Medium Endurance Cutter

The Medium endurance cutter or WMEC is a type of United States Coast Guard cutter mainly consisting of the 270-foot Famous- and 210-foot Reliance-class cutters. These larger cutters are under control of Area Commands (Atlantic Area or Pacific Area). These cutters have adequate accommodations for crew to live on board and can do 6 to 8 week patrols.

Other ships in the classification are the 282-foot (86 m) USCGC Alex Haley, 213-foot (65 m) USCGC Acushnet, and the now-decommissioned 230-foot (70 m) USCGC Storis.

There are 13 vessels in the Famous class, and 14 vessels in the Reliance class. The Coast Guard plans to eventually phase out both of these cutters and replace them with the Offshore Patrol Cutter as part of the Integrated Deepwater System Program.

Builders: Robert Derecktor Shipyard Inc.,Middletown, Rhode Island
Tacoma Boatbuilding Company,Tacoma, Washington
Operators: United States Coast Guard
Built: 1979–1989
In commission: 1983–present
Completed: 13
Active: 13
General characteristics
Displacement: 1,800 long tons (1,829 t)
Length: 270 ft (82 m)
Beam: 38 ft (12 m)
Draft: 14 ft 5 in (4.39 m)
Installed power: 2 × Caterpillar V12 diesel generators
Propulsion: 2 × turbo-charged ALCO V-18 diesel engines
2 × 9-foot-diameter (2.7 m) controllable pitch propellers
Speed: 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph)
Range: 9,900 nmi (18,300 km; 11,400 mi)
Complement: 100 (14 officers, 86 enlisted)
Armament: 1 × OTO Melara Mk 75 76 mm/62 caliber naval gun
2 × .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns
Aviation facilities: Helipad

Famous-class cutter

The Famous-class vessels have hull numbers in the range WMEC-901 through WMEC-913. Entering service in the 1980s, the Famous-class cutters, designed as replacements for the 327-foot (100 m) Treasury-class cutters and their mission profile, emphasized law enforcement, particularly patrolling the newly established 200-mile (320 km) exclusive economic zone.

Ships in class

USCGC Harriet Lane (WMEC-903) moored at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.
Famous class
Hull Number Name Status
WMEC-901 Bear Active
WMEC-902 Tampa Active
WMEC-903 Harriet Lane Active
WMEC-904 Northland Active
WMEC-905 Spencer Active
WMEC-906 Seneca Active
WMEC-907 Escanaba Active
WMEC-908 Tahoma Active
WMEC-909 Campbell Active
WMEC-910 Thetis Active
WMEC-911 Forward Active
WMEC-912 Legare Active
WMEC-913 Mohawk Active

 

Reliance-class cutter

Reliance class

Reliance-class cutter USCGC Reliance (WMEC-615)
Cutter USCGC Reliance (WMEC-615)

 

Class overview
Builders: American Ship Building Company,Lorain, Ohio]
U.S. Coast Guard Yard, Curtis Bay, Maryland
Operators: United States Coast Guard
Sri Lanka Navy
Colombian Navy Coast Guard
Built: 1962–1968
In commission: 1964–present
Completed: 16
Active: 16
General characteristics
Displacement: 1,127.2 long tons (1,145 t) full load
Length: 210 ft 6 in (64.16 m) LOA
200 ft (61 m) LWL
Beam: 34 ft (10 m)
Draft: 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
Propulsion: 2 × 2,500 hp (1,864 kW) diesel engines
Speed: 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Range: 8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement: 75
Armament: 1 × 25 mm chain gun
2 × .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns
Aviation facilities: Helipad

 

The Reliance-class vessels have hull numbers in the range WMEC-615 through WMEC-630. Entering service between 1964 and 1969, the Reliance-class cutters were meant to replace the 165-foot (50 m) cutters of the Prohibition era and were the first major cutter replacement project since the 255-foot (78 m) Owasco-class cutters from World War II.

Ships in class

USCGC Diligence (WMEC-616) in 1965. Note the lack of exhaust stacks and the exhaust ports on the transom on the original design. Reliance class cutters would have the stack added during future overhauls.
Reliance class
Hull Number Name Status
WMEC-615 Reliance Active
WMEC-616 Diligence Active
WMEC-617 Vigilant Active
WMEC-618 Active Active
WMEC-619 Confidence Active
WMEC-620 Resolute Active
WMEC-621 Valiant Active
WMEC-622 Courageous Decommissioned
WMEC-623 Steadfast Active
WMEC-624 Dauntless Active
WMEC-625 Venturous Active
WMEC-626 Dependable Active
WMEC-627 Vigorous Active
WMEC-628 Durable Decommissioned
WMEC-629 Decisive Active
WMEC-630 Alert Active

Source

The information contained on this page is unclassified, approved for public dissemination and is released under CC-BY-SA Licensing Agreement.