The US Coast Guard commissioned its 63rd Sentinel-class fast response cutter (FRC) in a ceremony in New York City on Saturday, September 12.
USCGC Jeffrey Palazzo honours Machinery Technician 1st Class Jeffrey Palazzo, a New York City firefighter and US Coast Guard reservist who died in the line of duty during the September 11, 2001, while responding to the terror attacks on the World Trade Center.
Built by Bollinger Shipyards of Louisiana, the FRC has a length of 154 feet (46.9 metres), a flank speed of 28 knots, a C4ISR suite, and a stern launch and recovery ramp for a 26-foot (7.92-metre), over-the-horizon interceptor cutter boat.
Her armament includes a 25mm autocannon and four 12.7mm machine guns.
Jeffrey Palazzo will be homeported to Guam alongside her sister USCGC Vincent Danz, another Sentinel-class FRC named after a coast guard reservist and New York City emergency responder who died in the line of duty during the 9/11 terror attacks.
The FRCs are designed for multiple missions including drug and migrant interdiction; ports, waterways and coastal security; fishery patrols; and search and rescue.
The vessels were designed to replace the coast guard's ageing Island-class patrol boats that have been in service since the 1980s.
The coast guard intends to acquire up to 77 FRCs.