The US Coast Guard's 47th Sentinel-class fast response cutter (FRC) was commissioned into service in a ceremony on Thursday, April 21.
Built by Bollinger Shipyards of Louisiana, USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr. will be deployed to Manama, Bahrain, alongside five other FRCs as part of the coast guard's Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA).
The cutter honours Boatswain's Mate First Class Clarence Sutphin, a US Coast Guard sailor who was decorated for actions during World War II.
The vessel has a length of 154 feet (46.9 metres), a flank speed of 28 knots, a state-of-the-art C4ISR suite (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), and a stern launch and recovery ramp for a 26-foot (7.92-metre) over-the-horizon interceptor cutter boat.
