Sikorsky is reporting Sikorsky and their partner Mitsubishi have thus far contracted for 11 S-76D helicopters to be used for SAR missions by the Japan Coast Guard.
According to my Combat Fleets of the World, the Japan Coast Guard already had 45 helicopters of seven different types including four earlier model S-76Cs.
The S-76 is similar in size to the H-65. Empty weights are very close. The max Take-Off weight of the S-76 is a bit higher.
Today, 27 February marked end of the Continuing Resolution that allowed the Department, including the Coast Guard, to continue to operate without an approved 2015 budget. A short term patch extending funding for another three weeks has passed (or is expected to pass) the House.
No, Homeland Security heads toward shutdown as House fails to pass 3-week spending bill.
NavalToday reports, as we thought might happen, one of the six 110 foot cutters operating out of Bahrain, USCGC Maui (WPB-1304), has been conducting an anti-piracy patrol as part of Task Force 150 “patrolling the Gulf of Oman and the North Arabian Sea from December 2014 to February 2015.”
An interesting comment was “At one point, Maui extended the normal endurance of a Coast Guard Cutter, spending a total 13 days at sea.”
The Coast Guard Compass has published ten more names that will be applied to Webber Class WPC.
Announcements of previous names are here and here. There was a bit of a change in that the name of Joseph Napier was reassigned to WPC-1115 when WPC-1110 was named after Raymond Evans.
Previously assigned Cutter names assigned were:
Bernard C. Webber (WPC-1101)
Richard Etheridge (WPC-1102)
William Flores (WPC-1103)
Robert Yered (WPC-1104)
Margaret Norvell (WPC-1105)
Paul Clark (WPC-1106)
Charles David (WPC-1107)
Charles Sexton (WPC-1108)
Kathleen Moore (WPC-1109)
Raymond Evans (WPC-1110)
William Trump (WPC-1111)
Isaac Mayo (WPC-1112)
Richard Dixon (WPC-1113)
Heriberto Hernandez (WPC-1114)
Joseph Napier (WPC-1115)
Winslow W. Griesser (WPC-1116)
Richard H. Patterson (WPC-1117)
Joseph Tezanos (WPC-1118)
Rollin A. Fritch (WPC-1119)
Lawrence O. Lawson (WPC-1120)
John F. McCormick (WPC-1121)
Bailey T. Barco (WPC-1122)
Benjamin B. Dailey (WPC-1123)
Donald H. Horsley (WPC-1124)
Jacob L. A. Poroo (WPC-1125)
I cannot be sure which hull numbers will be assigned to each of the names, but the names in the order they were announced are:
Joseph Gerczak
Richard T. Snyder
Nathan Bruckenthal
Forrest O. Rednour
Robert G. Ward
Terrell Horne III
Benjamin A. Bottoms
Joseph O. Doyle
William C. Hart
Oliver F. Berry
Presumably they will be WPC-1126 through WPC-1135.
CIMSEC has an interesting proposal from a Coast Guard Officer on how to shape Chinese behavior in their near seas in ways that may also reshape their society.
With Congress in a stalemate over the FY 2015 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson is warning of the impact on maritime security of the continuing deadlock , including likely delay to shipbuilding contract negotiations on the Coast Guard’s eighth National Security Cutter.
It goes on to report other ill effects of delays in funding.
Unfortunately, while there is little reservation about the Coast Guard budget, it is being held hostage in a partisan fight over immigration policy that has nothing to do with the Coast Guard.
So why doesn’t someone in Congress introduce a bill to fund the Coast Guard separately?
The blog “EagleSpeak” has a short post on leadership you might like.
Thanks to Brad, we have a couple of local reports that the Sea Shepherds organization now has a couple of former USCG Island Class WPBs, the former cutters, USCGC Block Island and USCGC Pea Island, that were seen flying the Sea Shepherd pirate flag in Annapolis. The first report has some good photos. The second has a report of an informal interview at a local tavern.
Click on photo to enlarge
The Australian Navy has had problems with their Armidale class patrol boats. These little ships, similar to the Coast Guard’s Webber Class WPCs (Fast Response Cutters), have been sent great distances to enforce Alien Migrant Interdiction Operations. They are really are not up to the task, so Australia has been planning a larger class. In addition to the fourteen Armidale patrol vessels, they hope to use the same class to also replace six Huon-class minehunter, two Leeuwin-class survey vessel, and four Paluma-class survey motor launch.
This projected class of 20 larger ships is referred to as the Offshore Combatant Vessel.
No design has been chosen yet as far as I can tell, but Austal is a local firm (with a shipyard in the US as well) that probably has an inside track. Their design referred to as a “Multi-Purpose Vessel,” is a bit unusual, but it might be appropriate to use as a USCG cutter to fill the space between the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) and the Webber class WPCs, that I have been referring to as “Cutter X.”
It looks a bit like a scaled down Independence class LCS, not surprising since the Independence class are also made by Austal. It, like the Independence design, is a trimaran hull with lots of clear helicopter operating area and a hangar, as well as a large open area under the flight deck for modular systems, or perhaps in our case transporting migrants. Looks like they could also be very useful for Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Response (HADR) Mission.
Austal 80 meter Multi-Role Vessel
Length overall 80 meters (262.5 feet)
Length (waterline) 78.8 meters
Beam (moulded) 21.1 meters (69.2 feet)
Depth (moulded) 6.7 meters
Hull draft 3.2 meters (10.5 feet)
Mission deck 500m2 (5382 sq.ft.)
Flight Deck area 290m2 (3122 sq.ft.)
Hangar 1 x NH-90 (a 23,370 lb gross weight helicopter) or similar
Complement 35
Crew accommodation 87 berth
Endurance 28 days
Range 4,500nm @ 12 knots
Speed (max) 26 knots
Main engines 3 x MTU 20V 4000 @ 4,300kW at 2,170 rpm Diesel engines
(Same engines used in the Webber class)
Propulsion 3 x fixed pitch propellers
Weapons and Sensors •Standard 25mm stabilized naval gun
(the artist concept actually shows a 57mm)
•4 x .50 cal general purpose machine gun mounts
Austal 80 meter Multi-Purpose Vessel
Thanks to JamesWF for reminding me of this design.
Maritime Professional reports the Commandant’s address to the Passenger Vessel Association, Monday, Feb. 2, at Long Beach.
Apparently they were favorably impressed.
There is also some information for those planning a career in Marine Safety. Apparently you can expect more stability.
Thanks to Lee for the link.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 