US Coast Guard authenticates keel for offshore patrol cutter Pickering

With a range of 10,200 nautical miles at 14 knots and a 60-day endurance period, each OPC will be capable of deploying independently or as part of task groups, serving as a mobile command and control platform for surge operations such as hurricane response, mass migration incidents, and other events.

The cutters will also support Arctic objectives by helping regulate and protect emerging commerce and energy exploration in Alaska.

The future Pickering is named after a revenue cutter built in 1798 that bore the same name. The vessel was named in honour of Timothy Pickering, a legislator as well as the second Secretary of War.