Cyclone Class News

The United States has transferred three U.S. Navy patrol craft to the Egyptian Navy in an effort to help boost regional maritime security.During a formal ceremony in Alexandria, Egypt on March 21, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) turned over USS Hurricane (PC 3), USS Sirocco (PC 6), and USS Thunderbolt (PC 12), three former Cyclone-class patrol coastal ships built by Bollinger Shipyards in the early 1990s.“The Egypt-U.S. maritime partnership has been a fundamental pillar of our bilateral defense cooperation for decades,” said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of NAVCENT, U.S.

Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the 37th Fast Response Cutter (FRC), USCGC Edgar Culbertson, to the U.S. Coast Guard, on February 6, in Key West, Fla. The 154-foot Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter has a flank speed of 28 knots, state of the art command, control, communications and computer technology, and a stern launch system for the vessel’s 26-foot cutter boat, the builder said. The FRC has been described as an operational “game changer,” by senior Coast Guard officials and have been deployed as far 4…

USCGC Angela McShan Delivered to U.S. Coast Guard.Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the USCGC ANGELA MCSHAN, the 35th Fast Response Cutter (FRC) to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard took delivery on the 1st of August, 2019 in Key West, Florida. Bollinger President & C.E.O. Ben Bordelon said, “We are very pleased to announce the latest FRC delivery, the USCGC ANGELA MCSHAN. Previous cutters have been stationed around the nation including Alaska and Hawaii. The ANGELA MCSHAN…

The U.S. Navy has a balanced fleet, but it wants to grow bigger and better. Will the budget allow both? Maritime Reporter's March 2017 cover story on the U.S. Navy was all about the numbers. There exists several plans to grow the fleet beyond the current number of 308 ships, the Mitre recommendation of 414 ships, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment 340-ship proposal, and the Navy’s decision to grow the fleet to 355 ships, and the Trump administration’s 350. With so many numbers being bandied about, there are even more suggestions on how to get there.

U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton held a salute to the participating ships of 2017 Fleet Week New York (FWNY) during the official Parade of Ships kickoff May 24. Amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) rendered a seven-gun salute with U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton, with Fort Hamilton providing a 15-gun salute in return. "New York has always had a close relationship with the military," said Anthony Giovinco, U.S. Navy Vietnam veteran and chief of staff and secretary of the United Military Veterans of Kings County Memorial Day Parade. "The Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen are treated very well here. This is a tradition that is important to me.

From the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center to New Year's Eve in Times Square, New York’s time-honored traditions are some of the most well-known around the world. Arriving today as part of another New York tradition, a “parade of ships” from several branches of the U.S. military (and one ship from Canada) sailed into the New York Harbor and up the Hudson River from Battery Park to just south of the George Washington Bridge, for the 29th annual Fleet Week New York (FWNY). Now in its 29th year…

The Cyclone-class patrol coastal ship USS Zephyr (PC 8), its embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) personnel and coalition forces intercepted an immense amount of contraband while on patrol conducting Operation Martillo in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations April 19. Zephyr, along with Dutch Karel Doorman-class multi-purpose frigate HNLMS Van Amstel, pursued and boarded a small fishing vessel, called a panga, and interdicted 750 kilograms of cocaine with a total street value of $22.5 million. "Today's success was due to the high professionalism and cohesive integration of the Zephyr crew and USCG LEDET," said Lt. Cmdr. Cameron Ingram, Zephyr's commanding officer.

1854 - The first formal graduation exercises are held at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. Previous classes graduated without a ceremony. Rear Adm. Thomas O. Selfridge and Rear Adm. Joseph N. Miller are two of the six graduates that year. 1896 - Authorization is given for the first experimental ship model basin, which was under the supervision of Chief Constructor of the Navy, Capt. David W. Taylor. The basin, in Building 70 at the Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., is used by the Navy to monitor new hull designs.

Ships from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain have begun accompanying U.S.-flagged maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, Defense Department officials said. Sufficient U.S. naval forces are assigned to the command to meet the requirements of the accompanying mission, officials said, adding that Navcent will coordinate with shipping-industry representatives to ensure the operations go smoothly and efficiently. The mission was prompted by two incidents this week in the Strait of Hormuz in which Iranian navy patrol vessels harassed commercial motor vessels traversing the strait. On April 24, four Iranian patrol boats approached the U.S.-flagged merchant ship Maersk Kensington, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren said during an April 29 briefing.

The United States will spend $585 billion on its armed forces in 2015 — the biggest military budget in the world by far. That’s just the Defense Department budget and doesn’t include the tens of billions of dollars that Washington spends on veterans, the purview of the Veterans Administration, or nuclear-weapons development, which falls under the Department of Energy. There’s tremendous pressure in Congress to spend less. Though the Pentagon argues vehemently that budget cuts will harm national security…

In February, the U.S. Coast Guard chose three finalists to design its new Offshore Patrol Cutters, with awards to Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, La., Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City, Fla. and General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works in Maine. Each company was awarded a Phase I design contract valued at between $21 million and $22 million. At the end of the 18-month Preliminary and Contract Design Phase I, the Coast Guard will choose one company’s team for a Phase II Detailed Design and Construction contract for the lead OPC.

The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Arab Shipbuilding & Repair Yard Co (ASRY) has turned in a profitable first quarter of 2012 despite the continued shipping recession and increased competition in the region. As of the beginning of May ASRY was running at close to capacity and had work in hand for the next 12 weeks. This, says CEO Chris Potter, is quite some achievement in a region which already has plenty of repair capacity, even before two major new repair facilities opened for business recently in Qatar and Oman.

1897-Rescue from drowning Chicago. Illinois, Lake Michigan. At 9: 30 p.m. the north patrol saw a man run across the driveway and jump into the lake with suicidal intent. The surf knocked him down and was tossing him about when surfmen rushed in and hauled him out. 2001- Six U.S. Navy Cyclone-Class patrol coastal warships were assigned to Operation Noble Eagle on 5 November 2001.  This was the first time since World War II that U.S. Navy ships were employed jointly with the U.S. Coast Guard to help protect our nation's coastline, ports and waterways from terrorist attack. (Source: USCG Historian’s Office)

Inspections of Cyclone-class patrol coastal (PC) vessels homeported in Bahrain and Norfolk, Va., have revealed significant structural damage. As a result of the damage found during these inspections, the Navy has decided to cease operations of the vessels in the Persian Gulf until they can be permanently repaired and restored to designed capability over the next couple of months. All five ships in the 5th Fleet area of operations (PCs 5, 6, 9, 10, 11) have been inspected. All vessels have experienced frame buckling and damage to the hull. Corrosion is also evident. Detailed inspections of the PCs based in Norfolk (PCs 2, 3, 4, 7, 12) are currently ongoing and are expected to be completed soon.

Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) Sperry Marine business unit has been awarded contracts to upgrade the navigation systems on three U.S. Navy Cyclone-class patrol craft. The bridge upgrade program for the patrol craft is being performed under two cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts from the Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station, Philadelphia, and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic. Northrop Grumman will equip each of the vessels with an integrated bridge system running under the fleet-standard Voyage Management System (VMS) software. The three-node system is an upgrade to the currently installed Sperry Marine system on the patrol craft.

1897-Rescue from drowning Chicago. Illinois, Lake Michigan. At 9: 30 p.m. the north patrol saw a man run across the driveway and jump into the lake with suicidal intent. The surf knocked him down and was tossing him about when surfmen rushed in and hauled him out. 2001- Six U.S. Navy Cyclone-Class patrol coastal warships were assigned to Operation Noble Eagle on 5 November 2001.  This was the first time since World War II that U.S. Navy ships were employed jointly with the U.S. Coast Guard to help protect our nation's coastline, ports and waterways from terrorist attack. (Source: USCG Historian’s Office)

Admiral Robert Natter, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and Vice Adm. Thad Allen, Commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, jointly announced the assignment of four Cyclone-Class Navy Patrol Coastal (PC) ships in support of the nation’s homeland security Operation Noble Eagle. Two additional PCs will be assigned to the Pacific Coast. For the first time, U.S. Navy ships will be employed jointly with the U.S. Coast Guard to help protect our nation’s coastline, ports and waterways from terrorist attack. “The Atlantic Fleet is working closely with the Coast Guard to ensure the security of our Gulf and east coast ports,” said Admiral Natter. “These ships will be used for coastal patrol and interdiction efforts with the Coast Guard.

As increasing attention is paid to ensuring the nation is secure from attacks - whether direct or covert - via the waterways, companies that supply vessels and equipment to the Coast Guard and Navy are quickly planning for an expected upturn in business. Last month Admiral Robert Natter, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and Vice Adm. Thad Allen, Commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, announced the assignment of four Cyclone-Class Navy Patrol Coastal (PC) ships in support of the nation's homeland security Operation Noble Eagle. Two additional PCs will be assigned to the Pacific Coast. For the first time, U.S. Navy ships will be employed jointly with the U.S. Coast Guard to help protect the nation's coastline, ports and waterways from terrorist attack.

Despite the renewed vigor for military activities due to the prolonged commitment to fighting terrorism at home and abroad, it seems that lawmakers are still reticent — via the proposal of a Navy Budget for Fiscal Years '02 and '03 — to spend adequate levels of money to maintain a strong fleet. According to the American Shipbuilding Association (ASA), The Defense Authorization Bill for FY02, that passed both the House and Senate (S.1438) on December 13, authorizes a paltry 5 and 1/7 new naval ships, despite the ASA's contention that 12 ships per year are needed to sustain the 305-ship navy mandated in the 1997 Quadrennial Defense Review. Meanwhile, a draft of the Navy's FY03 budget proposes to buy only five new ships.

The U.S. Coast Guard said that all 13 Cyclone-Class Navy Patrol Coastal (PC) ships have been reassigned to the Coast Guard in support of the Homeland Security mission. Six of these vessels were first assigned to support the Coast Guard in October 2001. Now the remaining seven have joined them in defending the U.S. coastline from security threats. The patrol craft are operated by Navy crews, but carry a team of USCG personnel who carry out any necessary law enforcement action. (Source: HK Law)

Halter Marine has answered the call from the Venezuelan Navy for a variety of patrol boats. The company recently delivered four 80 ft. (24.3 m) boats to the country's government, which completes the contract for the design and construction of 12 total vessels in this size range. Designed for high speed operations in coastal and riverine environments, the vessels will be used for a variety of patrolling efforts in Venezuelan territorial waters, specifically to counter illegal drug traffic, provide search and rescue assistance, and disaster relief. Powered by a pair of Detroit Diesel marine engines, the vessels will have a range of 1,000 nm and a maximum speed of 25 knots. Halter also supplied the last two 54 ft. patrol boats for the Venezuelan National Guard.

Halter Marine has answered the call from the Venezuelan Navy for a variety of patrol boats. The company recently delivered four 80 ft. (24.3 m) boats to the country's government, which completes the contract for the design and construction of 12 total vessels in this size range. Designed for high speed operations in coastal and riverine environments, the vessels will be used for a variety of patrolling efforts in Venezuelan territorial waters, specifically to counter illegal drug traffic, provide search and rescue assistance, and disaster relief. Powered by a pair of Detroit Diesel marine engines, the vessels will have a range of 1,000 nm and a maximum speed of 25 knots. Halter also supplied the last two 54 ft. (16.4 m) patrol boats for the Venezuelan National Guard.

The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard signed a Memorandum of Agreement recently that will transfer the custody and operational control of four 169-foot Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships to the Coast Guard on or about Oct. 1. A fifth will be transferred at a later date. Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the attacks at the Balsarah and Khawr, Iraq, oil terminals, the mission of the Cyclone-class patrol boats was re-evaluated. It was determined that they are invaluable to homeland defense, as well as to overseas port security.