USCG Cutter Joseph Gerczak Arrives in Hawaii
Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Gerczak arrives in Honolulu following a 42-day transit from Key West, Fla. (USCG photo by Sara Muir)
Leighton Tseu, kane o ke kai, prepares to give a Hawaiian blessing to the Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Gerczak (USCG photo by Sara Muir)
Joseph Gerczak is the second of three new Honolulu-based FRCs (USCG photo by Sara Muir)
(USCG photo by Sara Muir)
Lt. j.g. Joshua Martin, executive officer, Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Gerczak, holds his daughter following the cutter's arrival Honolulu on February 4, 2018 (USCG photo by Sara Muir)
The Joseph Gerczak crew prepares to moor at their new homeport of Honolulu (USCG photo by Sara Muir)
(USCG photo by Sara Muir)
Joseph Gerczak is scheduled to be commissioned on March 9 (USCG photo by Sara Muir)
(USCG photo by Sara Muir)
The U.S. Coast Guard’s second of three new 154-foot fast response cutters (FRC) stationed in Hawaii arrived at its homeport of Honolulu on Sunday.
The new cutter, Joseph Gerczak (WPC 1126), was built by Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana and delivered the U.S. Coast Guard on November 9, 2017 in Key West, Fla. before transiting more than 8,400 miles to Hawaii. The vessel is slated to be commissioned on March 9.
Joseph Gerczak is the second of three new Honolulu-based FRCs that will mainly serve the main Hawaiian Islands, and the 26th of 58 planned vessels in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program.
Built to replace the 110-foot Island-class patrol boats, the FRCs are based on Damen’s Stan 4708 patrol vessel design to perform missions including search and rescue; fisheries enforcement; drug and migrant interdiction; ports, waterways and coastal security; and national defense.
The 58 cutters are expected to cost $3.8 billion, or about $65 million per cutter.
