————–19.5 knots————————-24 knots
- Range: ———————6,370 nmi @ 15 knots ———5,500 nmi
- Complement: ————-100——————————30, accommodations for 59
- Boats: ———————-8 m + 6 m———————-2x 8m
- Helo Deck & hangar ——-Yes—————————–No
- UAV: ————————–No——————————Yes
- Space for Container——-No——————————Yes
- Electric motors for Loiter–No——————————Yes
Biggest difference is crew size, closer to an FRC than an MEC. Harriet Lane’s crew may be less than 100 since removal of the Mk75 gun and Mk92 fire control, but still three times as large.
The French OPV, using less horsepower than the Webber class are faster by 4.5 knots. The MEC still has greater range, but the French OPV’s range is notably more than twice that of the Webber class. The greater displacement might suggest the MEC is more seaworthy but the positioning of the French OPV’s bridge well aft would make watch standing there more comfortable. I have to say, I like the look of the French ship’s bow a lot better than that on the Bear class.
Harriet Lane has a flight deck and hangar but sails without an embarked helicopter, while the French OPV has only facilities to support a projected VTOL UAV with a catapult launched UAV filling in for now.
Forgoing the larger flight deck and hangar allows the French OPV a more spacious Fantail with space for containerized systems and a stern ramp for boat operations.
The French OPV seems to have better boat handling facilities with both stern ramp and davit launched 8 meter RHIBs.
Auguste Bénébig. Photo: http://www.meretmarine.com
The second of the French Navy’s six new overseas patrol vessels (POMs), the Teriieroo a Teriierooiterai, which will be based in French Polynesia and has been named in tribute to a Companion of the Liberation native of this Pacific territory, Photo: http://www.meretmarine.com
The Teriieroo at Teriierooiterai fitting out at the end of July, 2023 in Boulogne. Photo: http://www.meretmarine.com
Stern ramp for 8 meter RHIB. French Navy overseas patrol vessel (POM), Teriieroo a Teriierooiterai, fitting out 2023. Photo: http://www.meretmarine.com
Second 8 meter RHIB and davit on starboard side. French Navy overseas patrol vessel (POM), Teriieroo a Teriierooiterai, fitting out 2023. Photo: http://www.meretmarine.com
Aliaca aerial drone on its launch catapult. French Navy overseas patrol vessel (POM), Teriieroo a Teriierooiterai, fitting out 2023. Photo: http://www.meretmarine.com
Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane returns home following patrol in Oceania
Coast Guard Oceania District External Affairs – (808) 265-7748
Editor’s Note: Click here to download video.
HONOLULU – The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane (WMEC 903) returned to Honolulu Wednesday following a 73-day patrol in support of Coast Guard Oceania District’s Operation Blue Pacific.
The Harriet Lane crew departed Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in April to conduct joint operations and territorial integrity missions across Oceania. Patrolling more than 15,000 nautical miles around the Hawaiian Islands, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, and American Samoa, the cutter’s crew worked alongside interagency and Pacific Island partners to reinforce the rules-based international maritime order in the region.
“The crew demonstrated their professionalism, grit, and dedication to strengthening maritime governance in Oceania,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Brennan Augustine, senior maritime enforcement specialist aboard the Harriet Lane. “The crew’s commitment and teamwork with our law enforcement partners protects America’s maritime borders and drives stability in the region.”
The Harriet Lane crew exercised partnerships with Cook Islands, French Polynesia, New Zealand, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement through bilateral maritime law enforcement agreements, professional exchanges, and domestic federal maritime law enforcement operations.
In the Cook Islands’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the Harriet Lane crew and two Ministry of Marine Resources officers conducted six boardings of fishing vessels, resulting in one suspected violation.
In French Polynesia, the crew conducted joint operations and exercises with French Armed Forces in the Asia-Pacific (ALPACI) to enhance collective maritime domain awareness while sustaining rules-based international norms regarding high seas fishing. Coordinating with an ALPACI aviation asset, the Harriet Lane crew conducted two Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) high seas boardings and inspections on commercial fishing vessels, resulting in one potential violation.
The crew conducted 14 additional high seas boarding and inspections on commercial fishing vessels, resulting in two potential violations of conservation and management measures under the WCPFC.
While in American Samoa, the Harriet Lane crew hosted a reception attended by U.S. Congresswoman Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen’s staff delegation, American Samoa Attorney General Gwen Tauiliili-Langkilde, the Assistant Director of NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement Pacific Islands Division, and representatives from the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, American Samoa Department of Port Administration, American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, as well as command and crew from the French Overseas Patrol Vessel Teriieroo a Teriierooiterai. Event attendees discussed the deterrence of threats to regional security and illicit maritime activities that affect U.S. border security, regional security and economic prosperity.
Commissioned in 1984, Cutter Harriet Lane is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Honolulu to support Coast Guard missions in the Pacific region. The service’s medium endurance cutter fleet supports a variety of Coast Guard missions including search and rescue, law enforcement, maritime defense, and protection of the marine environment.
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Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
I remember when you mentioned this class of ship before and I like it as well. Thanks for the side by side comparison. It clearly shows the differences between the two.
I agree that it would offer more capability than the Weber class due to size. I just wonder how this would fit in with the planned OPC. Those are long overdue and badly needed. In an ideal world I would love to see some of these in addition to those but I’m not naive enough to think that would actually happen.
I have begun to think we need another class of cutters rather than building the full 25 OPC currently planned.
We need more large cutters than currently planned and the cutters we are building should be more readily usable for Wartime missions.
The OPCs are too expensive to build in greater numbers and not readily adaptable for wartime missions. If they were that alone might justify bigger budgets.
Agreed. Building ships is a slow process and by the time we’ll need them it might be too late.
Perhaps we could piggyback on the new Constellation class frigate. https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2633250/constellation-class-ffg/
It could be identical or modified slight to. Better meet USCG needs yet keep space available to quickly add additional weapons systems. It is big though as you can see from these specs:
General Characteristics
Builder: Marinette Marine Corporation
Length: 496.1 feet
Beam: 64.6 feet
Displacement: 7,291 WT(lt)
Draft: 18 feet
With the FFGs they have once again fallen into the trap of designing an all singing, all dancing, exquisite do everything platform that we can’t build in large numbers.
The Coast Guard could produce what might be the prototype of a smaller combatant.
We also don’t want to build a lot of much larger cutters that would require upgrades to Coast Guard infrastructure and more expensive overhauls in the limited number of larger drydocks.
For ships of a certain type, cost is generally proportional to displacement.
I don’t think we should be considering anything larger than the NSCs, hopefully about 3,000 tons or less.
While I don’t see a wartime role for ships like this French OPV, I am sure one would be found, but it’s probably not what would be needed most urgently.
Still we could probably produce three of these for the cost of an OPC, and we could man three of them with the crew of an OPC.
Paging Chuck Hill
Your wanted in the ward room. Looks like the Taiwan Coast Guard is getting more armed.
https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/navy-news/2025/taiwan-coast-guard-installs-anti-ship-missiles-on-wanli-anping-class-patrol-vessel-for-wartime-drills
It’s not the first time we have seen missiles on this class of Taiwanese cutters. https://chuckhillscgblog.net/2022/05/28/taiwans-coast-guard-tests-its-ability-to-turn-cutters-into-ship-killers-the-drive/
It may give the USCG options incase the war ever get’s hot