Tag Archives: 87 foot patrol boat

Uruguayan 87s

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Originally intended as a 50-vessel class of patrol boats (WPBs) meant to replace the Vietnam-era 82-foot Point class vessels in Coast Guard service, the 87-foot Marine Protector class started to hit the water in 1998 at a cost of about $5 million a pop. Derived from the Dutch Damen Stan 2600 design and cranked out by Bollinger, the Coast Guard kept hitting the “buy more” button on these until a whopping 74 were completed, including four paid for by the Navy and used to escort Boomers in and out of domestic homeports (notably, the latter all have hybrid submarine names– Sea Devil, Sea Fox, Sea Dragon, and Sea Dog— saluting WWII fleet boats).

Economical, they cost about $3,200 an hour to operate and can stay deployed for up to a week at a time, stretching their legs up to 200 miles offshore if needed.

A close-up of USCGC Moray (WPB-87331) and USCGC Tiger Shark (WPB-87359), taken by me at Gulfport harbor.

I featured one of these great boats as a character in my zombie novel, having shipped out on one on a day patrol out of Gulfport for research.

The Coast Guard even has an innovative maintenance schedule for the 87s on the East/Gulf coasts to keep the in top shape. The Recurring Depot Availability Program (RDAP) project is a four-year recurring maintenance cycle for the Coast Guard’s entire Atlantic Area 47-boat coastal patrol boat fleet in which each cutter is at the Yard for a 66-day planned maintenance period. Crews arrive with a “used” 87-foot patrol boat and pick up a freshly overhauled patrol boat from the Yard, which they immediately sail back to their homeport.

Well, as the class ages and the USCG finds itself flush with new and much more capable 154-foot Sentinel-type Fast Response Cutters, the service is trimming high-mileage 87s. Thus far, eight have been withdrawn from service and they will no doubt see much further use in Third World service.

Case in point, the Coast Guard Yard recently completed a $1.3 million overhaul of three such long-serving Protectors that were transferred to Uruguay as part of the USCG Foreign Military Sales Program. The 11-month program included partial rebuilds and training Uruguayan Navy crews, which took final possession last month to sail the trio to new climes in Montevideo.

The program saw the ex-USCGC Albacore (WPB-87309), ex-USCGC Cochito (WPB-87329), and ex-USCGC Gannet (WPB-87334) slowly become the ROU-14 Río Arapey, ROU-15 Río de La Plata, and ROU-16 Río Yaguarón.

They sortied out as a group in late September from Baltimore, escorted by an active USCG member of their class.

And their last U.S. stop was at USCG Station Key West just before Hurricane Ian came ashore.

Three low-mileage USCG 87-foot Patrol Boats Headed South, like Forever

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The Coast Guard ordered a whopping 74 87-foot Marine Protector-class patrol boats from Bollinger between 1998 and 2009– the largest buy of patrol craft since the Navy’s PCFs during Vietnam. Based on Damen’s Stan 2600 that is in use in several Latin American countries, the vessels were meant to finally phase out the USCG’s Vietnam-era 82-foot Point class patrol boats as well as a batch of 110-foot Island-class patrol boats which were ruined in a botched lengthening modification.

The USCGC Bonito (WPB-87341), a Marine Protector-class patrol boat, seen coming into Gulfport back in 2015, Photo by me.

The 87s have proved great vessels, capable of undertaking a weeklong patrol if needed (the smallest American maritime vessels with an embarked Culinary Specialist as well as onboard desalination capabilities) and have been stationed in such rough regions as Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. They were designed to operate in conditions up to Sea State 5, ranging out to 200nm offshore.

U.S. Coast Guard 87 foot Cutter Terrapin patrols frigid water while on a 37-day deployment in Southeast Alaska, July 10, 2016

Equipped with an AN/SPS-73 surface search radar, two M2 .50 cals, a small arms locker that enables a 4-6 man boarding detail drawn from their 11-man crew, and a stern launch and recovery system for the cutter’s waterjet-propelled small boat, they are some of the most advanced patrol craft for their size fielded anywhere in the world.

Heck, a fictional one even plays a prominent role in my (shameless plug) zombie book, for which I got to get underway on an 87 (Pompano) while doing research.

However, with a ton of the Coast Guard’s new and much more capable 154-foot Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters coming on line, and the oldest 87s set to start aging out after 2028, 10 have been retired early. These gently used boats have been stacking up at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, in Parking Lot 23, where they are awaiting upgrade and outfitting before transfer to Uruguay (3) and Lebanon (7).

Speaking of which, three recently decommed 87s, USCGCs Albacore (WPB-87309), Cochito (WPB-87329), and Gannet (WPB-87334) were recently set up for transfer to Montevideo, where they will replace two elderly (60 year old) 95-foot USCG Cape-class patrol boats transferred to Uruguay in 1990.

U.S. Coast Guard Vice Adm Paul F. Thomas, deputy commandant for mission support, and Andrés Durán Hareau, Uruguay ambassador to the U.S., sign for the transfer of three Coast Guard cutters to the Uruguay Navy at Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington D.C., Feb. 10, 2022. The boats being transferred are 87-foot Marine Protector class cutters. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by PA2 Ronald Hodges.)

From USCG PAO:

The Coast Guard, as a maritime partner of choice, is committed to assisting Uruguay authorities by supporting bilateral activities in the shared interest of the security and operational environment of the Southern Atlantic Ocean.

Thomas called the transfer a win-win situation, helping Uruguay to swiftly enhance their maritime security while forging an international partnership “that fosters greater global maritime security for us all.” He said he has no doubt that the Protector-class patrol boats – 64 of which are still in operation in the Coast Guard – will be an effective addition to the Uruguayan Navy.

The former cutters will undergo maintenance, upgrades, and outfitting at Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore. Members of the Uruguay Navy will also be trained in the operation and maintenance of the vessels. Once work on the vessels and training are complete, the Uruguay Navy crewmembers will sail the patrol boats to Uruguay, with arrival anticipated in July 2022.

The transfer ceremony itself:

87-feet of rock and roll for 37-days

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Crewmembers aboard U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Terrapin patrol the water while on a 37-day deployment in Southeast Alaska, July 10, 2016. The crew completed the first ever deployment of an 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat to Alaska before returning home to Bellingham, Wash., on July 22, 2016. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Coast Guard Cutter Terrapin.)

Crewmembers aboard U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Terrapin patrol the water while on a 37-day deployment in Southeast Alaska, July 10, 2016. The crew completed the first ever deployment of an 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat to Alaska before returning home to Bellingham, Wash., on July 22, 2016. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Coast Guard Cutter Terrapin.)

The 87-foot Marine Protector-class Coast Guard Cutters in the past decade replaced the venerable 1950s and 1960s era Cape and Point-class boats which had seen much use. These boats were designed for 3-day patrols but somewhere along the way this got stretched to 7-day patrols with a cook added to the crew. If you have read my zombie novel (shameless plug) I feature an “87” prominently in that work.

Now, an 87 has gone to the Far North where only 110-foot Island-class boats and above have tread.

From the Coast Guard’s presser:

Coast Guard Cutter Terrapin crew returned home to Bellingham, Friday, after completing a first ever deployment of an 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat to Alaska.

The crew of the Cutter Terrapin completed a 37-day patrol to Southeast Alaska during which they protected living marine resources, safeguarded lives at sea and enhanced maritime security across the region. During the patrol, the crew assisted in two search-and-rescue cases and completed 46 at-sea boardings including recreational and commercial fishing vessels.

The crew patrolled more than 2,000 miles of Alaska waterways, providing Sector Juneau with more than 450 patrol hours while ensuring a positive Coast Guard presence to remote communities and fishing grounds stretching from the Canadian border in the south to the base of Glacier Bay in the north.

The Terrapin crew primarily patrols the waters of Washington’s coastline, responding to search-and-rescue missions, maritime security, enforcing state and federal fisheries regulations and conducting safety and security exams.

In addition to the Terrapin, there are eight other 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boats stationed throughout the Pacific Northwest, including the Osprey in Port Townsend, the Sea Lion in Bellingham, the Blue Shark in Everett, the Sea Devil and Sea Fox in Bangor/Kitsap (protecting SSBNs), and the Adelie, Swordfish and the Wahoo in Port Angeles.