Status: Island Class WPB 110 Foot Cutters / USCGC Orcas Decommissioned

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Coos Bay, OR–The Coast Guard Cutter Orcas (WPB 1327) on patrol. U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO

Below is a news release reporting the decommissioning of USCGC Orcas. That caused me to wonder, how many WPB110s are left? The Acquisitions Directorate poster on their web page, dated June 2023, showed nine out of the original 49 still in commission.

I attempted to determine which are still in commission and which have been decommissioned, noting the results of the research below. I just searched the ship name on my browser and then clicked on the result that came up for vesselfinder.com. Their reports are based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) data.

  • Mustang (WPB-1310) Seward, AK
  • Naushon (WPB-1311) decommissioned, last reported in Curtis Bay 443 days ago.
  • Sanibel (WPB-1312) decommissioned, last reported in Curtis Bay 318 days ago.
  • Key Largo (WPB-1324) decommissioned, last report 1334 days ago.
  • Orcas (WPB-1327) decommissioned, April 23, 2024
  • Sitkanak Island (WPB-1329) decommissioned, last reported in Curtis Bay 331 days ago.
  • Tybee (WPB-1330) decommissioned, last reported in Curtis Bay, 2023-03-25
  • Liberty (WPB-1334) Valdez, AK
  • Anacapa (WPB-1335) Port Angles, WA

The Webber Class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) are nominally a direct replacement for these. The Coast Guard has already accepted 56 FRCs with Bollinger typically delivering four or five a year, so its only surprising that any of the 110s are still in commission. That seems to be because District 13 (Oregon and Washington) and District 17 (Alaska) have not gotten their full allowance of FRCs yet.

The next three FRCs are expected to go to D13 (1) and D17 (2) so all the Island class may be decommissioned by the end of the calendar year.

April 23, 2024

Coast Guard Cutter Orcas decommissioned after 35 years of service in Coos Bay, Oregon

COOS BAY, Ore. – The Coast Guard decommissioned the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Orcas (WPB1327) during a ceremony, Tuesday.

Rear Adm. Charles Fosse, the commander of the Thirteenth Coast Guard District, presided over the ceremony honoring the 35 years of service Orcas and its crews provided to the nation.

Commissioned on April 14, 1989, Orcas was the twenty-seventh Island-Class cutter to join the fleet.

Orcas has been stationed in Coos Bay, Oregon, since 1989 and is the sixth Coast Guard cutter to be stationed in Coos Bay since 1935.

The Orcas was a multi-mission platform that conducted operations to support search and rescue response, marine environmental protection, and national defense.

“From training allied nation maritime forces, conducting the largest-ever cocaine seizure in the history of the Pacific Northwest, and saving countless lives and hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of property on the Pacific Ocean – Orcas has done it all,” said Lt. Brendan O’Farrell, the commanding officer of the Orcas. “This ship, one of the last of its kind, is an old American-made workhorse built to endure the harsh Pacific waves. I’m extremely proud and blessed to have served with the finest crew in the fleet.”

“In focus: the Bofors 57mm Mk 3 gun” (That Equips the NSCs and OPCs) –Navy Lookout / I Think MAD-FIRES Is Dead

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Coast Guard Cutter Stratton fires its MK 110 during a gunnery exercise in the Bering Sea April 28, 2021. U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy Ensign Molly Dolan.

The Royal Navy has chosen the BAE Bofors 57mm Mk3 to arm a new class, the Mk31 general purpose Frigates. This is the same gun that arms National Security Cutters (NSCs) and Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs) and which will arm the Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs) and the new Constellation class guided missile frigates.

UK based Navy Lookout has published an independent evaluation of the weapon and its ammunition. This is almost two years old, but it is well done. It makes some good points discussing the both the advantages and limitations of the weapon. I would point out that they note, “The days of medium calibre guns being used against other ships are long gone…” It is adequate for signaling by firing across the bow and for engaging small craft, but maybe we might want to think about adding a weapon suitable for use against ships since that should be part of even our peacetime skill set.

Unfortunately, their hopes for the “Multi- Azimuth Defense Fast Intercept Round Engagement System” (MAD-FIRES) guided round will not be realized. It seems the MAD-FIRES round was a non-starter. I checked both the Raytheon/RTX and the DARPA websites and neither had any mention of MAD-FIRES. I thought perhaps the MAD-FIRES program had failed when Northop Grumman was awarded a contract to develop a maneuvering 57mm round, but even in that case, it was intended for use against “fast moving surface threats, drones and swarming threats” not cruise missiles as was the case for MAD-FIRES.

Poster Download: “2024 Ships and Submarines of the United States Navy” –RTX

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For 27 years, RTX (formerly Raytheon) has created a poster every year with the names of every ship and graphical representations of every ship class in the US Navy. It’s a giveaway at trade shows but is also available as a download. They have a story about its origin and the person who created it with a link to download a pdf copy here.

I downloaded a copy. I did have to enlarge it a bit (ctrl +) to make it readable on my laptop. It does also include ships under construction with no apparent differentiation.

“Third temporary channel opens for vessels to Baltimore port after bridge collapse” –WRAL News

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Coast Guard Yard, Curtis Bay, MD.

WRAL News reports,

“A third temporary channel for boats to enter and depart the Port of Baltimore has opened…The new temporary path, with a controlling depth of 20 feet (6.1 meters), a horizontal clearance of 300 feet (91.4 meters) and a vertical clearance of 135 feet (41.2 meters), allows a greater variety of vessels to access the port while crews work to reopen the main channel, Coast Guard and port Capt. David O’Connell said in a news release.”

I added a comment noting this development on the earlier post about Coast Guard ships being trapped at the Coast Guard Yard, but on second thought I realized this was worth a separate post. As I noted in the comment, “With a controlling depth of 20 feet this should be sufficient for all Coast Guard vessels except the National Security Cutters. USCGC Eagle might have a problem with the vertical clearance, 135 feet. Reportedly fore and main mast height is 147.3 feet, but they can be lowered 13 feet. Probably at low tide, Eagle could transit the temporary channel OK, but it would look exciting. Maybe at high tide the NSCs could use it too.” (Please forgive the stream of thought approach.)

Before writing this post, I went to United States Coast Guard News hoping to quote the news release in full (surely it would be there) but for some reason there was no news release. Curious? Could this be because its Saturday?

“Marine News’ 2024 US Shipbuilding Report” –Marine Link

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Future USCGC Argus at launch Eastern Shipyard. Presumably the furture USCGC Chase in the background. 

Marine Link has a report that gives us a look at how shipbuilders look at their industry and their relationship with Government.

This includes comments from both Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards that is building the Fast Response Cutters and the new Polar Security Cutters, and Joey D’Isernia, the chairman and CEO of Eastern Shipbuilding Group that is building the first four Offshore Patrol Cutters.

There is also a good deal of discussion about new technology being applied to tugs that the Coast Guard might want to consider if we choose to replace the 65 foot and 140 foot icebreaking tugs.

This banner hangs over a passageway in one of the shops at Bollinger’s Lockport shipyard.

“How Does Sweden and Finland Joining NATO Affect the U.S. Coast Guard?” –By Peter Ong

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, middle, takes a photo with the USCGC Eagle’s crew during a reception aboard the cutter, June 2, 2023, in Helsinki, Finland. Eagle is a tall ship used as a training platform for future Coast Guard Academy officers as well as a vessel utilized for establishing and maintaining domestic and international relationships. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Carmen Caver)

Guest author Peter Ong provides a look at the continuing relationship between the Coast Guard and new NATO members Sweden and Finland. 

With the war in Ukraine affecting current economic and security situations in 2022-2024 Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) welcomed its two newest members, Finland and Sweden, both Arctic nations. Finland became a member of NATO on 4 April 2023. Sweden joined NATO on 7 March 2024.

NATO’s European members and when they joined the NATO alliance. Source: Wikipedia

I sent a media inquiry to the USCG’s Headquarters, Public Affairs Office, Washington D.C., asking how Sweden and Finland becoming NATO’s newest members might influence the U.S. Coast Guard in terms of icebreaking, cutter designs, exercises, training, enforcement, and maritime security.

The USCG replied, “From a regional perspective, this will increase cooperation and improve interoperability.  Information sharing, exercises, and operations will be much easier to coordinate with all the Nordics now in NATO.”

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Arthur Flaherty, a boatswain’s mate assigned to the USCGC Hamilton (WMSL 753), prepares to transfer Hamilton crewmembers onto the Swedish Coast Guard vessel Amfitrite in the Baltic Sea, Oct. 31, 2022. Hamilton was on deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Alejandro Rivera)

The United States Coast Guard has a history of visiting and working with partner Baltic nations to improve relationships, training, interoperability, communications, intelligence, and coordination. Even before they entered NATO the US Coast Guard had a long-standing relationship with Sweden and Finland through the Arctic Coast Guard Forum.

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Tanya Kuprak, engineering officer aboard USCGC Hamilton (WMSL 753), gives a tour of the engine room to Swedish Coast Guard members while underway in the Baltic Sea, Oct. 30, 2022. Hamilton was deployed with U.S. Naval Forces Europe and U.S. Sixth Fleet. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Alejandro Rivera)

Recent interactions include:

United States’ relationship with Finland has benefitted in the area of model testing and consulting on the current Great Lakes icebreaker, Mackinaw, regarding its design and Azipod propulsion.

RIMPAC Preparation

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Navy ships assemble to form a multinational fleet for a photo exercise off the coast of Hawaii during the Rim of Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise on July 26, 2018. Twenty-six nations, more than 45 ships and submarines, about 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC. (MC3 Dylan Kinee/U.S. Navy)

The biannual RIMPAC exercise is regularly the largest naval exercise in the world, and the Coast Guard is a regular participant. During the last two RIMPACs National Security Cutters did some interesting stuff, including commanding a task force and hosting Navy MH-60R and MH-60S Helicopters.

In addition, the Coast Guard will have a role in securing the safety of participating units.

It is almost certain we will see some former US Coast Guard cutters participating since they are now in the navies or coast guards of Colombia, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.

I hold out hope that Coast Guard units may be able to participate in a SINK-EX. even if the target is a former Coast Guard patrol boat, but it’s not likely.

Using the comments section, I will use this post to pass along information on preparation for the exercise. Below are posts that give us some previews of what to expect.

“A New Weapon Of War: Killer Underwater Drones” –Video

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Wanted to pass this along. A little less than a half hour, but a good way to get up to speed on an emerging weapons technology. It also includes a lot of background on torpedoes.

I would only add that these are likely to be used as terrorist weapons as well as weapons of war.

H. I. Sutton is probably the leading unclassified source for information on unconventional naval warfare systems and has also been a great source on maritime drug smuggling technology. He has a website, “Covert Shores,” that is included on my “Recommended Blogs” page. He is also widely published in the popular press including by the US Naval Institute and in Naval News. He has also published several books.

“Down 2,500 Recruits, Coast Guard Overhauls Talent Management” –USNI

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The US Naval Institute News Service reports on how the Coast Guard is attempting to remedy its personnel shortage.

Recruiting had never been an issue for the Coast Guard, Vice Adm. Paul Thomas, deputy commandant for mission support, said at separate Sea Air Space panel. People would come to the service, and they met the necessary numbers with little effort. Now, the service has to revamp its approach.

The Commandant has asked people to think outside the box and it looks like we are beginning to see results. We can’t expect that every new idea will work, but at least the Coast Guard is trying new ideas.  

“MEDIA AVAILABILITY: US Coast Guard to commission newest national security cutter, named for first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, in North Charleston, South Carolina” –news release

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USCGC Calhoun 759 arrives Charleston.

Below is a news release from Coast Guard News.

April 16, 2024

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.  — The Coast Guard is scheduled to hold a commissioning ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Calhoun (WMSL 759), the service’s newest national security cutter, Saturday, in North Charlston. The event will be presided over by Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan. The cutter’s namesake comes from the first Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, Charles L. Calhoun. The commissioning ceremony’s date of April 20 is in honor of Calhoun’s birthday.

WHO: Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan; Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Heath Jones; Capt. Timothy Sommella, the commanding officer of the Calhoun; and Calhoun crew members.

WHAT:  Commissioning ceremony for the Coast Guard’s newest national security cutter.

WHEN: Saturday, April 20, 2024, at 10 a.m.

WHERE: Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, 2000 Bainbridge Ave., North Charleston, SC 29405.

Editors’ Note: Interested media are requested to RSVP by emailing a list of members’ names to Ensign Cody Meyers at Cody.L.Meyers@uscg.mil for base access no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday. Credentialed media are asked to arrive no later than 9 a.m. Saturday with a driver’s license and proof of insurance to clear security.