First 110′ Patrol Boat to Begin the Deepwater Modernization Process A celebration and media event to commemorate the arrival of the USCGC MATAGORDA to Bollinger Shipyards LLC took place on Friday, February 7, 2003 in Lockport, Louisiana. The USCGC MATAGORDA, a 110-foot Island Class Patrol Boat, is the first cutter to begin the Integrated Deepwater System modernization and life extension overhaul. As the first Deepwater asset in production, the MATAGORDA will have her length extended 13 feet for an overall length of 123 feet; will receive extensive crew quarter improvements; state-of-the-art capabilities enhancements in communications, detection, and prosecution; as well as a stern boat launch ramp to accommodate the new 7-meter Short Range Prosecutor (SRP), among other improvements. The USCGC MATAGORDA modernization is scheduled to take place over nine months. In the future, it is anticipated that the modernization will be completed in six months. With up to 5 cutters under construction at a time, a 123’ cutter will be delivered to the fleet approximately every six weeks. The Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, Admiral Thomas H. Collins, presented a speech to officiate the decommissioning of the USCGC MATAGORDA. Admiral Collins focused on the Coast Guard’s transition to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and how the transition will impact the fleet in the coming years. Admiral Collins stated, “To make the transition to our new department, and to make sure that we can maintain our operational excellence in not only homeland security but across our varied missions, we will need to make many changes along the way. These changes will add up to what I often refer to as nothing less than a transformation.” Admiral Collins is convinced that the Integrated Deepwater System (IDS) is essential to the Coast Guard’s transformation. IDS will not only significantly improve mission performance but it will also improve maritime homeland security capabilities and achieve maritime domain awareness in our nation’s ports, waterways, coastal environments, and offshore regions. Upon the completion of Deepwater, cutters like the MATAGORDA will no longer operate as independent platforms with limited awareness in the maritime domain. Instead, these new assets will possess common systems and technologies, common operational concepts, and a common logistics base that will enable the Coast Guard to significantly improve its ability to detect and identify all activities in the maritime arena, a capability know as maritime domain awareness. At the close of the speech, the Commandant honored the accomplishments of the MATAGORDA in the past two years: “Coast Guard Cutter MATAGORDA has been very active during the past 17 years. During the past two years, MATAGORDA made 20 Law Enforcement patrols, conducted 194 boardings, resulting in the interdiction of over 234 migrants and over a ton of illegal narcotics. She also made 9 daring rescues, one of which involved 65 illegal migrants foundering in a sailboat being battered by 35 knot winds and 12 foot seas.” Officially announcing the decommission of the MATAGORDA, the Commandant stated, “Though decommissioned temporarily as the necessary work is done to refit her, the Cutter MATAGORDA will not be idle. She will be leading the way for the Coast Guard to enter this new era. In fact, she is the leading symbol of our service’s transformation.” First 110′ Patrol Boat to Begin the Deepwater Modernization Process A celebration and media event to commemorate the arrival of the USCGC MATAGORDA to Bollinger Shipyards LLC took place on Friday, February 7, 2003 in Lockport, Louisiana. The USCGC MATAGORDA, a 110-foot Island Class Patrol Boat, is the first cutter to begin the Integrated Deepwater System modernization and life extension overhaul. As the first Deepwater asset in production, the MATAGORDA will have her length extended 13 feet for an overall length of 123 feet; will receive extensive crew quarter improvements; state-of-the-art capabilities enhancements in communications, detection, and prosecution; as well as a stern boat launch ramp to accommodate the new 7-meter Short Range Prosecutor (SRP), among other improvements. The USCGC MATAGORDA modernization is scheduled to take place over nine months. In the future, it is anticipated that the modernization will be completed in six months. With up to 5 cutters under construction at a time, a 123’ cutter will be delivered to the fleet approximately every six weeks. The Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, Admiral Thomas H. Collins, presented a speech to officiate the decommissioning of the USCGC MATAGORDA. Admiral Collins focused on the Coast Guard’s transition to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and how the transition will impact the fleet in the coming years. Admiral Collins stated, “To make the transition to our new department, and to make sure that we can maintain our operational excellence in not only homeland security but across our varied missions, we will need to make many changes along the way. These changes will add up to what I often refer to as nothing less than a transformation.” Admiral Collins is convinced that the Integrated Deepwater System (IDS) is essential to the Coast Guard’s transformation. IDS will not only significantly improve mission performance but it will also improve maritime homeland security capabilities and achieve maritime domain awareness in our nation’s ports, waterways, coastal environments, and offshore regions. Upon the completion of Deepwater, cutters like the MATAGORDA will no longer operate as independent platforms with limited awareness in the maritime domain. Instead, these new assets will possess common systems and technologies, common operational concepts, and a common logistics base that will enable the Coast Guard to significantly improve its ability to detect and identify all activities in the maritime arena, a capability know as maritime domain awareness. At the close of the speech, the Commandant honored the accomplishments of the MATAGORDA in the past two years: “Coast Guard Cutter MATAGORDA has been very active during the past 17 years. During the past two years, MATAGORDA made 20 Law Enforcement patrols, conducted 194 boardings, resulting in the interdiction of over 234 migrants and over a ton of illegal narcotics. She also made 9 daring rescues, one of which involved 65 illegal migrants foundering in a sailboat being battered by 35 knot winds and 12 foot seas.” Officially announcing the decommission of the MATAGORDA, the Commandant stated, “Though decommissioned temporarily as the necessary work is done to refit her, the Cutter MATAGORDA will not be idle. She will be leading the way for the Coast Guard to enter this new era. In fact, she is the leading symbol of our service’s transformation.”
Hosted by Boysie Bollinger, CEO and Chairman of Bollinger Shipyards, the decommissioning ceremony marked a significant milestone in the Deepwater Program.
Hosted by Boysie Bollinger, CEO and Chairman of Bollinger Shipyards, the decommissioning ceremony marked a significant milestone in the Deepwater Program.
