On 22 June 1993 the Coast Guard awarded the contract for the Keeper-class vessels to Marinette Marine Corporation in the form of a firm order for the lead ship and options for thirteen more.[2] The Coast Guard exercised options for three additional ships, including Abbie Burgess on 7 February 1996.[3] She was launched on 5 April 1997 into the Menominee River. Abbie Burgess is the third of the fourteen Keeper-class ships built.[4]
Her hull was built of welded steel plates. She is 175 feet (53m) long, with a beam of 36 feet (11m), and a full-load draft of 8 feet (2.4m).[5]Abbie Burgessdisplaces 850 long tons fully loaded.[6] Her gross register tonnage is 904, and her net register tonnage is 271.[7] The top of the mast is 58.75 feet (17.91m) above the waterline.[8]
Rather than building the ship from the keel up as a single unit, Marinette Marine used a modular fabrication approach. Eight large modules, or "hull blocks" were built separately and then welded together.[5]
Z-drives on a Keeper-class ship
The ship has two Caterpillar 3508 DITA (direct-injection, turbocharged, aftercooled) 8-cylinder Diesel engines which produce 1000 horsepower each. These drive two Ulstein Z-drives. Keeper-class ships were the first Coast Guard cutters equipped with Z-drives, which markedly improved their maneuverability.[3] The Z-drives have four-bladed propellers which are 57.1 inches (145cm) in diameter[8] and are equipped with Kort nozzles. In 1999 stainless steel cages were added around Abbie Burgess' propellers to reduce the number of lobster pot lines they fouled.[9] They can be operated in "tiller mode" where the Z-drives turn in the same direction to steer the ship, or in "Z-conn mode" where the two Z-drives can turn in different directions to achieve specific maneuvering objectives. An implication of the Z-drives is that there is no reverse gear or rudder aboard Marcus Hanna. In order to back the ship, the Z-drives are turned 180 degrees which drives the ship stern-first even though the propellers are spinning in the same direction as they do when the ship is moving forward.[10] Her maximum speed is 12 knots.[3] Her tanks can hold 16,385 gallons of diesel fuel[8] which gives her an unrefueled range of 2,000 nautical miles at 10 knots.[11]
She has a 500 horsepower bow thruster. The Z-drives and bow thruster can be linked in a Dynamic Positioning System. This gives Abbie Burgess the ability to hold position in the water even in heavy currents, winds, and swells. This advanced capability is useful in bringing buoys aboard that can weigh more than 16,000 lbs.[6]
Electrical power aboard is provided by three Caterpillar 3406 DITA generators which produce 285 Kw each.[6] She also has a 210 Kw emergency generator, which is a Caterpillar 3406 DIT.[8]
The buoy deck has 1,335 square feet (124.0m2) of working area. A crane with a boom 42 feet (13m) long lifts buoys and their mooring anchors onto the deck. The crane can lift up to 20,000 pounds (9,100kg).[6]
The ships' fresh water tanks can hold 7,339 gallons. She has three ballast tanks that can be filled to maintain the ship's trim, and tanks for oily waste water, sewage, gray water, new lubrication oil, and waste oil.[8]
Accommodations were designed for mixed gender crews from the start. Crew size and composition has varied over the years. When she first arrived in Rockland in 1997, she had an authorized complement of 18, commanded by a chief warrant officer.[12][13] By 2009, her crew had been increases to 24.[14]
Lighthouse keeper Abbie Burgess
Abbie Burgess, as all Keeper-class ships, has a strengthened "ice belt" along the waterline so that she can work on aids to navigation in ice-infested waters. Not only is the hull plating in the ice belt thicker than the rest of the hull, but framing members are closer together in areas that experience greater loads when working in ice. Higher grades of steel were used for hull plating in the ice belt to prevent cracking in cold temperatures. Her bow is sloped so that rather than smashing into ice, she rides up over it to break it with the weight of the ship. Abbie Burgess is capable of breaking flat, 9-inch thick ice at 3 knots.[10]
The ship carries a cutter boat on davits. She was originally equipped with a CB-M boat which was replaced in the mid-2010s with a CB-ATON-M boat. This was built by Metal Shark Aluminum Boats and was estimated to cost $210,000.[15] The boat is 18 feet (5.5m) long and are equipped with a Mercury Marine inboard/outboard diesel engine.[16]
The ship's namesake is lighthouse keeper Abbie Burgess. She was a lighthouse keeper on the Maine coast for most of the last half of the nineteenth century. Her most famous act of service took place when she was just a teenager. Her father was appointed keeper of the Matinicus Rock lighthouse in 1853. The regular supply ship to the island was late, so in January 1856 he rowed to the mainland to pick up supplies for his family and to maintain the light. While he was gone, a strong storm blew in. Hurricane-force winds, snow, and large waves pounded Matinicus Rock. The bad weather prevented her father's return, leaving 17-year-old Abbie to maintain the lights for a month during one of the worst storms of the century.[17]
After her launch and builder's trials, the Coast Guard accepted the ship and placed her in commission-special status on 19 September 1997. Her crew was trained by Marinette personnel and she sailed from Lake Michigan through the Great Lakes to her new homeport. She was commissioned at a ceremony in Rockport on 31 July 1998.[18]
Abbie Burgess' buoy tending involves lifting them onto her deck where marine growth is scraped and pressure washed off, inspecting the buoy itself, and replacing lights, solar cells, and radar transponders. The mooring chain or synthetic cable is inspected and replaced as needed. The concrete block mooring anchor is also inspected. The coast of northern New England is prone to difficult weather that requires extra maintenance of the buoys that are assigned to Abbie Burgess. For example, every spring the tender must replace buoys damaged by ice in the Penobscot River.[19] A strong nor'easter in April 2007 damaged or displaced 70 aids to navigation which Abbie Burgess, and USCGC Marcus Hanna were dispatched to repair.[20] The ship has also been dispatched to other Coast Guard districts to assist in seasonal or one-time events. For example, in 2018 Abbie Burgess was sent to the Great Lakes on a 37-day deployment to assist in replacing summer buoys with more ice-resistant winter buoys.[21][22]
The bulk of Abbie Burgess' year is spent at sea tending her buoys, or in port maintaining the ship. She has been asked to perform other missions, as described below.
Search and rescue
In May 2006 the three-masted sailing ship RawFaith, was dismasted in a gale off the Maine coast. Abbie Burgess teamed with USCGC Seneca to tow the ship back to Rockland.[23]
Marine environmental protection
Abbie Burgess training on oil spill recovery
Oil, asphalt, and other hazardous substances are transported in the Penobscot River. Significant changes in currents during spring freshets caused by rapid snowmelt can be a hazard for vessels on the river. In April 2005, Abbie Burgess set four NOAA current monitoring stations in the river to learn more about these potentially dangerous flows.[19] Later in 2005, Abbie Burgess participated in a joint U.S.-Canada oil spill exercise, with the cutter deploying in Frenchman Bay, Maine.[24]
Abbie Burgess served as a dive platform for an archeological survey of the Minot's Ledge Lighthouse, which was destroyed in a storm in 1851. In 2007, Coast Guard divers from the Maritime Safety and Security team searched the sea floor for evidence of the lighthouse. The ship's crane was used to lower a commemorative plaque to the bottom to commemorate the two lighthouse keepers who were killed.[25]
Security
In July 2000, Abbie Burgess provided security for the parade of tall ships at OpSail 2000 Connecticut on the Thames River.[26] In 2004 she was deployed to New York Harbor to support emergency evacuation plans for the Republican national convention.[27]
Along with US and Canadian naval units, Abbie Burgess participated in a homeland security exercise called Frontier Sentinel in 2008.[28]
Public engagement
The Coast Guard has offered tours aboard Abbie Burgess on several occasions. These include:
New London, Connecticut on 3 and 4 October 2007[29]
Maine bicentennial celebration in Portland in 2021[31]
Related Research Articles
The Keeper class of coastal buoy tenders consists of fourteen ships built for and operated by the United States Coast Guard. The ships were launched between 1995 and 1999 and all remain in active service. Their primary mission is to maintain thousands of aids to navigation, both buoys and land-based. Their secondary missions include marine environmental protection, search and rescue, law enforcement, and light ice-breaking.
USCGC Spar (WLB-206) is a United States Coast Guard Juniper-class seagoing buoy tender home-ported in Duluth, Minnesota. The ship maintains aids to navigation in the Twin Ports and Great Lakes.
A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as "wickies" because of their job trimming the wicks.
Abbie Burgess Grant (1839–1892) was an American lighthouse keeper known for her bravery in tending the Matinicus Rock Light in Maine during a raging winter storm in 1856. She did so for nearly a month while her father, the head keeper, was away from the island. Her heroic actions attracted much attention and she was soon a popular heroine.
Harry C. Claiborne was an American lighthouse keeper.
USCGC Fir (WLB-213) is a Juniper-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard. USCGC Fir is under the Operational Control (OPCON) of the Commander of the Thirteenth Coast Guard District and is homeported in Astoria, Oregon. Fir's primary area of responsibility is the coastal waters, river bars and high seas of the Washingtonian and Oregonian coasts. USCGC Fir conducts heavy lift aids to navigation operations, law enforcement and other missions as directed.
USCGC Elm (WLB-204) is a U.S. Coast Guard Juniper-class seagoing buoy tender home-ported in Astoria, Oregon. She is responsible for maintaining aids to navigation on the coasts of Oregon and Washington, including the Columbia River.
USCGC Henry Blake (WLM-563) is a United States Coast Guard Keeper-class cutter based at Naval Station Everett in Everett, WA. Henry Blake's primary mission is the maintenance of 80 lighted, 39 unlighted, and 65 shore-based aids to navigation in the Puget Sound area and along the coast of Washington. Secondary missions include marine environmental protection, search and rescue, and homeland security. Henry Blake is assigned to the Thirteenth Coast Guard District.
Coast Guard Base Ketchikan is a major shore installation of the United States Coast Guard located in Ketchikan, Alaska. The base is a homeport for two Sentinel-class cutters and a buoy tender, and is the only Coast Guard dry dock in the state. Located one mile south of the city's downtown area along the southwestern shore of Revillagigedo Island, the base was originally established in 1920 to support the United States Lighthouse Service and became part of the Coast Guard in 1940. In addition to the homeported cutters, Base Ketchikan's maintenance facilities support forward-deployed cutters throughout Southeast Alaska, in Petersburg, Juneau and Sitka.
USCGS Katherine Walker (WLM-552) is a Keeper-class coastal buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard. Launched in 1996, she has spent her entire career homeported at Bayonne, New Jersey. Her primary mission is to maintain 335 aids to navigation in New York Harbor, Long Island Sound, and surrounding waters. She is assigned to the First Coast Guard District.
USCGC Ida Lewis (WLM-551) is the lead ship of the United States Coast Guard Keeper-class of Coastal Buoy Tenders. Launched in 1995, she has spent her entire career maintaining navigational aids near her homeport of Newport, Rhode Island. Ida Lewis is assigned to the First Coast Guard District.
USCGC Anthony Petit (WLM-558) is a Keeper-class coastal buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard. Launched in 1999, she has served her entire career maintaining navigational aids in Southeast Alaska. She is assigned to the Seventeenth Coast Guard District.
USCGC Marcus Hanna (WLM-554) is a Keeper-class coastal buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard. Launched in 1997, she is home-ported in South Portland, Maine. Her primary mission is maintaining 376 aids to navigation from Boston to St. John's Bay, Maine. Secondary missions include marine environmental protection, light icebreaking, search and rescue, and security. She is assigned to the First Coast Guard District.
USCGC James Rankin (WLM-555) is a Keeper-class coastal buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard. Launched in 1998, she is home-ported at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Maryland. Her primary mission is maintaining 361 aids to navigation in Upper Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries including the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Potomac River, and the Annapolis area. Secondary missions include marine environmental protection, light icebreaking, search and rescue, and security. She is assigned to the Fifth Coast Guard District.
USCGC Frank Drew (WLM-557) is a Keeper-class coastal buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard. Launched in 1998, she is home-ported in Portsmouth, Virginia. Her primary mission is maintaining over 300 aids to navigation in lower Chesapeake Bay, the rivers that flow into it, and a potion of the North Carolina Coast. Secondary missions include marine environmental protection, light icebreaking, search and rescue, and security. She is assigned to the Fifth Coast Guard District.
USCGC George Cobb (WLM-564) is a Keeper-class coastal buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard. Launched in 1999, she is home-ported in San Pedro, California. Her primary mission is maintaining over 178 floating aids to navigation on the California coast from San Francisco to San Diego. Secondary missions include marine environmental protection, search and rescue, and security. She is assigned to the Eleventh Coast Guard District.
USCGC William Tate (WLM-560) is a Keeper-class coastal buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard. Launched in 1999, she is home-ported in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her primary mission is maintaining over 260 aids to navigation on the Delaware River, in Delaware Bay and in nearby waterways. Secondary missions include marine environmental protection, search and rescue, and security. She is assigned to the Fifth Coast Guard District.
USCGC Maria Bray (WLM-562) is a Keeper-class coastal buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard. Launched in 1999, she is home-ported in Atlantic Beach, Florida. Her primary mission is maintaining over 300 aids to navigation from Georgetown, South Carolina to Fort Pierce, Florida. Secondary missions include marine environmental protection, search and rescue, and security. She is assigned to Sector Jacksonville of the Seventh Coast Guard District.
USCGC Harry Claiborne (WLM-561) is a Keeper-class coastal buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard. Launched in 1999, she is home-ported in Galveston, Texas. Her primary mission is maintaining aids to navigation between the Mexican boarder and the mouth of the Mississippi River. Secondary missions include marine environmental protection, search and rescue, and security. She is assigned to the Eighth Coast Guard District.
USCGC Barbara Mabrity (WLM-559) is a Keeper-class coastal buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard. Launched in 1999, she is home-ported in Mobile, Alabama. Her primary mission is maintaining aids to navigation from western Florida to the Mississippi River. Secondary missions include marine environmental protection, search and rescue, and security. She is assigned to the Eighth Coast Guard District.
↑ Polmar, Norman (1997). Ships and Aircraft of the United States Fleet (16thed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p.521. ISBN1-55750-686-8.
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