USCGC Sea Otter (WPB-87362)

USCGC Sea Otter (WPB-87362) is the 61st cutter in the United States Coast Guard's successful Marine Protector class.

USCGC Sea Otter (WPB-87362)
Sea Otter returns with 1.5 tons of seized marijuana
History
United States
Name: USCGC Sea Otter
Builder: Bollinger Shipyards
Homeport: San Diego, California, U.S.
Identification:
Status: in active service
General characteristics
Displacement: 91 long tons (92 t)
Length: 87 ft 0 in (26.5 m)
Beam: 19 ft 5 in (5.9 m)
Draft: 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)
Propulsion: 2 x MTU diesels
Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h)
Range: 900 nmi (1,700 km)
Endurance: 5 days
Complement: 10
Armament: 2 × .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns

Design

The 87-foot (27 m) Sea Otter incorporates several features not present in the Coast Guard's earlier cutters.[1][2] The class are equipped with a stern launching ramp, that allows the vessel to deploy or retrieve it waterjet propelled pursuit boat, without having to stop. The Coast Guard had a new initiative, when the class was designed, that all its cutters, even the smallest, like the Marine Protector, should be able to accommodate mixed sex crews.

She displaces approximately 90 long tons (91 t), and her top speed is approximately 24 knots (44 km/h).[1][2] The class is designed for missions lasting up to three days. Marine Protector cutters are lightly armed, with all but the four owned by the US Navy mounting a main armament of a pair of crew-served fifty caliber Browning machine guns, on either side of their foredecks.

Cutters like Sea Otter are assigned to perform search and rescue, intercept drug smugglers and people smugglers, provide a front line response to disasters, and perform routine constabulary duties.[1][2]

Operational history

On February 7, 2013, Sea Otter and USCGC Waesche came to the assistance of a 60-foot (18 m) pleasure craft, Tioga, which was sinking, in heavy swells, 35 miles (56 km) south of San Clemente Island.[3]

On March 11, 2015, Sea Otter helped intercept a small boat, carrying over 1.3 tons of marijuana.[4]

References
  1. HMC James T. Flynn Jr., USNR(ret) (2014-06-23). "U. S. Coast Guard: Small Cutters and Patrol Boats 1915 - 2012" (PDF). US Coast Guard. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-05-10. Crew comfort was a primary factor influencing the design of the CPB. Unlike past patrol boats, the CPB can accommodate any mix of male and female crew members within its 11-person complement. Each crew stateroom is equipped with internal phones and a potable water sink. There are two restrooms facilities and two showers. The mess deck has seating for nine crewmembers and is equipped with a television, VCR and stereo for crew relaxation. Alt URL
  2. "International Acquisition Programs". United States Coast Guard. 2009-12-15. Archived from the original on 2009-12-28.
  3. John Bowen, Derek Cannoy (2013-02-07). "Coast Guard teamwork saves sailors and their boat". Coast Guard News. Retrieved 2017-03-29. The Sea Otter’s crew had been on patrol with the Waesche for several hours before being diverted to assist with the sailboat, and they were about to have another long day ahead of them.
  4. "Coast Guard seizes more than half a ton of marijuana: Comments Off on Coast Guard seizes more than half a ton of marijuana". San Diego, California: Coast Guard News. 2015-03-11. Retrieved 2017-03-29. The Sea Otter crew recovered 54 bales from the water and aboard the panga, weighing an estimated 1,300 pounds.
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