Response Boat – Medium

The Response Boat – Medium (RB-M) is a 45-foot (14 m) utility boat used by the United States Coast Guard. It is a replacement for the Coast Guard's retired fleet of 41-foot (12 m) utility boats (UTB), which had been in use by the Coast Guard since the 1970s. The Coast Guard plans to acquire 170[3] of these RB-Ms over a 6–10 year period.[4] The boats will be built by Vigor Industrial[5] of Kent, Washington and Marinette Marine Corporation of Marinette, Wisconsin.[6]

A US Coast Guard RB-M underway off Yorktown, Virginia
Class overview
Builders:

Vigor Industrial[1]

Marinette Marine Corporation
Operators:

United States Coast Guard

Canadian Coast Guard
Preceded by: 41-foot Utility Boat, Large
Planned: 170
Completed: 174
General characteristics
Displacement: 16.3 ton
Length: 44 ft 9 in (13.64 m)
Beam: 14 ft 7.75 in (4.4641 m)
Draft: 3 ft 4 in (1.02 m)
Installed power: 2 × MTU Detroit Diesel turbocharged Series 60 engines, 825 hp (615 kW) total
Propulsion: 2 × Rolls-Royce FF-Series waterjets
Speed:
  • 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) (cruise)
  • 42.5 knots (78.7 km/h; 48.9 mph) (max)
Range: 250 nmi (460 km; 290 mi) at 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement: 4
Armament: 2 × M240B general-purpose machine guns
The USCG Response Boat Medium (RBM) has replaced a fleet of 41-foot utility boats (UTBs) that averaged over 30-years of service[2]

In the summer of 2017, the Canadian Coast Guard purchased a used 45 RBM from the United States Coast Guard. It is based in Vancouver British Columbia using the callsign Coast Guard 158.

According to the US Coast Guard, "While primarily a search and rescue asset when the 41' UTB was first fielded, the evolution of missions has increased the requirement to perform many missions including recreational boating safety, marine environmental protection, enforcement of laws and treaties, ports, waterways, and coastal security, and defense operations, including those traditional missions associated with Homeland Security."[7]

On March 17, 2015, the U.S. Coast Guard received the 174th and final RB-M into service.[8]

General characteristics

The boat has a deep-V, double chine hull, which provides a balance of performance and stability. The vessel is self-righting if it capsizes in rough seas. Below the pilot house are six compartments:

(Sources:[9][10])

Electronics

Hull numbering

In keeping with standard USCG practice, boats of this size have hull numbers and are not named. This type of boat has a hull number beginning with the length of the boat (45′) and then a sequential number. In the case of the RB-M boats, the hull numbers begin with 601. Thus the first boat will be RB-M 45601.

Boats
45602 underway at Cape Disappointment, Washington. August 7, 2008
USCG RB-M 45604 patrolling Lake Michigan at Gary, Indiana, during an airshow
BoatStationDelivery date
45601Little Creek, VirginiaMarch 2008
45602Cape Disappointment, WashingtonAugust 2008
45603Key West, FloridaOctober 2008
45604Milwaukee, WisconsinOctober 2008
45605Staten Island, New YorkDecember 2008
45606Port Aransas, TexasJanuary 2009
45607Yorktown, VirginiaFebruary 2009
45608Boston, MassachusettsMarch 2009
45609San Juan, Puerto RicoMay 2009
45610Staten Island, New YorkJuly 2009
45611Port Aransas, TexasJuly 2009
45612Staten Island, New YorkAugust 2009
45613Maui, HawaiiSeptember 2009
45614Staten Island, New YorkAugust 2009
45615Little Creek, VirginiaNovember 2009
45616Staten Island, New YorkDecember 2009
45617Cortez, FloridaNovember 2009
45618Galveston, TexasJanuary 2010
45619Honolulu, HawaiiMarch 2010
45620Castle Hill, Rhode IslandNovember 2009
45621Panama City, FloridaJanuary 2010
45622Staten Island, New YorkDecember 2009
45623St. Petersburg, FloridaJune 2010
45624Cleveland Harbor, OhioApril 2010
45625Lake Worth Inlet, FloridaJuly 2010
45626Belle Isle, MichiganApril 2010
45627Honolulu, HawaiiAugust 2010
45628Duluth, MinnesotaMay 2010
45629Castle Hill, Rhode IslandJune 2010
45630Galveston, TexasJune 2010
45631Fort Lauderdale, FloridaJuly 2010
45632Belle Isle, MichiganAugust 2010
45633Panama City, FloridaAugust 2010
45634Fort Pierce, FloridaSeptember 2010
45635Calumet Harbor, IllinoisSeptember 2010
45636New Orleans, LouisianaSeptember 2010
45640Annapolis, MarylandNovember 2010
45643Los Angeles/Long Beach, CaliforniaDecember 2010
45645 Seattle, Washington January 2010
45651Los Angeles/Long Beach, CaliforniaMarch 2011
45652Los Angeles/Long Beach, CaliforniaMarch 2011
45664 Seattle, Washington June 2011
45658 Seattle, Washington August 2011
45703Essexville, MichiganOctober 2012
45723Youngstown, New YorkMay 2013
45745Hudgins, VirginiaFebruary 2014
45742Crisfield, Maryland
45754St. Joseph, MichiganMay 2014
45771Destin, Florida2015
45772Charleston, South Carolina2015
45773New Orleans, Louisiana2015
45774St. Petersburg, Florida2015

Sources:[11][12]

See also
  • Equipment of the United States Coast Guard

References
  1. http://vigor.net/projects/shipbuilding/maritime-security
  2. "Homeland Security Budget-in-Brief Fiscal Year 2009" (pdf). United States Department of Homeland Security. 2009. p. 60. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  3. "Response Boat – Medium" (pdf). Acquisition Directorate. United States Coast Guard. February 2013.
  4. "Response Boat – Medium". Acquisition Directorate. United States Coast Guard. 19 September 2013.
  5. http://vigor.net/projects/shipbuilding/maritime-security
  6. "Title unknown" (Press release). United States Coast Guard. 28 June 2007.
  7. "Response Boat – Medium Major Acquisition Project". United States Coast Guard.
  8. "Acquisition Update: U.S. Coast Guard Commemorates Final Response Boat-Medium Delivery". United States Coast Guard. March 18, 2015.
  9. "Response Boat-Medium: Project Profile". Acquisition Directorate. United States Coast Guard. 19 September 2013.
  10. "Response Boat-Medium Acquisition Project". Responseboat Project. Archived from the original on 2009-03-09.
  11. "RB-M: Acquisition Project History". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 2010-03-10. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
  12. "Production Update". Responseboat Project. Archived from the original on 2009-03-10. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
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