The Marine Protector class is a class of coastal patrol boats of the United States Coast Guard. The 87-foot-long vessels are based on the Stan 2600 design by Damen Group, and were built by Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, Louisiana. Each boat is named after sea creatures which fly or swim.
The Coast Guard placed its original order in 1999 for 50 boats, which were delivered by mid-2002. Several additional orders brought the class to a total of 74 ships, with the last, , being completed in October 2009. Four additional vessels were built for Foreign Military Sales, with two each going to Malta and Yemen.
In May 2021, the United States announced that it would send three ships to the Lebanese Navy
The Marine Protector class replaced the 82-foot which had smaller accommodations and had to stop to deploy its pursuit inflatable boat via crane. The last Point-class cutter was decommissioned in 2003.
In 2020, the Department of Homeland Security began to decommission the fleet, with 8 Marine Protector cutters replaced by newer Sentinel class cutters.
In May 2023, the United States government pledged to provide the Philippines at least two Marine Protector vessels, as well as two Island-class patrol boat and three Lockheed C-130H Hercules during President Bongbong Marcos' visit to Washington D.C. The transferred vessels will be operated by the Philippine Navy.
General characteristics
Missions include combating drug smuggling, illegal immigration, marine fisheries enforcement and search and rescue support. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks many have a homeland security mission in the form of ports waterways and coastal security (PWCS) patrols.
Boarding parties can be launched while the vessel is underway, through the cutter's stern launching ramp. The attached rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) has been upgraded in an effort to increase speed and sea state sustainability for boarding parties and rescue and assistance teams. The stern launching system requires only a single crew member to remain on deck to launch or retrieve the boarding party.
The vessels consume approximately 165 gallons of diesel per hour at their maximum speed of .
Like all new U.S. Coast Guard vessels, the Marine Protector class are designed to accommodate crews of mixed gender with five separate small berthing spaces accommodating standard crews of ten with maximum berthing for 12.
and are assigned to guard a United States Navy submarine base in Kings Bay, Georgia, while and guard another submarine base in Bangor, Washington. All mount an additional machine gun operated by remote control.