GE Marine has announced that its LM2500 gas turbine will be used in the Combined Diesel And Gas turbine (CODAG) propulsion system to power the United States Coast Guard’s (USCG) fifth National Security Cutter.

“We are pleased that our GE LM2500 gas turbine has been selected to power the fifth United States Coast Guard National Security Cutter,” said Brien Bolsinger. “Similar to the previous four ships, the fifth cutter will use one LM2500 combined with two MTU Series 1163 diesel engines provided by Tognum America that will be capable of propelling the ship at speeds up to 28 knots.”

USCG Captain John Prince, commanding officer, USCGC Bertholf, recently wrote about what it’s like to operate one of the Coast Guard’s newest cutter assets, “It is truly exhilarating as a sailor and cutterman to see what this optimally crewed ship is capable of – fast, quiet, a good ride, environmentally friendly, top notch sensors, weapons systems and communications suite, a huge and stable flight deck, interoperable with Department of Defense and other partners.”

The USCG reports that the first two cutters – USCGC Bertholf and USCGC Waesche — are fully operational and executing missions on the west coast of the United States. The homeport for both cutters is Coast Guard Island in Alameda, California. In September 2011, the third cutter Stratton was accepted by the USCG during an In-Commission Special ceremony at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The ceremony marked a major milestone in the ship’s transition to full operational status in the Coast Guard’s fleet. The fourth cutter, Hamilton (WMSL 754), also will be built by Ingalls Shipbuilding, and is scheduled for delivery in 2014.

Each cutter measures 418 feet long and has a 54-foot beam, with the CODAG propulsion system provided by Tognum America.  The gas turbine for the fifth cutter will be manufactured at GE’s Evendale, Ohio, facility, and delivered to Tognum America in May 2013 for assembly into the CODAG propulsion system.