US Coast Guard commissions fast response cutter Melvin Bell

The US Coast Guard commissioned its newest Sentinel-class fast response cutter (FRC) into service in a ceremony in New London, Connecticut, on Thursday, March 28.

Built by Bollinger Shipyards of Louisiana, USCGC Melvin Bell honours the late Master Chief Petty Officer Melvin Kealoha Bell, a native Hawaiian who saw service as a radio operator and a codebreaker during World War II.

As with its Sentinel-class sisters, Melvin Bell has a length of 154 feet (46.9 metres), a flank speed of 28 knots, a state of the art C4ISR suite, and a stern launch and recovery ramp for a 26-foot (7.92-metre), over-the-horizon interceptor cutter boat. Armament includes a 25mm autocannon and four 12.7mm machine guns.

The Sentinel-class cutters are designed for multiple missions including drug and migrant interdiction, ports, waterways and coastal security, fishery patrols, and search and rescue (SAR).

The FRC will be homeported in Boston, Massachusetts. It will be the sixth vessel of its class to be based in New England.