USCGC Ocracoke (WPB-1307) is an

Island Class Cutter The Island-class patrol boat is a class of cutters of the United States Coast Guard. 49 cutters of the class were built, of which 37 remain in commission. Their hull numbers are WPB-1301 through WPB-1349. Overview The Island-class patrol boat ...

of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

. She is homeported in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, where she patrols international and territorial waters as a humanitarian, law enforcement, and Homeland Security asset. Her primary missions are Search and Rescue, Counter-Smuggling Activities, and Homeland Security. Upon commissioning in 1986 and until 1991, she was assigned to Coast Guard Patrol Boat Squadron Two (CG PATBOATRON TWO) in Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. During this period she conducted law enforcement, search and rescue, and expeditionary naval operations. When CG PATBOATRON TWO was decommissioned on July 1, 1991 she was assigned to Commander, Greater Antilles Section. As of 2014 she was working out of

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

. On March 31, 2015, together with other USCG elements, she assisted the distressed Canadian sailing ship '' Liana's Ransom'', when she lost engine power during a storm off

Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a ...

. On Nov 22, 2019, ''Ocracoke'' was decommissioned at a ceremony held in South Portland, ME.

Design

The

Island-class patrol boat The Island-class patrol boat is a class of cutters of the United States Coast Guard. 49 cutters of the class were built, of which 37 remain in commission. Their hull numbers are WPB-1301 through WPB-1349. Overview The Island-class patrol boat ...

s were constructed in

Bollinger Shipyards Bollinger Shipyards is an American constructor of ships, workboats and patrol vessels. Its thirteen shipyards and forty drydocks are located in Louisiana and Texas. Its drydocks range in capacity from vessels of 100 tons displacement to 22,000 to ...

Lockport, Louisiana Lockport is a town on Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,490 in 2020. It is part of the Houma– Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. History Lockport, founded in 1835, ...

. ''Ocracoke'' has an overall length of . It had a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

of at the time of construction. The patrol boat has a displacement of at full load and at half load. It is powered two

Paxman Valenta The Paxman Valenta was an engine made by Paxman, Colchester for the High Speed Train, and is still in use in various marine applications, such as the ''Upholder''/''Victoria''-class submarines, additionally 4 Paxman Valenta engines provide the ...

16 CM diesel engines or two Caterpillar 3516 diesel engines. It has two 3304T diesel generators made by Caterpillar; these can serve as

motor–generator A motor–generator (an M–G set) is a device for converting electrical power to another form. Motor–generator sets are used to convert frequency, voltage, or phase of power. They may also be used to isolate electrical loads from the electr ...

s. Its hull is constructed from highly strong steel, and the superstructure and major deck are constructed from aluminium. The Island-class patrol boats have maximum sustained speeds of . It is fitted with one machine gun and two M60 light machine guns; it may also be fitted with two Browning .50 Caliber Machine Guns. It is fitted with satellite navigation systems, collision avoidance systems, surface radar, and a Loran C system. It has a range of and an endurance of five days. Its complement is sixteen (two officers and fourteen crew members). Island-class patrol boats are based on Vosper Thornycroft patrol boats and have similar dimensions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocracoke Ships of the United States Coast Guard Island-class patrol boats 1986 ships Ships built in Lockport, Louisiana