The following is the text of a news release from Bollinger Shipyards:
(LOCKPORT, La.) — Bollinger Shipyards has delivered USCGC Lawrence Lawson, the 20th fast response cutter (FRC), to the United States Coast Guard.
The 154-foot patrol craft USCGC Lawrence Lawson is the 20th vessel in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program and the second FRC to be stationed at Cape May, N.J. The decision to home-port these vessels at Cape May is significant because it expands the footprint of FRC operations beyond the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Previous cutters have been stationed in the 7th Coast Guard District in Florida or San Juan, Puerto Rico.
To build the FRC, Bollinger used a proven, in-service parent craft design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708. It 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 FRC has been described as an operational "game changer” by senior Coast Guard officials.
The Coast Guard took delivery on Oct. 20 in Key West, Fla., and is scheduled to commission the vessel in Cape May during early 2017.
Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who distinguished him or herself in the line of duty. This vessel is named after Coast Guard hero Lawrence Lawson, who was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal on Oct. 17, 1890 for his leadership skills and heroic efforts in the successful rescue of the 18-member crew of the steam vessel Calumet.
