USCGC CHARLES MOULTHROPE – WPC-1141

Sentinel-Class Fast Response Cutter – Forward Deployed to Bahrain

USCGC CHARLES MOULTHROPE (WPC-1141) is a United States Coast Guard Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter, commissioned in January 2021 and permanently forward deployed to Manama, Bahrain with Patrol Forces Southwest Asia – PATFORSWA.

The 46.9-metre cutter was built by Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana as the 41st vessel of the Sentinel-class programme.

CHARLES MOULTHROPE became historically significant even before reaching her permanent homeport. During her transatlantic delivery voyage to Bahrain in spring 2021, she called in Greece together with sister cutter USCGC ROBERT GOLDMAN (WPC-1142).

The two cutters arrived in the Athens/Piraeus area in late April 2021, where their crews held high-level meetings with the Hellenic Coast Guard and Greek officials and conducted a joint rescue-and-assistance exercise off Piraeus.

That deployment was recorded by PiraeuShips during the very beginning of the cutter's operational career.

Five years later, CHARLES MOULTHROPE remains assigned to PATFORSWA in Bahrain, supporting U.S. Naval Forces Central Command operations throughout the Arabian Gulf and surrounding waters.

Vessel Details

Name: USCGC CHARLES MOULTHROPE

Hull Number: WPC-1141

Type: Fast Response Cutter

Class: Sentinel class

Operator: United States Coast Guard

Operational Command: Patrol Forces Southwest Asia – PATFORSWA

Homeport: Manama, Bahrain

Builder: Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana, USA

Delivered: 22 October 2020

Commissioned: 21 January 2021

Length Overall: 154 ft / 46.9 m

Beam: 25 ft / approx. 7.6 m

Draught: 9 ft 6 in / approx. 2.9 m

Displacement: approx. 353 long tons

Main Propulsion: 2 diesel engines

Maximum Speed: 28+ knots

Range: approx. 2,500 nautical miles

Endurance: approx. 5 days

Crew: 24

Primary Armament: 1 × stabilised 25 mm gun

Additional Armament: 4 × crew-served .50-calibre machine guns

Boat: Over-the-Horizon cutter boat with stern launch

Current Status: Active – assigned to PATFORSWA, Bahrain.

The Sentinel-Class Fast Response Cutter

The Sentinel class was developed to replace the ageing:

110-foot Island-class patrol boats.

Although compact, Fast Response Cutters are significantly more capable than the vessels they replaced.

The class was designed for missions including:

search and rescue,

maritime security,

law enforcement,

counter-drug operations,

migrant interdiction,

fisheries patrol,

and:

national defence.

28+ Knots

The U.S. Coast Guard officially publishes maximum speed as:

28+ knots.

Range is approximately:

2,500 nautical miles,

with a normal endurance of:

five days.

These figures allow a relatively small 154-foot cutter to cover substantial patrol areas independently.

Armament

CHARLES MOULTHROPE is armed with a stabilised:

25 mm machine-gun mount.

Additional close-range defence is provided by:

four crew-served .50-calibre machine guns.

The weapons fit reflects the cutter's dual role as both:

a Coast Guard law-enforcement vessel

and:

a forward-deployed maritime-security platform.

Over-the-Horizon Boat

The stern incorporates a launch system for an:

Over-the-Horizon cutter boat.

The boat can be deployed rapidly while the cutter remains underway.

It allows Coast Guard boarding teams to intercept vessels at significant distance from the mother ship.

Named after Charles Moulthrope

The cutter honours:

Charles Moulthrope,

a U.S. Coast Guardsman who served aboard the Revenue Cutter COMMODORE PERRY during the Spanish-American War.

The Sentinel-class naming programme commemorates Coast Guard enlisted personnel recognised for exceptional service and courage.

Delivered in October 2020

The Coast Guard formally accepted the cutter on:

22 October 2020

at Key West, Florida.

CHARLES MOULTHROPE was already designated as the:

first of six Fast Response Cutters intended for Bahrain.

Commissioned – 21 January 2021

The formal commissioning ceremony took place at:

Portsmouth, Virginia

on:

21 January 2021.

The Coast Guard specifically described her as the first Sentinel-class cutter assigned to:

Patrol Forces Southwest Asia.

Historic Deployment to Bahrain

In spring 2021, CHARLES MOULTHROPE began the long voyage from the United States to:

Bahrain.

She sailed together with:

USCGC ROBERT GOLDMAN – WPC-1142.

During part of the Atlantic crossing they were escorted by National Security Cutter:

USCGC HAMILTON.

The voyage included several diplomatic and operational visits in Europe.

Arrival in Greece

CHARLES MOULTHROPE arrived in the Athens area on:

26 April 2021.

The U.S. Navy's official photographic archive records the cutter entering Athens while en route to her new homeport in Bahrain.

Piraeus – April 2021

The visit quickly became more than a simple logistics stop.

On:

28 April 2021

senior Greek and American officials met aboard the two cutters at:

Piraeus.

Participants included representatives of:

the Greek Ministry of Shipping,

the Hellenic Coast Guard,

and:

the U.S. Embassy.

Joint Exercise with the Hellenic Coast Guard

On:

29 April 2021

crews from CHARLES MOULTHROPE and ROBERT GOLDMAN conducted a:

joint rescue and assistance drill

with members of the:

Hellenic Coast Guard

at Piraeus.

This gives the PiraeuShips footage considerably more historical context than a simple port visit.

Bahrain – May 2021

The two cutters finally reached:

Manama, Bahrain

on:

25 May 2021.

They became the first two of six Sentinel-class cutters assigned to:

PATFORSWA.

Patrol Forces Southwest Asia

PATFORSWA is the:

largest U.S. Coast Guard unit stationed outside the United States.

Its cutters operate in support of:

U.S. Central Command

and:

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.

Mission areas include:

maritime security,

critical-infrastructure protection,

partner-nation cooperation,

and regional patrol operations.

Still Based in Bahrain in 2026

The important current update is that CHARLES MOULTHROPE has not changed homeport or operational organisation.

The Coast Guard's current PATFORSWA page continues to list:

CGC CHARLES MOULTHROPE – WPC-1141

among the six Fast Response Cutters permanently assigned to:

Naval Support Activity Bahrain.

The Coast Guard's current Atlantic Area cutter directory likewise lists the cutter's station as:

Bahrain.

PiraeuShips in 2021

PiraeuShips published the dedicated:

USCGC CHARLES MOULTHROPE – WPC-1141

entry in:

June 2021.

The original article correctly recorded:

46.8 m length

353 long tons displacement

28-knot speed

and:

Manama, Bahrain

as homeport.

The new profile adds the historical importance of the cutter's actual Piraeus visit and the joint exercise with the Hellenic Coast Guard.

PiraeuShips Record

USCGC CHARLES MOULTHROPE (WPC-1141) was recorded by PiraeuShips during the very beginning of the cutter's operational career and while she was undertaking her historic delivery deployment from the United States to Bahrain. Built by Bollinger Shipyards and commissioned on 21 January 2021, the 46.9-metre Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutter reached Greece in April and participated in official engagements and a joint rescue-and-assistance exercise with the Hellenic Coast Guard at Piraeus before continuing east. On 25 May 2021 she reached Manama and became one of the first two new-generation Fast Response Cutters assigned to Patrol Forces Southwest Asia. Five years later, CHARLES MOULTHROPE remains actively assigned to PATFORSWA in Bahrain, making the PiraeuShips footage a record of the cutter before she had even reached the permanent homeport from which her Middle Eastern operational career would develop.

Original video footage © PiraeuShips. All rights reserved.