Sea Trials
In September of 2004, after all eight ships were introduced to the refurbishment plan and the first four had been delivered, sea trials were being taken place to determine how effective the 15-year life extension program was. During the sea trials, the lead ship Matagorda was forced to conduct a high speed transit to avoid Hurricane Ivan. At one point, she was running at approximately 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph) in Sea State Five conditions, which involve eight to twelve foot seas. Upon arrival at her home port in Key West, Florida, the crew discovered buckling of the side and main deck on the starboard side near midship. Once spotted, the Coast Guard ordered inspections on the remainder of the fleet. Similar cracking problems subsequently occurred on the next three vessels coming off the water. Upon further assessments on the remaining ships, cracks were found in all eight ships and were getting worse. These cracks got so severe, pinhole breaches were found in the hulls. The shipyard wasted no time trying to repair and strengthen the hulls, but the converted cutters continued to crack at high speed in rough seas. Efforts to repair the Matagorda and the other vessels in the fleet were unsuccessful. The cutters were reported unseaworthy and were taken out of service.
Read more about this topic: USCGC Matagorda (WPB-1303)
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