Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the Richard Dixon, the 13th Fast Response Cutter (FRC) to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The 154-foot patrol craft is the 13th vessel in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program. To build the FRC, Bollinger used a proven, in-service parent craft design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708. It has a flank speed of 28 knots, state of the art command, control, communications and computer technology, and a stern launch system for the vessels 26 foot cutter boat. The FRC has been described as an operational “game changer,” by senior Coast Guard officials.
The Coast Guard took delivery on April 14 in Key West, Fla., and is scheduled to commission the vessel in Tampa in June.
Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who distinguished him or herself in the line of duty. This vessel is named after Richard Dixon, who was a First Class Boatswains Mate stationed at Tillamook Bay and was awarded two Coast Guard medals for his heroic actions over the July 4th weekend in 1980. A series of dangerous storms swept across the Pacific Northwest and two boating incidents could have ended in disaster. Dixon and his crew courageously performed two separate rescues that weekend in the treacherous storm conditions.
