 Roanoke Island moored in Homer, Alaska | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Roanoke Island |
| Namesake | Roanoke Island, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Operator | United States Coast Guard |
| Builder | Bollinger Shipyard |
| Cost | Approx. $7 Million |
| Commissioned | 7 February 1992 |
| Out of service | 6 April 2015 |
| Homeport | Homer, Alaska |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Transferred to Costa Rica |
| Badge |
|
 Costa Rica | |
| Name | General José María Cañas Escamilla |
| Namesake | José María Cañas Escamilla |
| Operator | Costa Rica Navy |
| Acquired | 13 October 2017 |
| Status | Active as of 2018 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Island-class patrol boat |
| Displacement | 164 tons |
| Length | 110 ft (34 m) |
| Beam | 21 ft (6.4 m) |
| Draft | 6.5 ft (2.0 m) |
| Propulsion | Twin Turbo Charged Diesel Caterpillar |
| Speed | 30+ knots |
| Range | 9,900 miles |
| Endurance | 6 days |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 1 - RHI (90 HP outboard engine) |
| Complement | 18 personnel (3 officers, 15 enlisted) |
| Armament |
|
The USCGC Roanoke Island is the 46th Island class cutter to be commissioned.[1] She was commissioned in Homer, Alaska, on February 7, 1992. Five other Island Class cutters are based in Alaska.[2] Her primary missions include "search and rescue, fisheries enforcement and homeland security."[3]
In 2010 the Roanoke rescued a fishing vessel called Wahoo, when it became disabled during bad weather near Pearl Island.[4]
On October 25, 2012, following a 135-day refit in a drydock in Ketchikan, Coast Guard Alaska explained the refit would allow the vessel to remain service until she was replaced by a new Sentinel class cutter.[5] Nevertheless, the Homer News reported that the Roanoke would leave Homer by the end of June, 2015, for her decommissioning in Baltimore, Maryland.[6][7] A sister ship, the Sapelo, previously stationed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, will replace her. The Sapelo will be freed up as the Island class cutters in San Juan are replaced by new Sentinel class cutters.
On June 4, 2015, Roanoke Island was decommissioned at a ceremony held in homeport of Homer, Alaska. The ship was then transferred to the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Maryland for disposal.[8]
On October 13, 2017, Roanoke Island was transferred to Costa Rica.[9] After refitting through the State Department's Foreign Military Sales program, she was recommissioned General Juan Rafael Mora Porras (GC110-1).[10]
USCGC Roanoke Island (WPB 1346) was the 46th Island Class cutter to join the Coast Guard fleet and is named after and island located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina between Pamlico Sound and Albemarle Sound.
Roanoke Island is named for an island off the coast of North Carolina. There are five additional 110-foot Island Class patrol boats based in Alaska: the Anacapa in Petersburg, the Liberty in Juneau, the Mustang in Seward, the Long Island in Valdez and the Naushon in Ketchikan.
The crew's primary missions include search and rescue, fisheries enforcement and homeland security.
The 110-foot Island-class patrol boat, homeported in Homer, Alaska, just completed a major, 135-day long, maintenance overhaul at the Coast Guard dry dock in Ketchikan. This overhaul updated the ships systems to ensure it can continue to meet its mission requirements until its scheduled replacement by one of the Coast Guard's new fast response cutters.
Homer won't lose the 18 crewmembers and their families, however. An Island Class patrol boat, the 110-foot Roanoke Island will be replaced in Homer by a sister ship, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Sapelo, now stationed in Sector San Juan, Puerto Rico.
After 23 years of service, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Roanoke Island ends its tour of duty. Sometime soon it will sail away to be decommissioned at the Coast Guard Yard, Baltimore, Md. A farewell ceremony was Thursday at the Homer Elks Lodge.
Media related to USCGC Roanoke Island (WPB-1346) at Wikimedia Commons
