Coast Guard Station Key West is the most southerly Coast Guard Station in Florida.[1]
Coast Guard Base Key West | |
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Part of 1st District | |
Key West, Florida | |
Coordinates | 24°33′53″N 81°47′51″W / 24.5647°N 81.7976°W |
Type | Coast Guard Station |
Site information | |
Owner | United States Coast Guard |
All the cutters in the United States Coast Guard's Sentinel class cutters proceeded to Key West for their acceptance trials, prior to proceeding to their future home ports, for their commissioning. The seventh through twelfth Sentinel cutters, Charles David Jr., Charles W. Sexton, Kathleen Moore, Raymond Evans, William Trump,Isaac Mayo, were homeported in Key West, in 2013, 2014 and 2015.[2][3][4][5]
Those vessels have been active intercepting smugglers and vessels carrying refugees.
The first of six brand spanking new 154-foot Sentinel-class ships called Fast Response Cutters is set to arrive on Aug. 17 in Key West and crews of the new vessels are arriving to train.
The 154-foot patrol craft Charles David Jr. is the seventh vessel in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program. To build the FRC, Bollinger Shipyards used a proven, in-service parent craft design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708. It has a flank speed of 28 knots, state of the art command, control, communications and computer technology, and a stern launch system for the vessels 26 foot cutter boat. The FRC has been described as an operational "game changer," by senior Coast Guard officials.
The 154-foot Charles David Jr. was delivered Friday to the 7th Coast Guard District in Key West, Fla., where it will be commissioned in November.
With commissioning set for Saturday of the fast-response cutter Charles David Jr., U.S. Coast Guard Sector Key West will take the first step in a two-year overhaul of the locally homeported fleet.