USCGC ''Joseph Napier'' is a homeported in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

. She is the fifteenth Sentinel class to be delivered, and the third of six to be assigned to

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. she was commissioned on 29 January 2016. Like her sister ships, she is equipped for coastal security patrols, interdiction of drug and people smugglers, and

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

. Like the smaller she is equipped with a

stern launching ramp Some modern patrol vessels are equipped with a stern launching ramp, for deploying smaller rescue or pursuit boats without requiring the parent ship to first come to a halt. Typically the smaller craft are powered by water-jets, and can driv ...

. The ramp allows the deployment and retrieval of her high speed water-jet powered pursuit boat without first coming to a stop. She is capable of more than and armed with a remote controlled

M242 Bushmaster The M242 Bushmaster chain gun is a 25 mm (25×137mm) single-barrel chain-driven autocannon. It is used extensively by the U.S. military, such as in the Bradley fighting vehicle, as well as by other NATO members and some other nations in ground ...

autocannon; and four crew-served Browning M2 machine guns.

Operational history

''Joseph Napier'' intercepted a fishing vessel in February 2017, that was attempting to smuggle over four tons of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

. '' Lady Michelle''s crew of four individuals from

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

were taken to the U.S. Virgin Islands, for prosecution. The cocaine's street value was estimated at US$125 million.

Namesake

She is named after Joseph Napier, who had commanded a lifeboat station at

St. Joseph, Michigan St. Joseph, colloquially known as St. Joe, is a city and the county seat of Berrien County, Michigan. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,365. It lies on the shore o ...

. Napier was an employee of the United States Lifeboat Service, one of the precursor services that were amalgamated into the Coast Guard.

Lore

Being one of seven FRC's home ported in San Juan, Puerto Rico is a big job and eventually each boat carves out their own niche. The USCGC ''Joseph Napier'' (WPC-1115) has carved out that spot being known as "El bote de gente soñolienta". The crew of the aptly named Bote de gente soñolienta can often been seen lounging on the outside decks on beanbag chairs or logging countless hours of rack ops in an attempt to break the long-standing record held by the USCGC .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph Napier (WPC-1115) Sentinel-class cutters Ships of the United States Coast Guard 2015 ships Ships built in Lockport, Louisiana