USCGC Alligator

USCGC Alligator
Coast Guard crew members unloading packages from a white patrol boat at a pier
Alligator's crew during a drug offload at Sector St. Petersburg in November 2014
History
United States
NameAlligator
NamesakeAlligator
OperatorUnited States Coast Guard
BuilderBollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana
Sponsored byPatricia Mica
CommissionedMarch 9, 2009
Home portSt. Petersburg, Florida
IdentificationHull number: WPB-87372
StatusIn active service
General characteristics
Class & typeMarine Protector-class patrol boat
Length87 ft (27 m)
Complement11 (2009)

USCGC Alligator (WPB-87372) is an 87-foot (27 m) Marine Protector-class of the United States Coast Guard, based at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg, Florida. Commissioned in March 2009, it patrols the west coast of Florida as well as the Gulf of Mexico. Its missions include search and rescue, law enforcement, drug and migrant interdiction, marine environmental protection and homeland security. It is the fifth commissioned U.S. vessel to bear the name Alligator and was ceremonially adopted by the University of Florida Gators.

Design

Alligator is one of the Marine Protector-class coastal patrol boats built for the Coast Guard by Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, Louisiana, under a contract first awarded on March 13, 1996. It was one of the last boats of the class. The final boat, Sea Fox (WPB-87374), was delivered in May 2009 and completed the contract. The class replaced the older 82-foot Point-class cutters.

Service history

Alligator was commissioned at a ceremony at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg on March 9, 2009. The keynote speaker was U.S. Representative John Mica, a University of Florida graduate and the Republican leader of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. His wife, Patricia Mica, was the cutter's sponsor. Rear Admiral Steve Branham, commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District and an executive of Bollinger Shipyards also attended. Mica called the cutter "a welcome asset for Sector St. Petersburg, one of the Coast Guard's busiest and most active commands".

As part of the University of Florida's adoption, the cutter's flag box carries a Gator graphic. More than two dozen UF alumni attended the ceremony, along with the mascots Albert and Alberta. The adoption was at no cost to the university. Lieutenant (junior grade) Andrew Vicks was the first commanding officer. Alligator joined the patrol boats Nantucket, Ocracoke and Crocodile in the Sector St. Petersburg fleet.

Deepwater Horizon oil spill

In June 2010 Alligator was one of many Coast Guard vessels sent to the Gulf of Mexico in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Operations

On November 13, 2014, Alligator's crew offloaded seized drugs at Sector St. Petersburg. On January 31, 2015, the cutter patrolled Tampa's annual Gasparilla parade, working with the Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and local police to keep the waterway safe.

On February 11, 2015, the 45-foot (14 m) commercial fishing vessel Christie Sea broke down about 98 miles (158 km) northwest of Tampa Bay while towing another fishing vessel, the Shamrock. An engineer from Alligator tried to repair the disabled boat, and the cutter then towed both vessels in tandem.

On the evening of November 12, 2015, a passenger went overboard from the cruise ship Norwegian Pearl in the Yucatán Channel, about 22 nautical miles off the coast of Cuba. The ship had been chartered for an electronic dance music festival. Alligator and a C-130 aircrew from Air Station Clearwater took part in the search. The search was suspended on November 14 after more than 600 square nautical miles had been covered, with no sign of the woman.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Rep. Mica Speaks at Commissioning of Latest Coast Guard Cutter, ALLIGATOR" (Press release). House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Republican staff. March 9, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2026 – via LegiStorm.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "The Gator Nation is everywhere – including the high seas". University of Florida News. April 7, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Coast Guard Cutter Alligator conducts drug offload in St. Petersburg, Fla. [Image 1 of 3]". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. November 13, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Bollinger Shipyards Celebrates Success". MarineLink. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  5. ↑ "87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat (WPB) – Marine Protector Class". U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  6. ↑ "U.S. Coast Guard gains new cutter". American Shipper. FreightWaves. March 9, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  7. ↑ Ameen, Nick (June 17, 2010). "Alligator returns, Marlin heads out". www.gosanangelo.com. U.S Coast Guard. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Coast Guard Cutter Alligator conducts drug offload in St. Petersburg, Fla. [Image 2 of 3]". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. November 13, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary, local law enforcement partner for Gasparilla safety [Image 1 of 2]". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. January 31, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Coast Guard tows 2 boats 98 miles northwest of Tampa Bay, Fla. [Image 1 of 3]". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. February 11, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Coast Guard tows 2 boats 98 miles northwest of Tampa Bay, Florida [Image 3 of 3]". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. February 11, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Coast Guard Searching For Woman Who Fell From Cruise Ship Off Cuba's Coast". CBS Miami. November 12, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  13. ↑ Johnson, Alex (November 13, 2015). "Coast Guard Searches for Woman Who Fell From Music Festival Cruise Ship Near Cuba". NBC News. Retrieved November 11, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Coast Guard calls off search for woman who went overboard on cruise ship". Fox News. Associated Press. November 15, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2026.