Coast Guard receives new Guam-bound cutter

Feb. 11 (UPI) -- The Coast Guard received its newest Sentinel-class fast response cutter, the Coast Guard Cutter Frederick Hatch, from Bollinger Shipyards in Key West, Fla., Thursday.

According to the Coast Guard, the Frederick Hatch will be the third FRC stationed in Guam, and will arrive in Santa Rita during the summer.

"The fast response cutters in the Pacific are a game changer for the Coast Guard," said Cmdr. Josh Empen, deputy sector commander, Coast Guard Sector Guam.

"Frederick Hatch will be the third fast response cutter in Guam, joining the Coast Guard Cutters Myrtle Hazard and Oliver Henry who have already saved mariners in distress at sea, intercepted narcotics, and boarded several vessels to deter illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in Oceania. These cutters are conducting longer missions over greater distances than the older patrol boats they are replacing," Empen said.

The Frederick Hatch, which will support a crew of 24, was placed in commission, special status, and will remain in Florida while the crew completes pre-commissioning trials and maintenance.

It will join Coast Guard Cutter Myrtle Hazard and Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Henry.

The FRCs are slated to replace the older 110-foot Island-class patrol boats formerly stationed in Guam.

According to the Coast Guard, the vessels boast a wide array of improvements over their predecessors, including advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems designed to assist crews with patrolling coastal regions.

"All of our accomplishments to date are due to the tremendous amount of hard work our crew has put in to this process," said Lt. Craig Rooke, the Frederick Hatch's commanding officer. "They continue to amaze me everyday with their great attitude and their tremendous effort that they have been putting into the pre-commission process. I know Frederick Hatch would be proud."

The cutter is named after Frederick Hatch, a Coast Guard enlistee and two-time recipient of the Gold Lifesaving Medal.

He received the first medal in 1884 while a surfman at the Cleveland Life-Saving Station for rescuing the crew of the schooner Sophia Minch during an October storm.

Later he transferred to the Lighthouse Service, and received a second medal after he rescued those on board the schooner Wahnapitae which grounded near the Cleveland Breakwater lighthouse in 1890.