Bollinger Shipyards delivers twenty third FRC

USCGC Benjamin Dailey during builder's trials in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

APRIL 20, 2017 — Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the USCGC Benjamin Dailey, the 23rd Sentinel Class Fast Response Cutter (FRC), to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard took delivery on April 20, 2017 in Key West, FL, and the vessel’s commissioning is scheduled for July 4, 2017 in Pascagoula, MS.

This will be the first FRC to be stationed in the 8th Coast Guard District. Previous cutters in the series have been stationed in Florida, San Juan, PR, Cape May, NJ and Ketchikan, AK.

“We are pleased to announce the delivery of the latest FRC, the USCGC Benjamin Dailey,” says Ben Bordelon, Bollinger President & CEO. “This FRC built by Bollinger Shipyards will be stationed in Pascagoula, MS. FRCs already in commission stationed in the mid-Atlantic and the South Eastern U.S. have seized multiple tons of narcotics, interdicted thousands of illegal aliens and saved many lives.”

Mr. Bordelon characterized the FRC program as “a model program for government acquisition,” saying that it 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,” says Bordelon. “We are extremely proud that the Fast Response Cutters built locally on the bayou by Louisiana craftsmen are having such a major impact on our nation’s security. We at Bollinger Shipyards are looking forward to hearing of the heroic exploits of the USCGC Benjamin Dailey as it joins the Coast Guard’s operational fleet.”

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 Benjamin Dailey. Dailey, Keeper of the Cape Hatteras Life-Saving Station, was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal on April 24, 1885 for his exceptional bravery in one of the most daring rescues by the Life-Saving Service.