US Coast Guard Breaks Ground For $35Mln Expansion Of California Base

Construction to expand a base in the state of California to service two new of offshore patrol cutters will begin with a ceremony this week, the US Coast Guard said on Tuesday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th July, 2021) Construction to expand a base in the state of California to service two new of offshore patrol cutters will begin with a ceremony this week, the US Coast Guard said on Tuesday.

"With the addition of the two new offshore patrol cutters, the base will require more space and staff to support the growing fleet," a Coast Guard press release said. "The state-of-the-art ships are scheduled to replace the service's 270-foot and 210-foot medium endurance cutters, and will be used to patrol the open ocean."

The $35 million, 11,500-square-foot Naval Engineering Department facility will support the 360-foot Coast Guard Cutter Argus and Coast Guard Cutter Chase.

The vessels now under construction are slated to arrive in late 2022/early 2023, the release said.

The Coast Guard is scheduled to break ground Wednesday on the facility at Base Los Angeles/Long Beach in the California city of San Pedro on Wednesday, the release added.

The expanded base will be home to the Argus and Chase. The vessels will join the base's four 154-foot fast response cutters - Forrest Rednour, Robert Ward, Terrell Horne and Benjamin Bottoms - and the 175-foot buoy tender George Cobb, according to the release.