The US Coast Guard has taken delivery of the 45th Sentinel-class fast response cutter (FRC) to be built by Bollinger Shipyards of Louisiana.
The future USCGC Emlen Tunnell will be the fourth of six cutters destined for overseas operations in Manama, Bahrain as part of the coast guard's Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA).
The vessel honours the late Emlen Tunnell, an African-American coast guard enlisted sailor who saw service during World War II. He was instrumental in saving the lives of two shipmates in two different actions and later established a career in American professional football, subsequently becoming the first African-American inductee into the American Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Measuring in at 154 feet (46.9 metres), the FRC has a flank speed of 28 knots, a command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) suite, and a stern launch and recovery ramp for a 26-foot (7.92-metre), over-the-horizon interceptor cutter boat.