USCGC Yellowfin

USCGC Yellowfin (WPB-87319) is an 87-foot (27 m) long Marine Protector-class patrol boat of the United States Coast Guard built by Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, Louisiana. She was the 19th vessel in her class, which was so successful that the Coast Guard commissioned 73 cutters.

History
United States
Name	USCGC Yellowfin
Homeport	Charleston, SC
Identification	Hull number: WPB-87319 MMSI number: 366999621 Callsign: NRKG
Status	in active service
General characteristics
Class & type	Marine Protector-class patrol boat
Displacement	91 long tons (92 t)
Length	87 ft 0 in (26.5 m)
Beam	19 ft 5 in (5.9 m)
Draft	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)
Propulsion	2 × MTU diesels
Speed	25 knots (46 km/h)
Range	900 nmi (1,700 km)
Endurance	5 days
Complement	10
Armament	2 × .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns

She is home-ported in Charleston, South Carolina.^[1]

Design

Like her sister ships she was designed for a crew of ten on missions of up to five days. She was designed for mixed-gender crews. Her modest armament is a pair of M2 Browning heavy machine guns. She was designed with a stern launching ramp that allows her to deploy and retrieve a high-speed pursuit boat without first coming to a stop. Only a single crew member is required to remain on deck when the pursuit boat is being launched or retrieved.

Operational history

In September 2017, Yellowfin was one of the 13 Coast Guard cutters that were tasked to assist Puerto Rico respond to Hurricane Maria.^[2][3]

On August 30, 2018, Yellowfin and USS Zephyr intercepted a go-fast boat carrying four drug smugglers from the Dominican Republic, and 32 kilograms (71 lb) of cocaine.^[1][4]

On November 30, 2018, Yellowfin took part in a remembrance ceremony in Charleston, South Carolina, for those lost in the wreck of the pleasure craft Morning Dew, which sank with all hands on December 29, 1997.^[5]