Keel laid for US Coast Guard’s first 110-metre offshore patrol cutter

Eastern Shipbuilding Group has laid the keel of the future USCGC Argus, the first of a new class of US Coast Guard vessels designated as offshore patrol cutters (OPCs).

Once in service, the OPC will be used to conduct multiple missions in support of US maritime security and border protection. It will provide a capability bridge between the Legend-class national security cutter, which patrols the open ocean in the most demanding maritime environments, and the Sentinel-class fast response cutter, which operates closer to shore.

The keel of the future Argus was laid on April 28, one day after the cutting of the first steel for the second vessel in the class, the future USCGC Chase.