Equipment of The United States Coast Guard - Boats

Boats

The Coast Guard operates about 1,400 boats, defined as any vessel less than 65 feet (20 meters) in length, which generally operate near shore and on inland waterways. The most common is 41 feet (12.5 m) long, of which the Guard has more than 200; the shortest is 12 feet (4 m).

The Coast Guard boat fleet includes:

• Arctic Survey Boat (ASB)

• 47' Motor Life Boat (MLB): The Coast Guard's primary heavy-weather boat used for search and rescue as well as law enforcement and homeland security.

• 41' Utility Boat (UTB): A general purpose boat used for nearly all Coast Guard missions. (This boat is being replaced by the 45' Response Boat Medium.)

• Deployable Pursuit Boat (DPB) (no longer in service)

• Aids to Navigation Boats (TANB/BUSL/ANB/ANB)

• Transportable Port Security Boat (TPSB): 25-foot (7.6 m) boat, based on the commercial version of the 25-foot (8 m) center-console Boston Whaler, suitable for work in inland waters, easily transportable by trailer. These are primarily used by Port Security Units for force protection in naval support areas abroad, as well as, ports of embarkation/debarkation in expeditionary areas. Most recently these boats and units were deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The durability, versatility, and mobility of these boats make them ideal for this type of operation.

The Coast Guard planned to reduce the inventory of Boston Whalers because of the lack of interoperable spare parts. On Friday, July 13th, the General Services Administration approved the transfer of 10 Coast Guard boats to the Army in Iraq. The boats, 24' and 27' Boston Whalers with trailers, had an original acquisition cost of more than $800,000. The Army is looking for approximately 55 Riverine or Patrol style boats to conduct water interdiction, river denial and island clearance missions, troop transport and insertion on a regular basis; the Coast Guard is providing the Army with the Boston Whalers and one Ambar boat, a patrol type vessel.

• Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHI): a rigid-hulled inflatable boat, powered by a gasoline outboard motor or an inboard/outboard diesel engine. The RHI can be easily deployed from a cutter with a four-point bridle for davit lifting and lowering. The RHI's portability and ruggedness allow it to be used on many kinds of missions.

• USCG Short Range Prosecutor (SRP): A 7-meter (23 ft) launch that can be launched from a rear launching ramp, at speed.

• USCG Long Range Interceptor (LRI): An 11-meter (36 ft) high-speed launch that can be launched from the rear ramps of the larger Deepwater cutters.

• 25' Response Boat – Small (Defender-Class): A high speed boat, for a variety of missions, including search and rescue, port security and law enforcement duties.

• Response Boat – Medium: The Coast Guard has signed a multi-year contract for 180 Response Boat – Medium (RB-M) boats that were delivered starting in 2008 to replace the 41′ UTB boats. These aluminum boats are 45 feet (13.7 m) in length, have twin diesel engines (total 1650 hp), be self-righting, have four crew, six passenger capacity, be equippable with two .50 caliber machine guns, have an excellent fendering system, have a top speed of 42 knots (78 km/h), and be capable of towing a 100-ton vessel in eight-foot seas. The boats were built by Kvichak Marine Industries of Kent, Washington and Marinette Marine of Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

• USCG Auxiliary Operational Facilities: The Coast Guard surface fleet is augmented by privately owned vessels operated by the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.