Cutter Hamilton Commissioned

The Coast Guard commissioned its newest national security cutter – the Hamilton – during a Dec. 8 ceremony in Charleston, S.C. Hamilton becomes the first vessel of tis class to be homeported on the East Coast. Displacing 100 tons and 418 feet in length, national security cutters like Hamilton are the largest and most modern vessels in the Coast Guard’s fleet. Hamilton and her sister ships are capable of 28-knot top speeds and conducting 90-day patrols, with a range of 12,000 nautical miles. The vessel and its crew are undergoing training and certification, and is expected to deploy on maritime law-enforcement missions sometime next year.