ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — On Wednesday, the United States Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg commissioned the 48th Sentinel-class fast response cutter, Pablo Valent, into action.
The commanding officer of the Coast Guard's Seventh District, Rear Admiral Brendan McPherson, lead the ceremony and Cecelia Guillot was the ship's sponsor, according to a news release.
Guillot is also the great-niece of Valent.
The vessel is named after Valent, who received the Silver Lifesaving Medal and the Grand Cross of the American Cross of Honor Society, becoming one of the first Hispanic Americans to earn these awards in the early 1900s.
He joined the United States Life-Saving Service in 1912 and then in September 1919, Valent helped rescue a crew on the schooner Cape Horn off the Texas coast that was damaged by a hurricane.
The Valent is the 48th first response cutter and the first to be stationed in St. Petersburg. The FRC will be used for missions including maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, living marine resources and coastal security, the news release continues.
Florida has 12 other FRC's that operate all across the Caribbean Sea.
Each cutter is built for a crew consisting of 24 people, a travel range of 2,500 miles and reaching speeds up to 28 knots.
The cutters contain advanced communications, command, control, computers, surveillance, reconnaissance equipment and intelligence. They also have long-distance boat deployment capability and improved habitability for the crew onboard.
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