USCGC Richard Dixon (WPC-1113)
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USCGC ''Richard Dixon'' 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 thirteenth
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 2015 and is assigned to Coast Guard Sector San Juan. The ship arrived in her home port of
San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...
on June 24, 2015.


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 for an additional 33 ships, including ''Richard Dixon''. ''Richard Dixon'' 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 14 April 2015, 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 ...
. ''Richard Dixon'' was commissioned at a ceremony in
Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
on 20 June 2015. It was attended by Virginia Dixon, widow of the ship's namesake. ''Richard Dixon'' 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 engines The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the die ...
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 ''Florence Finch'' 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 guns, and light arms. ''Richard Dixon'', 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
rigid inflatable boat A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are ...
without first coming to a stop. Her cutter boat is useful for inspecting other vessels, and deploying boarding parties. It is equipped with an inboard Diesel engine which propels the boat by a jet drive. ''Richard Dixon'' 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.


Operational career

On September 20, 2015, ''Richard Dixon'' intercepted a "go fast" smuggling boat, near the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
, intercepting 41 bales of
marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
the smugglers had tried to jettison prior to their capture. In October 2015 the ship seized two loads of cocaine which weighed approximately and were valued at $44.2 million. On March 9, 2016, air elements of the
U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilita ...
agency requested ''Richard Dixon'' intercept a vessel with 25 refugees from the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
. The Coast Guard subjects every refugee to a biometric recording, enabling them to recognize them if they make subsequent attempts to reach the United States. One individual was transferred to the U.S. for possible prosecution, while the other 24 were repatriated. On April 2, 2016, ''Richard Dixon'' intercepted another small vessel from the Dominican Republic, carrying 20 refugees. Fourteen of the refugees were transferred to a Dominican naval vessel. Three of the remaining refugees were taken to the United States, for prosecution, because this was not their first attempt to enter the United States. The other three refugees were not Dominicans; they were believed to be from
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. They were taken to the U.S. to be repatriated later. On April 25, 2018, Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan diverted ''Richard Dixon'' to intercept a suspected vessel while Customs and Border Protection Caribbean Air and Marine Branch (CAMB) and Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action positioned marine units that were also ready to respond. ''Richard Dixon'' arrived on scene and interdicted the go-fast, detained the suspected smugglers, a U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico and a national of the Dominican Republic and seized multiple bales of contraband, which tested positive for cocaine. Two smugglers, 491.5 kilograms of cocaine and 9.2 kilograms of heroin worth an estimated wholesale value of 13.3 million were held. On August 9, 2018, ''Richard Dixon'' intercepted two yola type vessels from the Dominican Republic carrying a total of 56 refugees. One of the refugees was brought ashore by Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action while the rest were safely repatriated in the Dominican Republic. On December 24, 2018, ''Richard Dixon'' intercepted a suspected vessel. She arrived on scene and interdicted the go-fast, detained the suspected smugglers, four citizens of the Dominican Republic and seized multiple bales of contraband, which tested positive for cocaine. 210 kilograms of cocaine were seized worth an estimated wholesale value of 5 million dollars. On May 13, 2019, ''Richard Dixon'' intercepted a yola type vessel from the Dominican Republic carrying a total of 20 refugees. Four of the refugees were brought ashore by Customs and Border Protection while the rest were safely repatriated in the Dominican Republic.


Namesake

The vessel is named after Richard Dixon, a Coast Guard hero.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard Dixon (WPC-1113) Sentinel-class cutters Cutters 2015 ships Ships built in Lockport, Louisiana Ships of the United States Coast Guard