USCG COASTAL PATROL BOAT

The United States Coast Guard has maintained various classes of 'coastal patrol boats'. The Coast Guard currently has fifty-six patrol boats in its ''Marine Protector''-class. Their pennant numbers are WPB 87301 through WPB 87356. The 87 ft. (26.5 m) ''Marine Protector''-class replaced the 82 foot ''Point''-class. The ''Point''-class had one small and one large berthing area, and they had to stop for five or more minutes to deploy or retrieve their pursuit inflatable boat via a small crane. As of 2007 no ''Point''-class vessels remained in service.

Length	87 ft. (26.5 m)
Beam	19 ft. 5 in. (5.9 m)
Draft	5 ft. 7 in. (1.7 m)
Maximum Range	900 nautical miles (1,700 km)
Endurance	5 days
Crew	10
Armament	2× .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns
Maximum speed	25 knots (46 km/h)

Among their missions are combating smuggling and illegal immigration, and search and rescue. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks many have a homeland security primary mission.
Boarding parties can be launched while the vessel is underway, through the cutter's stern launching ramp. The inflatable boarding party launch has been upgraded and is faster than this vessel. The initial design has given way to an updated version as several capsized due to lack of flotation in the bow section. The stern launching system requires just a single crewmember to remain on deck to launch or retrieve the boarding party.
The cutter burns approximately 165 gallons of diesel per hour at its max speed of 26 knots.
Like all recent US Coast Guard vessels the ''Marine Protector''-class were designed to accommodate crews of mixed gender with five separate small berthing spaces for the crews of ten or so.
The same design also operate with the Armed Forces of Malta which have operated two examples (P51 and P52) since 2003.

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External links

External links

★ Globalsecurity.org - WPB 87' Marine Protector Class