USCGC Knight Island, commissioned in 1992, is the second newest Island-class boat.
Class overview
NameIsland class
BuildersBollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana, U.S.
Operators
Preceded byCape-class
Succeeded bySentinel-class
Built1985–1992[1]
In service1985–present
Completed49
Active7
Lost1
General characteristics
TypePatrol boat
Displacement168 tons
Length110 ft (34 m)
Beam21 ft (6.4 m)
Draft7.3 ft (2.2 m)[2]
Propulsion
Speed29.5 kn (54.6 km/h; 33.9 mph)
Range2,900 nmi (5,400 km; 3,300 mi)
Endurance5 days
Boats & landing
craft carried		1 – Cutter Boat Medium (Yamaha 90 HP outboard engine)
Complement16 (2 officers, 14 enlisted)
Sensors and
processing systems		AN/SPS-73 radar
Armament
Aircraft carriedNone

The Island-class patrol boat is a class of cutters of the United States Coast Guard. 49 cutters of the class were built, of which 7 remain in commission. Their hull numbers are WPB-1301 through WPB-1349.[4]

Overview

The 110 feet (34 metres) Island-class patrol boats are a U.S. Coast Guard modification of a highly successful British-designed Vosper Thornycroft patrol boat built for Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore.[2] With excellent range and seakeeping capabilities, the Island class, all named after U.S. islands, replaced the older 95 feet (29 metres) Cape-class cutters. These cutters are equipped with advanced electronics and navigation equipment, and are used in support of the Coast Guard's maritime homeland security, migrant interdiction, drug interdiction, defense operations, fisheries enforcement, and search and rescue missions.[5]

The 58 ordered Sentinel-class cutters, selected under the Fast Response Cutter (FRC) program, are slated to replace the Island class. Six Island class cutters are currently stationed in Manama, Bahrain, as a part of Patrol Forces Southwest Asia to provide the Navy's Fifth Fleet with combat ready assets.[6] The cutters have 10 tons worth of space and weight reservations for additional weapons.[7]

Conversion problems

As built, these vessels were all 110 feet (34 m) in length. In 2002 as part of the Integrated Deepwater System Program, the Coast Guard began refitting some of these vessels, adding 13 feet (4.0 m) to the stern to make room for a high-speed stern launching ramp, and replacing the superstructure so that these vessels had enough room to accommodate mixed-gender crews. The refit added about 15 tons to the vessel's displacement, and reduced its maximum speed by approximately one knot. The eight cutters[8] modified were;

  • USCGC Matagorda (WPB-1303)
  • USCGC Attu (WPB-1317)
  • USCGC Metompkin (WPB-1325)
  • USCGC Padre (WPB-1328)
  • USCGC Manitou (WPB-1302)
  • USCGC Monhegan (WPB-1305)
  • USCGC Nunivak (WPB-1306)
  • USCGC Vashon (WPB-1308)

In 2005, then-Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thomas H. Collins made the decision to stop the contractor's conversion at eight hulls when sea trials revealed intractable structural flaws.[9][10]

In August 2006, a Lockheed Martin engineer went public with allegations that the company and the Coast Guard were ignoring serious security flaws in the refitting project, and that they were likely to repeat the same mistakes on similar projects. The flaws included blind spots in watch cameras, FLIR equipment not suitable for operating under extreme temperatures, and the use of non-shielded cables in secure communications systems, a violation of TEMPEST standards.[11]

In late November 2006 all eight of the 123 ft (37 m) WPBs were taken out of service due to debilitating problems with their lengthened hulls – all eight hulls were cracking when driven at high speed in heavy seas. These as well as other issues – such as C4ISR problems – drove the program $60 million over budget, triple the original bid for the eight boats converted. The 41 unmodified 110s are now being pressed harder to take up the slack.[12] The eight modified were moved to the United States Coast Guard Yard and moored in Arundel Cove.[13]

Transfers to foreign operators

Unloading of P191 "Starobilsk" of the Ukrainian Navy

The U.S. Coast Guard has transferred several ships to foreign navies and coast guards via the Defense Security Cooperation Agency's Office of International Acquisition's Excess Defense Articles Program (EDA).[14]

In May 2023, the United States government pledged to provide the Philippines at least two Island-class patrol vessels which was agreed by both sides, as it was offered alongside two Marine Protector-class patrol boats and three Lockheed C-130H Hercules aircraft during President Bongbong Marcos' visit to Washington D.C.[15][16] The recipient of the transferred vessels will be the Philippine Navy. [17][18]

Operators

Dispositions

disposition of Island class cutters
imagenamecommissioneddecommissionednotes
Farallon (WPB-1301)
Manitou (WPB-1302)Directed to be removed from operational service November 2006
Matagorda (WPB-1303)Directed to be removed from operational service November 2006
Maui (WPB-1304)22 March 2022 in Manama, Bahrain
Monhegan (WPB-1305)Directed to be removed from operational service November 2006
Nunivak (WPB-1306)Directed to be removed from operational service November 2006
Ocracoke (WPB-1307)transferred to Ukraine, renamed P192 Sumy
Vashon (WPB-1308)Directed to be removed from operational service November 2006
Aquidneck (WPB-1309)15 June 2021 in Manama, Bahrain
Mustang (WPB-1310)
Naushon (WPB-1311)3 October 1986Homeport - Homer, Alaska
Sanibel (WPB-1312)
Edisto (WPB-1313)
Sapelo (WPB-1314)transferred to Greece
Mantinicus (WPB-1315)
Nantucket (WPB-1316)Mar 2017
Attu (WPB-1317)Directed to be removed from operational service November 2006
Baranof (WPB-1318)
Chandeleur (WPB-1319)
Chincoteague (WPB-1320)
Cushing (WPB-1321)transferred to Ukraine, renamed P190 Sloviansk, sunk due to Russian action 3 March 22
Cuttyhunk (WPB-1322)Decommissioned in Port Angeles, Washington, on May 5, 2022.
Drummond (WPB-1323)transferred to Ukraine, renamed P191 Starobilsk
Key Largo (WPB-1324)01 December 198827 February 2023
Metompkin (WPB-1325)Directed to be removed from operational service November 2006
Monomoy (WPB-1326)19 May 198922 March 2022Transferred to Greece
Orcas (WPB-1327)
Padre (WPB-1328)Directed to be removed from operational service November 2006
Sitkanak Island (WPB-1329)
Tybee (WPB-1330)
Washington (WPB-1331)transferred to Ukraine, renamed P193 Fastiv
Wrangell (WPB-1332)22 March 2022 in Manama, BahrainTransferred to Greece
Adak (WPB-1333)15 June 2021 in Manama, Bahrain
Liberty (WPB-1334)
Anacapa (WPB-1335)
Kiska (WPB-1336)transferred to Ukraine, renamed P194 Vyacheslav Kubrak
Assateague (WPB-1337)
Grand Isle (WPB-1338)transferred to Pakistan
Key Biscayne (WPB-1339)transferred to Pakistan
Jefferson Island (WPB-1340)Decommissioned in Portland, Maine on September 19, 2014.transferred to Georgia (country)
Kodiak Island (WPB-1341)
Long Island (WPB-1342)transferred to Costa Rica, renamed Juan Rafael Mora Porras
Bainbridge Island (WPB-1343)purchased by Sea Shepherd, renamed MV Sharpie
Block Island (WPB-1344)purchased by Sea Shepherd, renamed MY Jules Verne and later MV John Paul DeJoria
Staten Island (WPB-1345)transferred to Georgia
Roanoke Island (WPB-1346)transferred to Costa Rica, renamed Gen. Jose M. Canas Escamilla
Pea Island (WPB-1347)purchased by Sea Shepherd, renamed MY Farley Mowat
Knight Island (WPB-1348)
Galveston Island (WPB-1349)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "WPB 110' Island Class". GlobalSecurity.org. Global Security. Archived from the original on 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2018-06-09. There are three variants of the Island Class. The A & B classes use two Paxman-Valenta 16 CM engines as there propulsion plants while the C class uses two Caterpillar 3516s.
  2. 1 2 McCarthy, Frank N. (1986). "The Coast Guard's New Island in the Drug War". Proceedings. United States Naval Institute. 112 (2): 109&110.
  3. ↑ Carr, Richard (31 March 2014). "Valenta and VP185 applications – Valenta (Y3J or RP200) applications". PaxmanHistory.org.uk. Richard Carr's Paxman history pages. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  4. ↑ "USCG: 110 ft Patrol Boat". USCG.mil. Archived from the original on 12 December 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
  5. ↑ "Patrol Forces Southwest Asia". USCG.mil. US Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  6. ↑ "Patrol Forces Southwest Asia". USCG.mil. US Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  7. ↑ "United States Coast Guard AntiSubmarine Warfare (ASW) in the Maritime Defense Zone (MDZ)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-04-28. Retrieved 3 May 2018. The new Island Class of 110-foot Patrol Boat (WPB) was designed with "a ten-ton space and weight reservation for additional weapon systems."
  8. ↑ Bruce Alpert (August 18, 2011). "Feds Sue Bollinger Shipyards Over 'Unseaworthy' Coast Guard Ships". New Orleans Business News. Archived from the original on 2018-06-09. Retrieved March 28, 2012. The suit contends that Lockport-based Bollinger exaggerated the structural hull strength of the eight boats it had contracted to lengthen from 110 feet to 123 feet.
  9. ↑ Nathaniel R. Helms (2005-06-23). "Coast Guard Scramble Over Deepwater Snag". Military.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  10. ↑ "Coast Guard ends cutter conversion program". MarineLog. 2005-07-18. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  11. ↑ Griff Witte (2006-08-29). "On YouTube, Charges of Security Flaws". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2018-05-18. Retrieved 2009-10-08.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ↑ Eric Lipton (2006-11-30). "Coast Guard to Idle 8 Cutters After $100 Million Renovation". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  13. ↑ U. S. Coast Guard Patrol Craft Archived 2014-05-26 at the Wayback Machine. HMC James T. Flynn, Jr. USNR(ret). 2012.
  14. ↑ "EDA". dsca.mil. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  15. ↑ Valmonte, Kaycee (2 May 2023). "US to transfer patrol boats, airplanes to Philippine military". Philstar Global. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  16. ↑ "Philippines To Receive Four Ex-US Coast Guard Patrol Boats". Baird Maritime. 3 May 2023. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  17. ↑ Nepomuceno, Priam (3 May 2023). "4 US patrol boats to beef up PH Navy's defense capabilities". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  18. ↑ "Understanding the United States' Patrol Boat Pledges to the Philippine Navy". Pitz Defense Analysis. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  19. ↑ "U.S. Donates Two Patrol Boats to Georgian Coast Guard". Civil Georgia. Tbilisi. 1 October 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-12-12. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  20. 1 2 "USCG Transfers Cutters". dcms.uscg.mil. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Costa Rica to commission former US Coast Guard cutters in April". Naval Today. 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2018-06-08. The Coast Guard formally transferred the two patrol boats – the former cutters Long Island and Roanoke Island – to Costa Rica through the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) Program in October 2017.
  22. ↑ "Sea Shepherd Welcomes the Farley Mowat and the Jules Verne to its Fleet - Sea Shepherd Conservation Society". Archived from the original on 2015-06-03. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  23. ↑ "Sea Shepherd Launches New Anti-poaching Vessel M/V Sharpie". Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Archived from the original on 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  24. ↑ "Ukraine to receive two former U.S. Coast Guard Island-class cutters". navaltoday.com. navaltoday.com. 3 April 2018. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  25. ↑ "ΑΠΟΚΛΕΙΣΤΙΚΟ: Οι ΗΠΑ παραχωρούν 3 περιπολικά κλάσης Island στο Πολεμικό μας Ναυτικό, άλλα 5 προς διάθεση στο άμεσο μέλλον - Πτήση" (in Greek). 2022-01-20. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
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