From his perch on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, on Friday U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., announced three coastal patrol ships will be changing their home ports from Litte Creek, Va., to Mayport on the First Coast later this year.
Built by Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana, the three ships -- the USS Shamal, the USS Zephyr, and the USS Tornado -- are all Cyclone-class patrol ships. Ordered during George H.W. Bushs presidency, the Shamal and the Zephyr were built and launched during the mid-1990s. The Tornado is newer, having been ordered, built and launched during Bill Clintons second term.
Crenshaw stressed the change of home ports would be important to the First Coast and its traditional role as an important naval community.
Beginning in September, Naval Station Mayport will welcome three patrol ships for home-porting on the First Coast a move that underscores the bases key national security role, said Crenshaw on Friday.
The congressman pointed to the wide range of activities the ships can perform.
These vessels conduct coastal patrol, maritime security, law enforcement and interception operations around U.S. ports, harbors, and offshore facilities, Crenshaw said. The patrol craft and the men and women who serve on them will be a welcome addition to the region as they carry out their important missions.
All three ships had been decommissioned by the Navy to serve with the Coast Guard in late 2004 but they were recommissioned back to the Navy in 2011. When still with the Coast Guards, the Zephyr was the first ship deployed in response to the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf back in 2010.
The Shamal, which has a 36-man crew, will move from Virginia to the First Coast on Sept. 1. The Zephyr and the Tornado, which both have complements of 30, are scheduled to start at Mayport on Nov. 1.
Crenshaw has been engaged for years in efforts to bring an aircraft carrier to the First Coast, arguing that the Navy should have another home port for carriers on the Atlantic besides Norfolk. Attempts to home-port a carrier on the First Coast have gone nowhere in recent years despite Crenshaws efforts and Pentagon recommendations.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
