Manitowoc Launches Coast Guard Cutter
The Manitowoc Company, Inc. recently launched the U.S.Coast Guard Cutter Oak, the eleventh ship in a series of 16 seagoing buoy tenders being built at Manitowoc's Marinette Marine subsidiary. This 225-ft. Juniper-class vessel is part of a series of contracts, which were awarded to Marinette in 1993 and 1998. The launch ceremony, which took place on January 26, featured U.S. Representative Henry E. Brown Jr. (D-SC) as the keynote speaker; his wife, Billye Brown, the sponsor of the ship, performed the traditional christening ceremony. Rear Admiral Jay Carmichael, commander of the seventh U.S. Coast Guard District also attended the ceremony. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oak will homeport in Charleston, S.C., under the command of LCDR James M. Cash.
New Cutter Arrives at its Homeport
The Coast Guard’s newest cutter will arrive at its homeport at Pier Papa on the old Navy base in Charleston, S.C., on Thursday. The Coast Guard Cutter Oak, a 225-ft. buoy tender, is the eleventh ship of the Juniper Class and was christened on January 26, 2002 in Marinette, Wis. The Oak and its crew left Marinette November 2 and traveled through the St. Lawrence River and down the Atlantic seaboard. The Oak and crew will join sister cutters, now operating in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, which form a new fleet of technically advanced and highly capable buoy tenders. Lt. Cmdr. James M. Cash assumed command of the newly built cutter Oak on October 17, 2002. He and his five officers and 42 member crew’s primary mission is to maintain the largest buoys in the Coast Guard inventory.
