USCGC Grand Isle (WPB-1338)
USCGC Grand Isle (WPB-1338) is an Island-class patrol boat operated by the United States Coast Guard.[3] She is based in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and named after Grand Isle, Louisiana.
USCGC Grand Isle (WPB-1338) off Crete in 2003 | |
History | |
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Name: | USCGC Grand Isle |
Namesake: | Grand Isle, Louisiana |
Builder: | Bollinger Shipyards[1] |
Commissioned: | 1991 |
Decommissioned: | 2015 |
Identification: |
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Status: | in active service, as of 2012 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type: | C-series Island-class patrol boat[2] |
Displacement: | 153 long tons (155 t) |
Length: | 110 ft (34 m) |
Beam: | 21 ft (6.4 m) |
Draft: | 6.5 ft (2.0 m) |
Propulsion: | 2 × 16-cylinder Caterpillar 3516 diesel engines |
Speed: | 29.5 knots (54.6 km/h; 33.9 mph) |
Range: | 3,300 nmi (6,100 km; 3,800 mi) |
Endurance: | 5 days |
Boats & landing craft carried: | 1 × Cutter Boat Medium (90 HP outboard engine) |
Complement: | 16 (2 officers, 14 enlisted) |
Sensors and processing systems: | AN/SPS-64V radar |
Armament: |
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In January 2012 Grand Isle returned to Gloucester after repairs that took six months.[4] When she entered the Baltimore dockyard in the summer of 2011, she was estimated to require $1.6 million in repairs, repairs that would take eight weeks.[5] However, more extensive repairs were required, which took longer, and cost $2.7 million.
As of December 2016, the United States Government transferred Grand Isle from the United States Coast Guard to the Pakistan Navy's Maritime Security Agency under the Office of International Acquisition’s Excess Defense Articles (EDA) Program, together with sister ship Key Biscayne.
Design
The Island-class patrol boats were constructed in Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana. Grand Isle has an overall length of 110 feet (34 m). It had a beam of 21 feet (6.4 m) and a draft of 7 feet (2.1 m) at the time of construction. The patrol boat has a displacement of 154 tonnes (152 long tons; 170 short tons) at full load and 137 tonnes (135 long tons; 151 short tons) at half load. It is powered by two Paxman Valenta 16 CM diesel engines or two Caterpillar 3516 diesel engines. It has two 99 kilowatts (135 PS; 133 shp) 3304T diesel generators made by Caterpillar; these can serve as motor–generators. Its hull is constructed from highly strong steel, and the superstructure and major deck are constructed from aluminum.[6][7]
The Island-class patrol boats have maximum sustained speeds of 29.5 knots (54.6 km/h; 33.9 mph). It is fitted with one 25 millimetres (0.98 in) machine gun and two 7.62 millimetres (0.300 in) M60 light machine guns; it may also be fitted with two Browning .50 caliber machine guns. It is fitted with satellite navigation systems, collision avoidance systems, surface radar, and a Loran C system. It has a range of 3,330 miles (2,890 nmi; 5,360 km) and an endurance of five days. Its complement is sixteen (two officers and fourteen crew members). Island-class patrol boats are based on Vosper Thornycroft 33 metres (108 ft) patrol boats and have similar dimensions.[6][7]
References
- "WPB 110' Island Class : Ship list". globalsecurity.org. 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- "WPB 110' Island Class". globalsecurity.org. 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- "USCGC Grand Isle". Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission. 2006. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
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Stephanie Bergman (2012-01-28). "Local cutter's entire Coast Guard class has troubled repair history". Gloucester Times. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
The Grand Isle, meanwhile, is returning to service after undergoing repairs in Baltimore. It cost $2.7 million to replace 530 square feet of the vessel's hull, which was badly pitted and 85 percent deteriorated. That damage was why the Grand Isle, originally scheduled for eight weeks of repairs to cost $1.6 million last summer, remained in Baltimore for so long.
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"Where's The Grand Isle Been? We Got The Pics From Gloucester's Cutter Rebuild At The Coast Guard's Baltimore Yard". Good Morning Gloucester. 2011-12-22. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
Gloucester’s Coast Guard Cutter The Grand Isle was supposed to go for a simple overhaul lasting 8 weeks down in the Coast Guard’s Baltimore Shipyard. 26 weeks later and a ginormous laundry list of unexpected repairs has the Grand Isle crew eager to get back in the water and home to Gloucester.
- "110-foot Island Class Patrol Boat (WPB)" (PDF). United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- "USCG 110' "Island Class" Patrol Boats (WPB)". Bollinger Shipyards. Retrieved 24 August 2015.