US Coast Guard commissions fast response cutter Florence Finch

The US Coast Guard recently commissioned its newest Sentinel-class fast response cutter (FRC) into service. Built by Bollinger Shipyards of Louisiana, USCGC Florence Finch honours Florence Ebersole Smith Finch, a Filipino-American who aided the Philippine resistance movement in World War II and later became an enlisted sailor in the US Coast Guard Women’s Reserve.

As with its earlier sisters, Florence Finch has a length of 154 feet (46.9 metres), a flank speed of 28 knots, a state of the art C4ISR suite, and a stern launch and recovery ramp for a 26-foot (7.9-metre), over-the-horizon interceptor cutter boat. Armament includes a 25mm autocannon and four 12.7mm machine guns.

The Sentinel-class cutters are designed for multiple missions including drug and migrant interdiction, ports, waterways and coastal security, fishery patrols, and search and rescue (SAR). The coast guard has ordered a total of 67 FRCs to replace the 1980s-era Island-class patrol boats.

The vessel is the second of two FRCs to be homeported in Sector Columbia River in Oregon. It will primarily serve in the Pacific Ocean, Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Columbia River.

Florence Finch is the 57th Sentinel-class cutter to be delivered to the coast guard.