Pacific patrol: USCG's new fast response cutter to join fleet homeported in Guam
- Admin
- 34 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Pacific Island Times News Staff
The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday commissioned its newest fast response cutter, USCGC Vincent Danz (WPC 1162), which will be homeported in Guam to patrol the Pacific island region.
Named in honor of a 9/11 hero, the 62nd Sentinel-class fast response cutter officially entered service with U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam. It is the fourth of five fast response cutters to be deployed to Guam.
“The Coast Guard Cutter Vincent Danz will perform the Coast Guard's vital work across Oceania—projecting U.S. presence, countering illicit maritime activity and strengthening our international partnerships," said Vice Adm. Thomas Allan, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard.
“Vincent Danz’s legacy will live on not only through his family and his brothers and sisters in the NYPD, but through the Coast Guard crew who will breathe life into this cutter today,” Allan said, presiding over the commissioning ceremony in New York City, with members of the Danz family in attendance.
Angela Donohue, widow of the late Vincent Danz, sponsored the cutter.
Officials said the Vincent Danz is a multi-mission platform that will primarily conduct maritime security operations, combat illegal activity, and support search-and-rescue missions in Micronesia and Melanesia, as part of the goal to strengthen partnerships with Pacific island nations and allies.
Fast response cutters feature advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment, as well as over-the-horizon cutter boat deployment capability, enhancing the drvice’s ability to control, secure, and defend U.S. borders and maritime approaches.
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The cutter’s namesake, Vincent Danz, was serving in the New York City Police Department, Emergency Services Unit, ESU Truck 3, when he responded to the World Trade Center as part of a massive emergency response and was killed when the World Trade Center collapsed.
He was posthumously awarded the New York City Police Department’s Medal of Honor for his heroic deeds. He was a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and joined the New York City Police Department in 1987, while continuing to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve as a Port Security Specialist 2nd Class.
As a U.S. Coast Guard reservist, Danz understood the meaning of service to country and community. His courage in the face of unimaginable danger and his dedication to saving others made him a hero not only to New York City but to the nation. This cutter honors his memory and the legacy of all first responders who gave their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.
The Vincent Danz will join the Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139), Oliver Henry (WPC 1140), and Frederick Hatch (WPC 1143), all of which were commissioned in Guam.
Since their 2021 commissioning, Guam's FRC crews have distinguished themselves across the region, most recently responding to the impacts of Super Typhoon Sinlaku on communities in the Marianas. USCGC Myrtle Hazard’s crew became the first to operationalize the bilateral maritime law enforcement agreement with Papua New Guinea, conducting joint patrols and boardings in 2023.
USCGC Oliver Henry’s crew saved around a dozen mariners in the Federated States of Micronesia, delivered humanitarian assistance during the Yap drought, and towed the 500-ton yacht Black Pearl to Palau, rescuing 11 people in 2024. USCGC Frederick Hatch became the first FRC to visit several Pacific ports, including Tacloban, Philippines, for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and the crew operationalized the enhanced bilateral agreement with Palau in 2024.
The U.S. Coast Guard ordered a series of new fast response cutters to replace the 1980s-era Island-class 110-foot patrol boats. Using the $25 billion provided by the historic Fiscal Year 2025 budget reconciliation, which includes $1 billion for additional FRCs, the Coast Guard has already ordered over $13 billion in new fleet assets and capabilities.
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