USCGC Winslow Griesser

USCGC Winslow Griesser (WPC-1116) was the sixteenth Sentinel-class cutter to be delivered.^[3][4] She is the fourth of six Sentinel-class vessels to be stationed in San Juan, Puerto Rico.^[5] Bollinger shipyards delivered her to the United States Coast Guard, in Key West, Florida, on December 23, 2015.^[1] After she completed her acceptance trials, she was commissioned on March 11, 2016.^[2]

Delivering Winslow Griesser
History
United States
Name	USCGC Winslow Griesser
Namesake	Winslow W. Griesser
Operator	United States Coast Guard
Builder	Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana
Launched	December 23, 2015
Acquired	December 23, 2015[1]
Commissioned	March 11, 2016[2]
Homeport	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Identification	MMSI number: 338926416 Callsign: NDOD Hull number: WPC-1116
Motto	Fortitudo illimitatae (Strength without bounds)
Status	in active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class & type	Sentinel-class cutter
Displacement	353 long tons (359 t)
Length	46.8 m (154 ft)
Beam	8.11 m (26.6 ft)
Depth	2.9 m (9.5 ft)
Propulsion	2 × 4,300 kilowatts (5,800 shp) 1 × 75 kilowatts (101 shp) bow thruster
Speed	28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range	2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi)
Endurance	5 days
Boats & landing craft carried	1 × Short Range Prosecutor RHIB
Complement	2 officers, 20 crew
Sensors & processing systems	L-3 C4ISR suite
Armament	1 × Mk 38 Mod 2 25 mm automatic gun 4 × crew-served Browning M2 machine guns

Operational history

The Winslow Griesser participated in the multi-nation training exercise known as Tradewinds 2017 in June 2017.^[6][7]

On August 8, 2022, the Winslow Griesser collided with the center console boat Desakata off of Dorado, Puerto Rico, causing the death of a fisherman in the smaller boat. The National Transportation Safety Board attributed the crash to neither vessel's crew seeing the other, and found that neither crew was "maintaining a proper lookout." A separate Coast Guard investigation found that the Desakata should have yielded the right of way to the Winslow Griesser, but that the cutter's crew could have prevented the incident if they had maintained a better lookout. As a result of the incident, the Winslow Griesser's commanding officer was relieved of his command.^[8][9]

Namesake

Like all the vessels in her class, Winslow Griesser is named after an individual from the Coast Guard's past who has been recognized as a hero.^[10][11] Winslow W. Griesser was the keeper of the United States Lifesaving Service's Buffalo Station in 1900.^[12] When he and his crew ventured out in stormy weather to rescue the crew of two scows they saw had overturned, their own surfboat overturned.^[13] Nevertheless, Griesser and a companion tried to swim out, with a tow rope, to rescue survivors who were clinging tenuously to a pile. Griesser's companion was injured, and Griesser continued, alone. He reached the pile, and with great difficulty did rescue the sole remaining survivor. Griesser received the Gold Lifesaving Medal to recognize his exceptional bravery in this rescue.