The US Coast Guard has successfully completed a 20-month service life extension program (SLEP) for the USCGC Spencer (WMEC-905), a 270-foot (82-meter) Famous-class medium endurance cutter, marking a significant milestone in the service’s ongoing efforts to maintain and modernize its fleet.
The extensive overhaul, completed on March 8, 2025, was carried out at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore and managed under the Coast Guard’s In-Service Vessel Sustainment (ISVS) Program.
Reviving the Spencer: The Purpose Behind the Overhaul
The primary goal of the service life extension is to ensure that legacy cutters like the Spencer remain mission-ready, reliable, and cost-effective for continued operations.
The ISVS Program is designed to address the obsolescence of various systems on older vessels by replacing outdated, unsupportable, or maintenance-intensive components. The program enables these cutters to meet current and future mission demands while extending their operational lifespan.
For the USCGC Spencer, the overhaul included substantial updates to several critical systems. Key improvements involved the replacement of electrical power generation and distribution systems, main diesel propulsion engines, and gun weapon systems.
These upgrades are essential for enhancing the vessel’s operational performance, improving its reliability, and reducing long-term maintenance costs.
The USCGC Spencer is one of the Coast Guard’s critical assets, designed to operate in challenging environments such as the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The 270-foot (82-meter) cutter can accommodate up to 100 personnel and is equipped to carry a medium-sized maritime helicopter, similar to the HH-65 Dolphin or HH-60J Jayhawk. Powered by twin Alco V18 engines and twin Caterpillar V12 diesel generators, the Spencer is capable of sustained deployment for over six weeks, offering a range of 9,900 nautical miles (18,335 kilometers).
The cutter’s operational speed of 20 knots (23 miles/37 kilometers per hour) enables rapid response to various maritime threats, including drug interdiction, fisheries enforcement, and search and rescue operations.
A First in the Fleet: Spencer’s Upgrades
The Spencer is the first of six Famous-class cutters to undergo such an intensive overhaul under the ISVS program. This comprehensive service life extension will allow the Spencer to remain operational for another decade, supporting the Coast Guard’s mission requirements during the transition to the new Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) fleet.
The program is essential in ensuring that the Coast Guard continues to maintain a capable and ready fleet of cutters, even as newer vessels are being deployed.
Kenneth King, the ISVS program manager, emphasized the importance of the Famous-class cutters in the Coast Guard’s operations over the last four decades.
“These cutters have been essential for Coast Guard operations for over four decades, conducting missions from drug interdiction and fisheries enforcement to search and rescue. Investing in their sustainment is critical to ensuring these cutters remain operationally relevant and capable of executing the service’s most demanding missions until the next generation – the OPCs – are fully deployed.”
Future Plans for the Famous-Class Fleet
The completion of the Spencer’s service life extension is just the beginning of a broader effort to upgrade the Famous-class cutters.
Five additional vessels, including the Legare (WMEC-912), Campbell (WMEC-909), Forward (WMEC-911), Escanaba (WMEC-907), and Tahoma (WMEC-908) , are scheduled to undergo similar upgrades by 2030.
These refurbishments will ensure that the Coast Guard maintains operational capability across its fleet of medium endurance cutters.
Notably, the Harriet Lane (WMEC-903) and Seneca (WMEC-906) cutters previously served as prototypes for the electrical and structural design work but did not receive new engines.
The Harriet Lane also served as the testbed for the MK38 gun weapon system, which will be integrated into the newly upgraded cutters.
In Summary
The successful completion of the USCGC Spencer’s service life extension marks a significant achievement in the US Coast Guard’s efforts to modernize its fleet while ensuring that legacy vessels remain capable of fulfilling critical missions.
With the continued upgrades of other Famous-class cutters, the Coast Guard is preparing to meet its mission demands for years to come, all while transitioning to the new Offshore Patrol Cutter fleet. These efforts highlight the Coast Guard’s commitment to maintaining a highly capable and operationally relevant fleet in the face of evolving maritime threats.
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