USCGC Winslow Griesser

Delivering Winslow Griesser
History
United States
Name	USCGC Winslow Griesser
Namesake	Winslow W. Griesser
Operator	United States Coast Guard
Builder	Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana
Launched	December 23, 2015
Acquired	December 23, 2015[1]
Commissioned	March 11, 2016[2]
Homeport	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Identification	MMSI number: 338926416 Callsign: NDOD Hull number: WPC-1116
Motto	Fortitudo illimitatae (Strength without bounds)
Status	in active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Sentinel-class cutter
Displacement	353 long tons (359 t)
Length	46.8 m (154 ft)
Beam	8.11 m (26.6 ft)
Depth	2.9 m (9.5 ft)
Propulsion	2 × 4,300 kilowatts (5,800 shp) 1 × 75 kilowatts (101 shp) bow thruster
Speed	28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range	2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi)
Endurance	5 days
Boats & landing craft carried	1 × Short Range Prosecutor RHIB
Complement	2 officers, 20 crew
Sensors and processing systems	L-3 C4ISR suite
Armament	1 × Mk 38 Mod 2 25 mm automatic gun 4 × crew-served Browning M2 machine guns

USCGC Winslow Griesser (WPC-1116) was the sixteenth Sentinel-class cutter to be delivered.[3][4] She is the fourth of six Sentinel-class vessels to be stationed in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[5] Bollinger shipyards delivered her to the United States Coast Guard, in Key West, Florida, on December 23, 2015.[1] After she completed her acceptance trials, she was commissioned on March 11, 2016.[2]

Operational history

The Winslow Griesser participated in the multi-nation training exercise known as Tradewinds 2017 in June 2017.[6][7]

On August 8, 2022, the Winslow Griesser collided with the center console boat Desakata off of Dorado, Puerto Rico, causing the death of a fisherman in the smaller boat. The National Transportation Safety Board attributed the crash to neither vessel's crew seeing the other, and found that neither crew was "maintaining a proper lookout." A separate Coast Guard investigation found that the Desakata should have yielded the right of way to the Winslow Griesser, but that the cutter's crew could have prevented the incident if they had maintained a better lookout. As a result of the incident, the Winslow Griesser's commanding officer was relieved of his command.[8][9]

Namesake

Like all the vessels in her class, Winslow Griesser is named after an individual from the Coast Guard's past who has been recognized as a hero.[10][11] Winslow W. Griesser was the keeper of the United States Lifesaving Service's Buffalo Station, in 1900.[12] When he and his crew ventured out in stormy weather to rescue the crew of two scows they saw had overturned, their own surfboat overturned.[13] Nevertheless, Griesser and a companion tried to swim out, with a tow rope, to rescue survivors who were clinging tenuously to a pile. Griesser's companion was injured, and Griesser continued, alone. He reached the pile, and with great difficulty did rescue the sole remaining survivor. Griesser received the Gold Lifesaving Medal to recognize his exceptional bravery in this rescue.

References

1. "Acquisition Update: Sixteenth FRC Delivered To Coast Guard" (Press release). United States Coast Guard. 2015-12-24. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
2. "Coast Guard commissions Coast Guard Cutter Winslow Griesser". Coast Guard News. 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
3. "Bollinger Delivers The CGC Winslow Griesser, The 16th Fast Response Cutter To The USCG - Wednesday, December 23, 2015". Bollinger shipyards. 2015-12-23. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-03-02. The 154 foot patrol craft WINSLOW GRIESSER is the 16th vessel in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program.
4. "US Coast Guard receives 16th fast response cutter". Naval Today. Retrieved 2016-03-02. The Coast Guard is acquiring 58 FRCs to replace the 110-foot Island-class patrol boats. The FRCs are designed for missions including drug and migrant interdiction; ports, waterways and coastal security; search and rescue; and national defense.
5. "Coast Guard accepts delivery of fast response cutter Winslow Griesser". Coast Guard News. 2015-12-28. Retrieved 2016-03-02. Fourteen FRCs are in service: six in Miami; six in Key West, Florida; and two in San Juan. The 15th FRC, the Joseph Napier, was delivered in October and is scheduled for commissioning in San Juan in January 2016.
6. Renee Seruntine (2017-06-08). "Connecticut resident participates in Caribbean exercise Tradewinds". St. Michael, Barbados: Defense video imagery distribution system. Retrieved 2017-06-10. Seaman Mia Mauro and Petty Officer 2nd Class John Leo, both stationed aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Winslow Griesser, prepare for a joint gunnery exercise during Tradewinds 2017 off the coast of Bridgetown, Barbados, June 8, 2017.
7. Melissa Leake (2017-06-09). "Coast Guard Cutter Winslow Griesser participates in Tradewinds 2017 joint gunnery exercise". Bridgetown, Barbados: Defense video imagery distribution system. Retrieved 2017-06-10. Seaman Mia Mauro and Petty Officer 2nd Class John Leo, both stationed aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Winslow Griesser, prepare for a joint gunnery exercise during Tradewinds 2017 off the coast of Bridgetown, Barbados, June 8, 2017.
8. Moore, Kirk. "NTSB faults inadequate lookout in fatal Coast Guard cutter collision with fishing boat". National Fisherman. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
9. Kime, Patricia (10 July 2023). "Speed, Blind Spots Cited as Contributing Factors in Deadly Accident Involving Coast Guard Cutter". Military.com. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
10. Stephanie Young (2010-10-27). "Coast Guard Heroes". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 2012-11-27. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
11. "Acquisition Update: Coast Guard Unveils Names of FRCs 16-25". US Coast Guard. 2014-02-27. Archived from the original on September 26, 2014. Retrieved 2016-12-15. The Coast Guard recently announced the names of 10 Sentinel-Class Fast Response Cutters (WPCs 1116-1125) through a series of posts on its official blog, the Coast Guard Compass. Like the first 15 ships in the class, each ship will honor a Coast Guard enlisted hero.
12. "Bollinger delivers FRC Winslow Griesser". Marine Log. 2015-12-23. Retrieved 2016-03-02. Winslow W. Griesser, Keeper of the Buffalo Life-Saving Station in New York, was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal on February 23, 1901 for his heroic actions during a dramatic rescue on November 21, 1900.
13. Christopher Havern (2014-01-14). "Coast Guard Heroes: Winslow W. Griesser". US Coast Guard. Retrieved 2016-03-02. Once on the beach Griesser saw that a man from one of the scows was hanging onto a pile. As use of a boat was impracticable, Griesser decided to swim out with a line accompanied by a surfman.