Groundbreaking Ceremony at Base Boston, last Thursday. Rear Adm. Thomas Allan, commander, Coast
Guard First, Congressman Stephen Lynch, and Mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu were also present for the
groundbreaking on Commercial St. This ceremony marks the starts of a large Coast Guard investment in the Northeast with a $35 million recapitalization of current Coast Guard facilities at Base Boston and acquisition of six new Fast Response Cutters at a cost of $380 million. The FRCs are the Coast Guard’s newest cutter class replacing the Legacy Island Class Patrol Boats and will operate throughout the Coast Guard’s First District from New York, to the Canadian border. These cutters are designed for missions including: search and rescue * fisheries law enforcement * drug and migrant interdiction * port, waterways, and coastal security * national defense. In addition, the Coast Guard will increase personnel presence in the area with 222 new Coast Guard members to crew and maintain the cutters. These new crews are expected to have an annual economic impact of $45 million on the local economy.