USCG transfers cutters to Costa Rica

The US Coast Guard (USCG) has transferred two former cutters - Long Island and Roanoke Island - to the Costa Rican Coast Guard, the USCG announced on 16 October.

The cutters are the fifth and sixth 110ft patrol boats to be transferred to a foreign partner nation under the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) programme.

Under a foreign military sales programme, the USCG will provide new equipment to outfit the cutters, and technical and training services, before the Costa Rican Coast Guard sails the cutters from the coast guard yard in Curtis Bay, Maryland, to reach Costa Rica in spring 2018.

Each patrol boat transfer saves the USCG money in remediation and disposal costs. EDA transfers also help build and sustain international partnerships in support of the US national maritime strategy and promote regional and global maritime safety and security.

Long Island and Roanoke Island were previously based in Alaska and were decommissioned in 2015. The multimission Island-class patrol boats entered service in the mid-1980s; 23 of the 49 cutters originally in the class remain in service. They are being replaced with 58 154ft fast response cutters.