The following is text of a news release from Bollinger Shipyards:
(LOCKPORT, La.) — Bollinger Shipyards has delivered USCGC Forrest Rednour, the 29th fast response cutter (FRC), to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard took delivery on June 7 in Key West, Fla.
“We are proud to announce the delivery of the latest FRC, the USCGC Forrest Rednour,” said Ben Bordelon, Bollinger president and CEO. “The vessel’s commissioning is scheduled for November 2018 in Southern California. This will be the first of four FRCs to be stationed in San Pedro, Calif. Previous cutters have been stationed around the nation including Alaska and Hawaii. FRCs already in commission have protected our country by seizing tons of narcotics, interdicted thousands of illegal aliens and saved hundreds of lives.The FRC program is a model program for government acquisition and has surpassed all historical quality benchmarks for vessels of this type and complexity. The results are the delivery of truly extraordinary Coast Guard cutters that will serve our nation for decades to come. We are extremely proud that the fast response cutters built by Louisiana craftsmen here at Bollinger Shipyards are having such a major impact on our country’s safety and security.”
The 154-foot patrol craft is the 29th vessel in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program.The FRC has been described as an operational “game changer,” by senior Coast Guard officials. 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.
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 Forrest Rednour. Rednour was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal during World War II for heroic conduct while aboard USCGC Escanaba during the rescue of survivors from the torpedoed USAT Dorchester in North Atlantic waters in February 1943.
