Coast Guard to Commission Coastal Patrol Boat

The Coast Guard Cutter Pompano, an 87-ft. Coastal Patrol Boat, will be commissioned into service in a ceremony at Coast Guard Station Gulfport on December 14 at 10 a.m. The Pompano, homported in Gulfport, is a new Marine Protector Class vessel capable of performing search and rescue, law enforcement, fisheries patrols, drug interdiction, and alien interdiction duties up to 200 miles offshore. Key speakers at the ceremony include Mississippi Rep. Ronnie Shows, and the Eighth Coast Guard District Commander, Rear Adm. Roy J. Casto. Lt. Daniel Jones, commanding officer of the Pompano, will lead a crew of 10. The Marine Protector Class is designed to replace the aging 82-ft. Point Class cutters. Several incorporated design innovations include a fully integrated electronics suite, a stern launch and recovery system for the cutter’s small boat, and the ability to sail with completely mixed-gender crews, previously impossible on a vessel of this size.