Admiral Kevin Lunday, acting commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, speaks during Monday’s ceremony. (Austal USA)
MOBILE – Austal USA hosted a keel-laying ceremony today for the first U.S. Coast Guard Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter to be built at the company’s Mobile ship manufacturing facility.
Pickering, designated as ship WMSM 919, is being built under a contract that includes up to 11 cutters and has a potential value of $3.3 billion. The Coast Guard has executed contract options for six of the 11 cutters to date.
The 360-foot vessel will provide Coast Guard offshore presence in a variety of missions, including law enforcement, drug and migrant interdiction, and search and rescue.
The ship has a range of 10,200 nautical miles at 14 knots and a 60-day endurance period, each cutter in the class will be capable of deploying independently or as part of task groups, serving as a mobile command and control platform for surge operations such as hurricane response, mass migration incidents and other events.
The cutters also will support Arctic objectives by helping regulate and protect emerging commerce and energy exploration in Alaska.
Ship sponsor Dr. Meghan Pickering Seymour authenticated Pickering’s keel by welding her initials onto a keel plate in front of more than 100 guests, including Mississippi Congressman Mike Ezell, chair of House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation; and Admiral Kevin Lunday, commandant (acting) U.S. Coast Guard; as well as Mobile community leaders and members of the Austal USA and Coast Guard shipbuilding team.
Seymour is a fifth-great-granddaughter of Revolutionary War hero Timothy Pickering, the namesake of the first Coast Guard cutter Pickering that was launched in 1798.
Appointed secretary of war in 1795, Pickering promoted the construction of the American frigates that fought well against Britain in the War of 1812. From August 1795 to 1800 he was secretary of state. He served in the Senate from 1803 to 1811 and in the House from 1813 to 1817. He died at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1829.
The Offshore Patrol Cutter program is intended to recapitalize the Coast Guard’s aging medium endurance cutters and provide a capability bridge between the service’s national security cutters, which operate in the open ocean, and the fast response cutters which operate closer to shore.
“Meeting this important milestone for the Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter program is a significant achievement that underscores our commitment to the on-time delivery of the cutters the Coast Guard’s needs,” said Austal USA President Michelle Kruger. “Today’s ceremony is representative of the hard work and dedication of our skilled workforce and the strength of the shipbuilding team of Austal USA, the Coast Guard and our suppliers.
“We are proud to be building these critically important cutters that will help ensure the security of our nation.”
The Pickering is one of two Coast Guard cutters and one of 10 total surface vessels under construction at Austal USA Mobile facility. The company began construction on its second Heritage-class cutter, Icarus (WMSM 920), in August.
Similar stories of interest:
