USCGC James

USCGC James (WMSL-754) is the fifth Legend-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard.

USCGC James

James arriving in Boston for her commissioning August 8, 2015.
History
United States
Name	James
Namesake	Joshua James
Awarded	September 9, 2011
Builder	Huntington Ingalls Industries, Pascagoula, Mississippi, U.S.
Cost	$482.8 Million
Laid down	May 17, 2013
Launched	May 3, 2014
Sponsored by	Charlene Benoit
Christened	August 16, 2014
Acquired	June 15, 2015[1]
Commissioned	August 8, 2015[2]
Homeport	Charleston, South Carolina
Identification	MMSI number: 368884000 Callsign: NJAM
Status	In service
Badge
General characteristics
Displacement	4500 LT
Length	418 ft (127 m)
Beam	54 ft (16 m)
Height	140 ft (43 m)
Draft	22.5 ft (6.9 m)
Decks	4
Propulsion	Combined diesel and gas
Speed	28+ knots
Range	12,000 nm
Endurance	60 days
Complement	111 (15 Officers, 15 CPO, 81 Enlisted) and can carry up to 148 depending on mission[3]
Sensors & processing systems	EADS 3D TRS-16 AN/SPS-75 Air Search Radar SPQ-9B Fire Control Radar AN/SPS-79 Surface Search Radar AN/SLQ-32
Electronic warfare & decoys	AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare System 2 SRBOC/ 2 x NULKA countermeasures chaff/rapid decoy launcher
Armament	1 x MK 110 57mm gun a variant of the Bofors 57 mm gun and Gunfire Control System 1 × 20 mm Block 1B Phalanx Close-In Weapons System 4 × .50 caliber machine guns 2 × M240B 7.62 mm machine guns
Armor	Ballistic protection for main gun
Aircraft carried	2 x MH-65C Dolphin MCH, or 4 x VUAV or 1 x MH-65C Dolphin MCH and 2 x VUAV
Aviation facilities	50-by-80-foot (15 m × 24 m) flight deck, hangar for all aircraft

Etymology

USCGC James is named for Joshua James (1826–1902), an American sea captain and a U.S. Life-Saving Service station keeper credited with saving over 600 lives.^[4]

History

USCGC James pulls into Boston Harbor in August 2015

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi was awarded the $482.8 million construction contract September 9, 2011.^[5] Construction officially began May 14, 2012 with the ceremony marking the cutting of the first 100 tons of steel.^[6] The keel was laid on May 17, 2013.^[7] The cutter's sponsor is James' great great niece, Charlene Benoit. She is the great grand daughter of Joshua James' brother, Samuel James.^[8]

James was launched on May 3, 2014. She was christened August 16, 2014 and was commissioned in Boston on August 8, 2015.^[2][9]

James served as a command and control platform in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sept. 25, 2017. The cutter's crew deployed to aid in Hurricane Maria response operations and the ship's communications capabilities were used to help first responders coordinate efforts on the island.^[10]

On August 8, 2022, James was damaged when the cutter ran aground while underway. After an investigation Captain Marc Brandt was permanently relieved of duties as the commanding officer of James.^[11]

In April 2024, James will deploy to Argentina for training exercise against illegal fishing with the Prefectura Naval Argentina^[12] but all of this lacks the authorization of Argentine Congress, required by law 25,880 on the entry of foreign military personnel. The ship that arrived in Buenos Aires on April 29, 2024 does not have authorization from Argentine Congress, as required by law, although there are controversies about this interpretation of the law .^[13]

See also

• Legend-class cutter
• USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750)
• USCGC Waesche (WMSL-751)
• USCGC Stratton (WMSL-752)
• USCGC Hamilton (WMSL-753)
• Integrated Deepwater System Program