USCGC Oliver Berry

USCGC Oliver Berry (WPC-1124) is the United States Coast Guard's 24th Sentinel-class cutter. She was the first member of the three members of her class to be homeported in Honolulu, Hawaii.^[3]

Oliver Berry arrives in her new homeport, Honolulu
History
United States
Name	Oliver Berry
Namesake	Oliver F. Berry
Operator	United States Coast Guard
Builder	Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana
Launched	June 27, 2017
Acquired	June 27, 2017[1]
Commissioned	October 31, 2017[2]
Homeport	Honolulu, Hawaii
Identification	MMSI number: 338926424 Callsign: NOBY
Motto	Nā kia'i o nā mokupuni, "Protector of the Islands"
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 kW (5,800 shp) 1 × 75 kW (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 × Cutter Boat - Over the Horizon Interceptor
Complement	4 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

Design

Like her sister ships, Oliver Berry is designed to perform search and rescue missions, port security, and the interception of smugglers.^[4] She is armed with a remotely controlled, gyrostabilized 25 mm autocannon, four crew-served M2 Browning machine guns, and light arms. She is equipped with a stern launching ramp, that allows her to launch or retrieve a water-jet propelled high-speed auxiliary boat, without first coming to a stop. Her high-speed boat has over-the-horizon capability, and is useful for inspecting other vessels, and deploying boarding parties. She is designed to support her crew of 24 for missions of up to five days, over distances of almost 3,000 nautical miles (5,556 km; 3,452 mi).

Operational history

In 2018 Oliver Berry set a record when it made a 4,400-nautical-mile (8,100 km) voyage to the Marshall Islands.^[5]

In July 2018 Oliver Berry set off for the Marshall Islands, a voyage of 4,400 nautical miles (8,100 km).^[5] Since this exceeded her maximum endurance she was refueled by other Coast Guard cutters. She was the first Sentinel-class cutter to travel that far from the United States's territorial waters, and the first Sentinel-class cutter to travel on a voyage of that length. It took eight days to travel from Hawaii to Majuro Atoll, in the Marshall Islands.

When she arrived her crew engaged in joint exercises with RMIS Lomor, a Marshall Islands' patrol vessel of similar size to Oliver Berry.^[5] Her crew also engaged in various forms of cultural exchange with Marshall Islands citizens.

In July 2022, Oliver Berry provided assistance to Kiritimati Island, Kiribati, following their extreme drought.

Namesake

Oliver F. Berry 1908-1991

In 2010, Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, who was then the United States Coast Guard's most senior non-commissioned officer, proposed that all 58 cutters in the Sentinel class should be named after enlisted sailors in the Coast Guard, or one of its precursor services, who were recognized for their heroism.^[6][7] In 2015 the Coast Guard announced that Oliver F. Berry, an aviation pioneer, who played a key role in shipping and using helicopters for a maritime search and rescue, would be the namesake of the 24th cutter.^[8]

References

1. "Coast Guard Accepts 24th Fast Response Cutter" (Press release). United States Coast Guard. 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
2. "Coast Guard commissions Cutter Oliver Berry in Hawaii". Coast Guard News. 2017-11-01. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
3. "US Coast Guard receives 26th fast response cutter 'Joseph Gerczak'". Naval Today. 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
4. "FRC Plan B: The Sentinel Class". Defense Industry Daily. 2014-05-02. Archived from the original on 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2014-04-03. All of these boats will be named after enlisted Coast Guard heroes, who distinguished themselves in USCG or military service. The first 25 have been named, but only 8 have been commissioned...
5. Amanda Levasseur, Sara Muir (2018-08-01). "USCGC Oliver Berry crew sets new horizons for cutter operations". Dvidshub. Retrieved 2018-08-09. In July Oliver Berry's crew set a new milestone by deploying over the horizon to the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The 4,400 nautical mile trip marked marking the furthest deployment of an FRC to date for the Coast Guard and is the first deployment of its kind in the Pacific.
6. Susan Schept (2010-03-22). "Enlisted heroes honored". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 2011-12-03. Retrieved 2013-02-01. After the passing of several well-known Coast Guard heroes last year, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles "Skip" Bowen mentioned in his blog that the Coast Guard does not do enough to honor its fallen heroes.
7. "U.S. Coast Guard announces name for first Sentinel-class cutter". 2010-03-22. Archived from the original on 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2013-02-01. Previously designated to be named the Coast Guard Cutter Sentinel, the cutter Bernard C. Webber will be the first of the service's new 153-foot patrol cutters. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen approved the change of the cutter's name to allow this class of vessels to be named after outstanding enlisted members who demonstrated exceptional heroism in the line of duty. This will be the first class of cutters to be named exclusively for enlisted members of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services.
8. "Acquisition Update: Coast Guard Reveals Names of FRCs 26-35". US Coast Guard. 2015-02-27. Archived from the original on 2015-03-05. Retrieved 2017-03-25. The Coast Guard recently announced the names of the 26th through 35th Sentinel-class fast response cutters through a series of posts on its official blog, the Coast Guard Compass.