USCGC Benjamin B. Dailey
USCGC Benjamin B. Dailey (WPC-1123) is the United States Coast Guard's 23rd Sentinel class cutter cutter.[1][2][3] She will be the first cutter of her class to be homeported in Pascagoula, MS.
The vessel's manufacturer, Bollinger Shipyards, of Lockport, Louisiana, delivered the ship to the Coast Guard, in Key West, on April 20, 2017, for her acceptance trials.[1][2][3]
Mission
The Sentinel-class cutters are lightly armed patrol vessels with a crew of approximately two dozen sailors, capable of traveling almost 3,000 nautical miles, on five day missions. The cutter is a multi-mission vessel intended to perform law enforcement, search and rescue, fisheries and environmental protection, and homeland security tasks.
Namesake
In 2010, Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, who was then the United States Coast Guard's most senior non-commissioned officer, proposed that all 58 cutters in the Sentinel class should be named after enlisted sailors in the Coast Guard, or one of its precursor services, who were recognized for their heroism.[4][5] In 2014 the Coast Guard announced that Benjamin B. Dailey, keeper of the Cape Hatteras Lifesaving Station, would be the namesake of the 23rd cutter.[6][7][8][9] Dailey, and the crew of volunteer surfmen he commanded, had rescued nine crewmen from the wreck of the Ephraim Williams.[10][11][12][13]
Operational career
On December 11, 2021, the Benjamin B. Dailey was heavily damaged by fire, while in a drydock, in Tampa, Florida.[14][15] Coast Guard commentator Chuck Hill, noting an announcement that the Coast Guard had secured authorization for on additional Sentinel cutter, on August 12, 2022, speculated that the decision had been made the vessel was not worth repairing, so a replacement was being ordered.[16][17]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Eric Haun. Bollinger Delivers USCGC Benjamin Dailey, Marine Link, 2017-04-20. “The Coast Guard took delivery of the 154-foot patrol craft on April 20, 2017 in Key West, Fla. The vessel’s commissioning is scheduled for July 4, 2017 in Pascagoula, Miss.”
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ken Hocke. Bollinger delivers latest fast response cutter to USCG, WorkBoat magazine, 2017-04-21. Retrieved on 2017-04-21. “Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, La., has delivered the 154’x25’5″x9’6″ Benjamin Dailey to the Coast Guard, the 23rd fast response cutter (FRC).”
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bollinger delivers the 23rd FRC to USCG, Port News, 2017-04-21. “This vessel is named after Coast Guard Hero Benjamin Dailey. Dailey, Keeper of the Cape Hatteras Life-Saving Station, was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal on April 24, 1885 for his exceptional bravery in one of the most daring rescues by the Life-Saving Service.”
- ↑ Susan Schept. Enlisted heroes honored, United States Coast Guard, 2010-03-22. Retrieved on 2013-02-01. “After the passing of several well-known Coast Guard heroes last year, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles "Skip" Bowen mentioned in his blog that the Coast Guard does not do enough to honor its fallen heroes.”
- ↑ U.S. Coast Guard announces name for first Sentinel-class cutter, 2010-03-22. Retrieved on 2013-02-01. “Previously designated to be named the Coast Guard Cutter Sentinel, the cutter Bernard C. Webber will be the first of the service's new 153-foot patrol cutters. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen approved the change of the cutter's name to allow this class of vessels to be named after outstanding enlisted members who demonstrated exceptional heroism in the line of duty. This will be the first class of cutters to be named exclusively for enlisted members of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services.”
- ↑ Christopher Havern. Benjamin B. Dailey, USCG, 2014-01-23.
- ↑ Who are some of the heroes of the Coast Guard?, USCG, 2014-08-26. Retrieved on 2014-08-27.
- ↑ Acquisition Update: Coast Guard Unveils Names of FRCs 16-25, US Coast Guard, 2014-02-27. Retrieved on 2016-12-15. “The Coast Guard recently announced the names of 10 Sentinel-Class Fast Response Cutters (WPCs 1116-1125) through a series of posts on its official blog, the Coast Guard Compass. Like the first 15 ships in the class, each ship will honor a Coast Guard enlisted hero.”
- ↑ FRC Plan B: The Sentinel Class, Defense Industry Daily, 2014-05-02. Retrieved on 2014-04-03. “All of these boats will be named after enlisted Coast Guard heroes, who distinguished themselves in USCG or military service. The first 25 have been named, but only 8 have been commissioned...”
- ↑ Rowboats to choppers, tales of rescue at sea, Life magazine, 1967-07-15, p. 50. Retrieved on 2014-08-27.
- ↑ Two Tales of Bravery from the U.S. Life-Saving Service, Carolina Outer Banks. Retrieved on 2014-08-27. “The other crews knew it was hopeless, sure the surfboat could not make it over the treacherous outer sandbar with the sea conditions that existed that day. But luck and skill prevailed, and the small boat somehow made it across.”
- ↑ Hatteras Island Lifesaving Stations, North Caroline Beaches.
- ↑ The U.S. Lifesaving Service, National Park Service. Retrieved on 2014-08-27. “Cape Hatteras National Seashore preserves the history of the U.S. Lifesaving Service on the Outer Banks. Walk the same beaches that Rasmus Midgett once patrolled or stop and see what Keeper Dailey’s medal looks like at the Museum of the Sea near the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.”
- ↑ Bernadette Berdychowski. Coast Guard cutter undergoing repairs catches fire at Port Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay Times, 2021-12-11. Retrieved on 2022-08-13.
- ↑ Video: U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Damaged in Fire at Tampa Shipyard, Maritime Executive, 2021-12-14. Retrieved on 2022-08-13.
- ↑ Coast Guard exercises contract option to build one fast response cutter, USCG, 2022-08-13. Retrieved on 2022-08-13.
- ↑ Chuck Hill. “Coast Guard exercises contract option to build one fast response cutter”, Chuck Hill's blog .net/2022/08/12/coast-guard-exercises-contract-option-to-build-one-fast-response-cutter-cg-9/, 2022-08-12. Retrieved on 2022-08-13.