US Coast Guard accepts delivery of 62nd Fast Response Cutter named for 9/11

 Lt. Cmdr. Brendan Kelley (left), commanding officer of USCGC Vincent Danz, looks on as Allen Harker (right), contracting officer for the Fast Response Cutter Project, signs the acceptance of the cutter during a ceremony in Key West, Florida, on Feb. 26, 2026.  Photo courtesy of USCG

(USCG) The U.S. Coast Guard accepted delivery of the 62nd Fast Response Cutter, USCGC Vincent Danz (WPC 1162), on Thursday in Key West.

The Vincent Danz is the fourth FRC to be homeported to Guam.

"Accepting delivery of the Vincent Danz, Guam’s newest Fast Response Cutter, demonstrates the Coast Guard’s enduring commitment to the security of our Nation, the Pacific, and our partners throughout Oceania," said Capt. Jessica Worst, commander, Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam. "Vincent Danz exemplified selfless service as a New York firefighter and Coast Guard reservist. This cutter will honor his legacy by protecting lives, combating illicit activity, and ensuring maritime security of our coasts, across Micronesia and beyond."

The Sentinel-class FRCs replace the 1980s Island-class 110-foot patrol boats and possess 21st-century command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment, with improved habitability and seakeeping.

The U.S. Coast Guard ordered a total of 77 FRCs to date to perform a range of missions, including countering illicit maritime activities, search and rescue, bilateral and multilateral international operations, and the national defense of ports, waterways, and coastal areas.

Each FRC is named after an enlisted U.S. Coast Guard hero who performed extraordinary service in the line of duty. Vincent Danz was a New York City police officer and U.S. Coast Guard reservist who made the ultimate sacrifice on Sept. 11, 2001, while responding to the attacks on the World Trade Center. Danz 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 Coast Guard Reserve as a Port Security Specialist 2nd Class.

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. His actions that day embodied the Coast Guard's core values of honor, respect, and devotion to duty.

"It's an honor, and we're all incredibly proud to carry on the legacy of heroes like Vincent Danz,” said Petty Officer David Somera, the engineering petty officer and a proud son of Guam.

“This third time I’ve been part of such a commissioning crew, and there's a deeper appreciation for what it takes to bring a cutter to life. You start with this perfectly new ship, and it's our job as the first crew to turn it from a steel vessel into a living, breathing part of the Coast Guard. It's more than the mechanics; we’re building a team and a home that will serve and protect the people of Guam and the Pacific."

The FRCs homeported in the U.S. territory of Guam extend the U.S. Coast Guard and Oceania District's operational reach across the Pacific, conducting maritime security operations, combating illegal fishing, supporting search and rescue missions, and strengthening partnerships with Pacific Island nations and Allies. These cutter crews are essential to maintaining a safe, secure, and prosperous Pacific in one of the world's most expansive maritime regions.

Vincent Danz will join the Myrtle Hazard (WPC 1139), Oliver Henry (WPC 1140), and Frederick Hatch (WPC 1143), commissioned in 2021 in Guam. Since their 2021 commissioning, Guam's FRC crews distinguished themselves across the region.

USCGC Myrtle Hazard 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 saved 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 numerous Pacific ports, including Tacloban, Philippines, for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and operationalized the enhanced bilateral agreement with Palau in 2024. In the Marianas, the crews of all three cutters saved multiple lives, delivered critical supplies, and suppressed asymmetric migration.

Sixty-one FRCs are in service: 13 in Florida; seven in Puerto Rico; six each in Bahrain and Massachusetts; five in Alaska; four in California; three each in Hawaii, Guam, Texas, New Jersey, and Mississippi; and two each in North Carolina and Oregon.

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