The US Coast Guard formally welcomed its 46th Sentinel-class fast response cutter (FRC) into service in a ceremony at the Port of Tampa on Wednesday, February 23.
Built by Bollinger Shipyards of Louisiana, USCGC John Scheuerman is the fifth of six FRCs destined for Manama, Bahrain, to strengthen US defence capabilities in the Arabian Gulf as part of Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA).
The cutter has a length of 154 feet (46 metres), a flank speed of 28 knots, and a C4ISR suite. A 26-foot (7.9-metre) over-the-horizon interceptor cutter boat can be launched and recovered via a stern ramp.
The FRC honours Seaman First Class John Scheuerman, a decorated US Coast Guard sailor who was killed in action during the Allied invasion of Italy on September 9, 1943.
John Scheuerman and its sisters will replace PATFORSWA's aging Island-class patrol boats, which were built by Bollinger from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.