The USCGC ''Sapelo'' (WPB-1314) 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 ...

, operated by the United States Coast Guard. In 2013, unlike other Island class cutters, she was not commanded by a

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

, she was commanded by a Chief Warrant Officer. In 2013 the ''Sapelo'' seized a shipment of 1.3 tons of cocaine, estimated to be worth $34 million United States dollars. In June 2015, the '' Homer News'' reported that a sister ship of ''Sapelo'', ''Roanoke Island'', stationed in Homer, Alaska, was being retired. They reported that, since the ''Sapelo'' had been replaced by a new

Sentinel class cutter The Sentinel-class cutter, also known as Fast Response Cutter due to its program name, is part of the United States Coast Guard's Deepwater program. At it is similar to, but larger than the lengthened 1980s-era s that it replaces. Up to 58 ves ...

, she would be brought to Homer to replace ''Roanoke Island''. The previous crew of ''Roanoke Island'' would then cross-deck to ''Sapelo'' in a crew swap.

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. ''Sapelo'' 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 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 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

{{Island class cutter Sapelo Ships built in Lockport, Louisiana