TSAMTO, October 8. The American company Eastern Shipbuilding Group has announced that steel cutting has begun at its enterprise in Panama City (Florida) to build the third patrol boat (WMSM-917) "Ingham" (Ingham) of the OPC (Offshore Patrol Cutter) project for the US Coast Guard.
As reported by TSAMTO, the boats are designed to fulfill the tasks of ensuring national security at sea and protecting borders. They occupy an intermediate position between large patrol ships (National Security Cutter), which provide patrolling in the open ocean in the most difficult conditions, and Sentinel-class high-speed patrol boats, which perform tasks closer to shore.
On September 15, 2016, the US Coast Guard Command exercised an option to develop a working project within the framework of a contract signed with Eastern Shipbuilding Group for the supply of OPC boats of the Heritage project. The agreement contained options for the construction of the first 9 boats of the series, as well as two additional ones.
In general, to replace the 210-foot and 270-foot medium MEC (Medium Endurance Cutter) boats in service, delivered between 1964 and 1991, the US Coast Guard plans to purchase up to 25 new OPC boats.
The contract for the construction of the lead boat, (WMSM-915) "ARGUS", and the purchase of materials for the second boat was concluded in September 2018. Steel cutting for the construction of the ARGUS boat began in January 2019. It is currently in a high state of readiness. In May 2021, the keel of the second ship of the series, (WMSM-916) "Chase", was laid. Orders have been placed for the supply of materials with long production times for the fourth boat.
The length of the ship will be about 110 m, width - 16 m, displacement - 4500 tons, maximum design speed - about 24 knots, cruising range - up to 10,000 nautical miles, autonomy - 60 days. The armament will include a 57 mm Mk.110 automatic cannon, a DUMV with a 25 mm Mk.38 cannon, up to six 12.7 mm M2 machine guns. The OPC design provides for the possibility of placing an MH-60R or MH-65 helicopter and three OTH (Over-the-Horizon) speedboats on board.
