Bollinger delivers FRC USCGC Olivia Hooker to US Coast Guard

October 28, 2025, by Fatima Bahtić

US shipbuilder Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the USCGC Olivia Hooker to the U.S. Coast Guard at Sector Key West.

As disclosed, the vessel is the 61st fast response cutter under the current acquisition program and the 187th vessel Bollinger has built for the service over a four-decade partnership. The newly delivered cutter will be homeported in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

The USCGC Olivia Hooker is named in honor of Dr. Olivia Juliette Hooker (1915–2018), the first African-American woman to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard. Enlisting in 1945 as part of the SPARs during World War II, Dr. Hooker later became a professor of psychology and a lifelong advocate for education and civil rights. Her service continues to embody the Coast Guard’s core values of honor, respect, and devotion to duty.

“We are honored to deliver the Olivia Hooker to the U.S. Coast Guard, continuing our proud tradition of providing high-quality, mission-ready vessels,” said Bollinger President and CEO Ben Bordelon.

“The FRC platform has proven itself time and again as a cornerstone of the Coast Guard’s fleet, excelling in a wide range of operational conditions.”

Last month, the U.S. Coast Guard awarded Bollinger a contract for ten additional FRCs, supported by $1 billion in funding under President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The award expands the total program to 77 vessels, extending production by approximately three years beyond the previously scheduled 2028 completion date.

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Vessels

The 47-meter Sentinel-class FRCs are among the most versatile assets in the U.S. Coast Guard’s fleet, capable of speeds up to 28 knots and equipped with advanced C4ISR systems and a stern launch ramp for an 8-meter over-the-horizon interceptor. The cutters have demonstrated their endurance and operational reach with missions extending as far as the Marshall Islands, 4,400 nautical miles from their homeports.

With the addition of the USCGC Olivia Hooker, Bollinger continues its role in strengthening the coast guard’s operational readiness and advancing the service’s Force Design 2028 initiative.