USCGC ''Earl Cunningham'' (WPC-1159) is the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

's 59th

cutter Cutter may refer to: Tools * Bolt cutter * Box cutter * Cigar cutter * Cookie cutter * Cutter (hydraulic rescue tool) * Glass cutter * Meat cutter * Milling cutter * Paper cutter * Pizza cutter * Side cutter People * Cutter (surname) * Cutt ...

. She supports multiple Coast Guard missions including port, waterway and coastal security, fishery patrols, drug and illegal immigrant law enforcement, search and rescue, and national defense operations. She was launched in 2025. The ship is based in

Kodiak, Alaska Kodiak (Alutiiq language, Alutiiq: ) is the main city and one of seven communities on Kodiak Island in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska, Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. All commercial transportation between the island's communities and the outside ...

Namesake

Each cutter in the Sentinel class is named after an enlisted hero. The ship's namesake is Earl Cunningham, an off-duty Coast Guardsman who gave his life trying to rescue stranded mariners in

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

Construction and characteristics

The Coast Guard's Island-class cutters were launched between 1986 and 1992. On 26 September 2008 the Coast Guard awarded a contract to

Bollinger Shipyards Bollinger Shipyards is an American constructor of ships, workboats and patrol vessels. Its thirteen shipyards and forty drydocks are located in Louisiana and Texas. Its drydocks range in capacity from vessels of 100 tons displacement to 22,000 t ...

for the lead ship in the Sentinel class which would replace the aging Island class. This contract included options to build an additional 33 ships. The Coast Guard exercised all the options and, in May 2016, awarded Bollinger a new contract with options for 26 more of the cutters, including ''Earl Cunningham''. The average cost of the ships under contract at that point was approximately $65 million. ''Earl Cunningham'' was built by Bollinger Shipyards in

Lockport, Louisiana Lockport is a town on Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,490 in 2020. It is part of the Houma, Louisiana, Houma–Bayou Cane, Louisiana, Bayou Cane–Thibodaux, ...

. On 6 March 2025, she was delivered to the Coast Guard at

Key West, Florida Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Islan ...

. ''Earl Cunningham'' is long, with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of , and a full-load

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of . She displaces 353 tons when fully loaded. Her hull is built of welded steel plates, while her superstructure is made of aluminum. The ship is propelled by two Tier II 20-cylinder mtu 20 V 4000 M93L

Diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s which produce 5,676

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

each. These drive two six-bladed fixed-pitch propellers. This propulsion package gives her a continuous cruising speed of 28 knots. Her fuel tanks hold over giving ''Earl Cunningham'' an unrefueled range of 2,500 nautical miles at 15 knots. The ship is equipped with a Schottel STT 60K

bow thruster Manoeuvering thrusters (bow thrusters and stern thrusters) are transversal propulsion devices built into or mounted to either the Bow (watercraft), bow or stern (front or back, respectively) of a ship or boat to make it more manoeuvrable. Bow th ...

. Electrical power aboard is provided by two main ship-service generators and an emergency generator. The two ship service generators are

Cummins Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, electric vehicle components, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipmen ...

QSM-11-DM Diesel engines driving Stanford 317 Kw generators. The emergency unit, which is housed in a separate room, is a Cummins 6BTA5.9-DM Diesel engine driving a Stanford 93 Kw generator. The ship is equipped with Quantum QC1500 fin stabilizers to reduce rolling. Potable water can be produced from seawater with an onboard desalination plant. Satellite television is available in the crew mess area. She is armed with a remotely-controlled, gyro-stabilized Mark 38 25 mm autocannon, four crew served

M2 Browning machine gun The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chamber ...

s, and light arms. ''Earl Cunningham'', like all the Sentinel-class cutters, is equipped with a

stern launching ramp Some modern patrol vessels are equipped with a stern launching ramp, or simply launching ramp, for deploying smaller rescue or pursuit boats without requiring the parent ship to first come to a halt. Typically the smaller craft are powered b ...

, that allows her to launch and retrieve a -long Over-the-Horizon cutter boat without first coming to a stop. Her cutter boat is useful for inspecting other vessels, and deploying boarding parties. As its top speed is 40 knots, it can pursue vessels which attempt to flee. It is equipped with an inboard Diesel engine which propels the boat by a jet drive. ''Earl Cunningham'' has a crew of 24 men and women. The Sentinel class was designed to accommodate mixed-gender crews, with small staterooms rather than large bunk rooms and individual heads. The captain and executive officer have private staterooms.

Achievements

On its initial voyage to Kodiak, Alaska, the ''Earl Cunningham'' officially relieved the final Island Class Patrol Boats.

Here’s the transcript from the at-sea relief ceremony:

CUNNINGHAM: Coast Guard Cutters Naushon, Liberty and Mustang — from the Coast Guard Cutter Earl Cunningham: Thank you to your crews for all those present, past for nearly 4 decades of service to our nation. It is an honor to take over the watch.

FINAL 110s: …Coast Guard Cutter Earl Cunningham… Cutters Naushon, Liberty and Mustang stand ready to be relieved.

CUNNINGHAM: Coast Guard Cutters Naushon, Liberty, and Mustang — from the Earl Cunningham, we offer our relief.

FINAL 110s: Coast Guard Cutter Earl Cunningham from the Naushon, Liberty and Mustang on behalf of all former Island Class Patrol Boats — we stand relieved. Fair winds and following seas in keeping the coast clear in the last frontier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Earl Cunningham (WPC-1159) 2025 ships Ships of the United States Coast Guard Ships built in Louisiana Sentinel-class cutters