Chuck Hill's CG Blog

Chuck Hill's CG Blog

Category Archives: Offshore Patrol Cutter

“The Christening and Launch of U.S. Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter ARGUS” –Video

Posted on by
Reply

Above we have a video of the christening and launch of the future USCGC Argus. Below my comments is Eastern’s news release.

The video is just over an hour. Preliminaries are over at about minute 10.

  • 17:30 Remarks by RAdm. Chad Jacoby, CG-9
  • 23:00 Admiral Fagan, Commandant
  • 31:45 Sponsor, Capt. Beverly Kelley, USCG (ret.)
  • 40:00 Christening
  • 56:00 Launch

Between the christening and the launch there is some explanation of the launch process.

It is a very large cutter and a good looking ship, but she is still months from delivery. Just to review how we got this far.

As to the follow-on ships:

EASTERN SHIPBUILDING GROUP CHRISTENS AND LAUNCHES U.S. COAST GUARD’s FIRST HERITAGE CLASS OFFSHORE PATROL CUTTER

PANAMA CITY, FL – Today, Eastern Shipbuilding Group christened and launched USCGC ARGUS (WMSM-915), the U.S. Coast Guard’s first Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC). The ceremony was held at Eastern’s Nelson St. Shipyard in front of more than 3000 dignitaries and guests. Admiral Linda Fagan, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, delivered the keynote address.

Ship Sponsor, Captain (Ret.) Beverly Kelley, had the honor of Christening the vessel. In her distinguished military career, Captain (Ret.) Kelley was the first woman to command a U.S. military vessel as the Commanding Officer of the 95-foot patrol boat, USCGC CAPE NEWAGEN and was the first woman to command both a medium endurance cutter and a high endurance cutter in USCGC NORTHLAND and USCGC BOUTWELL respectively.

“We are proud to christen this first of class national security asset in front of her crew today,” said Joey D’Isernia, CEO of Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. “With each milestone we reach, our employees are constructing the most advanced and capable ship the U.S. Coast Guard has ever seen.”

“The Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) is one of the Service’s highest acquisition priorities and is absolutely vital to recapitalizing the capability provided by our legacy fleet of 210-foot and 270- foot Medium Endurance Cutters (MEC),” said Adm. Linda Fagan.

“We have overcome unprecedented challenges to arrive at this pivotal moment to witness this spectacular vessel enter the water for the very first time. People are only just beginning to see what this vessel is truly capable of and like the steel forged on her, we will not compromise,” said Joey.

Senator Rick Scott said, “It’s truly a monumental occasion in enhancing our national security as Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s Nelson Shipyard officially christens and launches the U.S. Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter ARGUS (WMSM-915). Over the past few decades the need for our Coast Guard as grown globally with operations spanning the Artic, Antarctic, Middle East and Indo-Pacific, all while it continues to protect our valuable United States shoreline. This first-in-its-class vessel is a testament to the great coordination between Eastern Shipbuilding and the Coast Guard that now gives the service a much needed upgrade with the tools and capabilities needed for the great women and men of the Coast Guard to take the service even further in the future. As Florida’s U.S. Senator, I am fighting every day to support the continued success of Florida businesses and our Coast Guard as they work to ensure to safety and wellbeing of Americans across the nation.”

“The story of Offshore Patrol Cutter Argus is one of perseverance. Eastern Shipbuilding started working on Argus prior to Hurricane Michael. In the days that followed the storm, the Eastern Shipbuilding team returned to their yard ready to do their part,” said Congressman Dunn. “Despite the challenges of recovering from a catastrophic hurricane, this team stuck together to see this project through. This offshore patrol cutter means so much more than many realize. Argus is a reminder of not only how proud Eastern Shipbuilding and Florida’s Second Congressional District should be of their hard work and determination, but it is also a crucial asset to maintaining national security dominance.”

Over 1500 highly skilled craft employees and program professionals at Eastern Shipbuilding Group and 200 businesses from over 25 states are supporting the production of the first four Offshore Patrol Cutters in Panama City. The OPC is designed to conduct an array of missions including law enforcement, drug and migrant interdiction, search and rescue, disaster relief, and other homeland security and defense operations in support of the nation’s maritime security and border protection. The OPC design includes the capability of carrying an MH-60R or MH-65 helicopter and three operational over-the-horizon small boats.  The vessel is also equipped with a highly sophisticated Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) suite that will greatly enhance the U.S. Coast Guard’s mission capabilities.

The first OPC is named for the Revenue Cutter Argus, which was one of the first 10 ships assigned to the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, a predecessor service to the U.S. Coast Guard. Revenue Cutter Argus began 13 years of service to the newly formed United States of America in 1791.

“Christening and Launch Ceremony for U.S. Coast Guard’s First Offshore Patrol Cutter Friday, October 27, 2023” –Eastern Shipbuilding

Posted on by
19

Future USCGC Argus building at Eastern. Eastern Shipyard photo.

Below is a news release from Eastern Shipbuilding. Good to see. 

MEDIA ADVISORY

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Eastern Shipbuilding Group to Host Christening and Launch Ceremony for U.S. Coast Guard’s First Offshore Patrol Cutter

Friday, October 27, 2023

What:  Christening and Launch Ceremony for USCGC ARGUS (WMSM – 915)

Who:

Joey D’Isernia, CEO, Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc.

Admiral Linda Fagan, Commandant, USCG

Captain (Ret.) Beverly Kelley, Sponsor

Rear Admiral Chad L. Jacoby, Assistant Commandant for Acquisitions & Chief Acquisition Officer, USCG

Where: Eastern Shipbuilding Nelson Facility

2200 Nelson Street, Panama City, FL

When: Friday, October 27, 2023 – 1:00 PM central set up / 2:00 PM central event

The Christening and Launch of U.S. Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter ARGUS (WMSM-915) is scheduled to take place at Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s Nelson Shipyard on October 27, 2023. The christening of the lead vessel of the Heritage Class Offshore Patrol Cutters is a historic event for the Coast Guard and marks the beginning of a new fleet of national security assets that will support critical missions at sea for decades to come. The christening ceremony is a time-honored tradition in shipbuilding that will recognize the history and significance of ARGUS and her sponsor, Capt. Beverly Kelley.

Request Media Credentials:
Please email Jessica Ditto at jditto@easternshipbuilding.com by Tuesday, October 24, 2023 to request media credentials and parking instructions.

“While Eastern Shipbuilding Thrives, New Coast Guard Cutter Lags Behind” –Forbes

Posted on by
8

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. photo

Forbes reports,

The U.S. Coast Guard’s “highest investment priority,” the $17.6 billion Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program, faces additional delay. After blowing through a contractual delivery date of June 2023, governmental auditors are already suggesting that the new delivery estimate of late 2024, coming as Panama City-based OPC shipbuilder Eastern Shipbuilding Group inks an array of new commercial and governmental contracts, is optimistic.

The Coast Guard, in an emailed statement, now estimates that Eastern Shipbuilding Group will deliver the future Coast Guard Cutter Argus, the first of the Coast Guard’s much-needed OPCs, by September 30, 2024. The revised delivery target for the 360-foot vessel comes almost six years after the yard first cut steel for Argus back in January 2019.

There is a lot of additional analysis in the post.

As you may remember, Austal was awarded a contract in June 2022 that included options to build up to eleven OPCs, while Eastern’s contract for up to nine OPCs was truncated at four ships.

Thanks to Robert Cullison for bringing this to my attention.

How Bofors 57 mm Mk3/Mk110 Naval Gun Reload Works –Video

Posted on by
8

Thought this video was interesting enough to pass along.

This makes it clear why the nominal “220 round per minute” rate of fire for the 57mm Mk110 is only good for short periods. There can be up to 120 rounds on the mount but there may be interruptions to reload after 20 or fewer rounds. Frequently different types of ammunition are loaded in the left and right sides of the mount ammunition feed system, so there may be only 60 or fewer rounds of a particular ammunition type on the mount.

The linked information above includes a note for the 57mm Bofors 57 Mk2 which appears to share the same reload mechanism as the Bofors 57mm Mk3 (Mk 110 in US service) “Time to reload 120 rounds: 2 minutes”. It appears reloading the two 20 round ready service cassettes that move with the gun requires the gun to at or near maximum elevation. It is not clear if partially filled ready service cassettes can be topped off, I would hope that would be the case. The time to elevate, reload and return to firing position could be critical. Hopefully you will not wait until all 120 rounds on the mount are expended before reloading.

Thanks to Lee for bringing this to my attention.

New Units for Alaska, the Haley, and Nome

Posted on by
7

Northeast Russia and Alaska. Photo: Shutterstock

One of our readers sent me an article from the Alaska Beacon about the need for additional housing for the military that includes some insight into the Coast Guard’s future in Alaska.

The information about the Coast Guard is toward the end of the article. This seems to be confirmation that the two FRCs in Ketchikan will be joined by four more, two in Kodiak and one each in Sitka and Seward, and that their additional supporting infrastructure is being provided.

We already knew the third and fourth OPCs, Ingham (917) and Rush (918), will be going to Kodiak.

What About USCGC Alex Haley?:

The crew of the USCGC Alex Haley (WMEC 39) transfers custody of the detained fishing vessel Run Da to a People’s Republic of China Coast Guard patrol vessel in the Sea of Japan, June 21, 2018. The Alex Haley and PRC Coast Guard crews detained the Run Da suspected of illegal high seas drift net fishing. U.S. Coast Guard photo. Petty Officer 1st Class William Colclough

The Alex Haley is currently homeported in Kodiak. When I saw that two OPCs were to be homeported in Kodiak, my first assumption was that they would replace the Haley as well as USCGC Douglas Munro also based there, but perhaps that assumption was unwarranted.

Alex Haley is nominally a medium endurance cutter, but with a 10,000 nautical mile range and a 3,484 tons full load displacement, she is more of a high endurance cutter with the crew of a 270 foot WMEC.

She is an old ship, having been originally commissioned in 1971, but still younger than any of the 210 and considerably more capable. She is well suited to the Alaskan environment, so I don’t see her being moved outside the 17th District (Alaska). She is simple, meaning she is relatively easy to maintain, but with twin shafts and four engines, she also has redundancy.

She was extensively renovated, and her engines replaced before she was recommissioned into the Coast Guard in 1999, more than eight years after the last 270 was commissioned.

The second OPC to be based in Kodiak probably will not arrive before 2028. The last 210 will probably not be decommissioned until about 2033.

If the intention is to ultimately have three OPCs in Kodiak, as I believe may be the case, there is a good possibility that the Haley could hang on until that ship arrives.

What about Nome?:

USCGC Alex Haley moored in Nome, AK.

There is also mention of the planned port expansion in Nome with a suggestion that the Coast Guard may have units there.

One tight spot may be Nome, where there are plans to expand the city port into a deepwater, Arctic-service port which Moore called a “fantastic opportunity” for Coast Guard operations.

I don’t think we will see either large patrol cutters (unless it is the Alex Haley) or FRCs based there, but moving one of the Juniper class seagoing buoy tenders there, with its light icebreaking capability might make sense. I suppose a medium icebreaker might be a possibility, but that is a very long shot.

There will probably be a seasonal air detachment stationed in Nome.

Thanks to Paul for bringing this to my attention.

“Austal USA Taps Fairbanks Morse Defense to Equip OPC WMSM-919” –Marine Link

Posted on by
9

Future USCGC Pickering (Image: Austal USA)

Marine Link reports,

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD)…which has been expanding its offering as single-source maritime defense contractor, said its cross-company package for WMSM-919 includes two main propulsion diesel engines through Fairbanks Morse Defense, a hangar door and stores elevator through Federal Equipment Company (FEC), reverse osmosis system through Maxim Watermakers, two all-electric davits through Welin Lambie, and various electrical components (cable trays, light supports, piping supports, down commers, stuffing tubes, etc.) through Research, Tool & Die (RT&D).

Not unexpected, but good to see movement on the project, plus, it is a good excuse to publish the graphic.

Looking closely at the graphic, on the fantail, I see two buff-colored pieces that look like the lifting equipment. I am curious about what they are for?

 

“New Sonar For Navy Frigates Could Turn Any Ship into Submarine Hunter, Maker Says” –Defense One

Posted on by
1

Combined Active Passive Towed Array Sonar, CAPTAS-4 in operation from a French Frigate. There are also smaller/lighter versions of the sonar. 

Defense One reports on a presentation at Surface Navy Association,

 “At the Surface Navy Association conference in Arlington, Virginia, this week, the company showed off a video of the technology being installed on a commercial ship within 48 hours, turning the vessel into an anti-submarine “asset,” Bock said.”

While mounting the sonar on merchant ships might be useful, wouldn’t it make sense to mount it first on Coast Guard National Security or Offshore Patrol Cutters that could also host an anti-submarine helicopter and are already equipped with Navy compatible secure communications?

On a cutter or a merchant ship there is the question of who would man it? Every year trained personnel, including sonar technicians and ASW helicopter flight crews, leave the active-duty Navy and become part of the Reserve. Upon mobilization, they can be recalled to active duty to man these systems.

Austal–OPC, EMS, and Saildrone

Posted on by
2

Above is a video of interviews with representatives of Austal Shipbuilding in regard to the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) and the Expeditionary Medical Ship (EMS).

There isn’t much new here about the OPC, but there is an opportunity to get a good look at a model of the ship. Looking at the Mk38, mount atop the hangar, it appears the field of fire and, perhaps more importantly, field of view for its optics are severely limited. (Using the 30mm Mk38 Mod4 with its separately located optics might improve this situation.) It is also not clear where the .50 caliber remote weapon stations (and their associated optics) will be located since the model only includes crew served .50 mounts. Presumably at least one and probably both will be forward, below the bridge and above and behind the 57mm Mk 110 gun mount.

The EMS is a ship the Coast Guard is likely to work with during disaster response operations and possibly during capacity building efforts. Operating Coast Guard helicopters from these ships during a natural disaster would seem a natural partnership.

This video was included in a Naval News report, “Austal Diversifies Revenue Base, Announces New Contracts.” Perhaps also of interest to the Coast Guard, included in the report was the statement that Austal was now “…the exclusive manufacturer of Saildrone, Inc.’s wind and solar-powered Surveyor USV…”, a system the Coast Guard has extensively tested.

“SEWIP Roll-Out Continues To US Fleet / Northop Grumman Tests Ultra-Lite Electronic Attack System” –Naval News

Posted on by
1

Cropped version focusing on the AN/SLQ-32(V)6 suite, USS Porter (DDG-78). Photo by Johan Fredriksson CC-BY-SA

Naval News provides an update on Electronic Warfare (EW) modernization. The paragraph of particular interest to the Coast Guard is below.

A compact SEWIP Lite variant, known as AN/SLQ-32C(V)6, has been developed for smaller ships. Initial deliveries of this scaled version – designed to provide early detection, signal analysis and threat warning for small ships – are supporting the US Coast Guard Heritage class Offshore Patrol Cutter program and the navy’s Littoral Combat Ship.

There is a second Naval News report that may be related, “Northop Grumman Tests Ultra-Lite Electronic Attack System,”

The Ultra-Lite EA System is a scaled-down, onboard EA system for anti-ship missile defense for smaller ships.

Presumably, those smaller ships are again the Heritage (Argus) class Offshore Patrol Cutters and the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships.

OPC #1 and #2 May Be Delayed

Posted on by
9

Artists rendering from Eastern Shipbuilding Group

Two articles report that additional delays to both the future USCGC Argus and USCGC Chase appear likely.

The Marine Log article refers to the Forbes article but appears focused on drive shaft irregularities,

“We received shafting for OPC Hulls 1 and 2 that were not in compliance with the NAVSEA requirements called for in the OPC vessel specifications. These two sets of shafting were delivered to our facility with signed and stamped certificates of approval from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), the U.S. Government-mandated certification authority for the OPC Program, certifying that they were in physical compliance with the ABS approved design artifacts,” said Eastern Shipbuilding Group President Joey D’Isernia. “We later discovered that both shipsets of shafting were non-compliant due to having out of tolerance physical dimensions. This issue was discovered during shaft installation on OPC Hull 1. The Coast Guard, Rolls-Royce [the supplier of the shafts] , and ABS were made aware of the problem immediately and they each had on-site representatives overseeing shaft installation. We are working closely with ABS, Rolls-Royce, and the USCG to resolve this issue as soon as possible. In the meantime, we are coordinating with the Coast Guard to advance post launch production and test activities to be completed prior to launch, in order to mitigate delivery schedule impacts and launch the ship at an even greater level of completion.”

The Forbes article is a more comprehensive look at Eastern progress, or lack there of,  on the project. Its worth reading both.