COASTAL PATROL BOATS COMMISSIONED IN MISSISSIPPI

  PASCAGOULA, Miss. –   Two 179-ft. Cyclone class patrol boats will be formally commissioned as Coast Guard Cutters Monday, Dec. 6 during a ceremony in their new homeport at Naval Station Pascagoula.  After commissioning, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutters Tornado (WPC-14) and Shamal (WPC-13) will conduct Homeland Security, Search and Rescue and Law Enforcement operations in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.  

  Two other Cyclone class patrol boats CGC Monsoon (WPC-4) and CGC Zephyr (WPC-8) will be homeported in San Diego, Calif., as part of a memorandum of understanding between the Navy and Coast Guard signed earlier this year.  A fifth patrol boat is slated for transfer at a later date. 

   The Cyclone class patrol boats will fill a gap in Coast Guard resources at a time when the service's inventory of 110-foot patrol boats are being converted to 123-foot cutters and the rest of the fleet continues a historic, high tempo of operations.  "These cutters will help us to defend the homeland and complete the many missions that the American people rely on us to accomplish everyday," Vice Admiral Vivien Crea, Commander of the Coast Guard's Atlantic Area said.  The service's Atlantic Area Command encompasses more than 4 million square miles of  navigable water including the Gulf of Mexico, most of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.   

  Coastal patrol boats play an important role in maintaining the tactical advantage in the defense of our ports and waterways and other vital maritime interests.  Because of their speed and armament Tornado and Shamal are particularly well suited to perform the maritime homeland security mission.  The vessels were originally built as 170-foot patrol boats and were later fitted with a stern ramp modification that extended their length to 179 feet. 

   The Navy will retain ownership and all life cycle management/maintenance responsibilities, depot management and casualty corrective service through FY08.  The Coast Guard will assume responsibility for crew assignment, cutter funding, retrofitting, operation and management.