May 29, 2026 —
The Coast Guard authenticated the keels for three future waterways commerce cutters (WCCs) March 6 at Birdon America’s shipyard in Bayou La Batre, Alabama.
Coast Guard cutters Allen Thiele, Fred Permenter and Samuel Wilson are the first three of 30 WCCs that will replace the Coast Guard’s legacy inland tender fleet. The new cutters will strengthen the service’s ability to facilitate maritime commerce vital to economic security, strategic mobility and national defense.
The WCC fleet will help control, secure and defend the nation’s ports and waterways while maintaining the United States’ 12,000-mile marine transportation system. This critical network supports more than $5.4 trillion in annual economic activity and millions of American jobs.
In a special proceeding, the keels were authenticated simultaneously – a departure from the traditional single-vessel ceremony. Keel authentication is a longstanding maritime tradition in which a ship’s sponsor welds their initials onto a ceremonial plate permanently affixed to the cutter, symbolizing the start of the vessel’s construction. The cutters authenticated included the leads for both the river buoy and inland construction tender variants.
The new fleet has been designated the Chief Petty Officer class, with each cutter named in honor of a distinguished Coast Guard senior enlisted leader. The namesakes for the first three WCCs:
- Master Chief Petty Officer Allen Thiele, a boatswain’s mate, served in the Coast Guard from 1958 to 1990 and was selected as the fifth master chief petty officer of the Coast Guard.
- Chief Petty Officer Fred Permenter, a boatswain’s mate, received the Gold Lifesaving Medal in 1952 for rescuing four of five crew members when the St. George Reef Light motor launch capsized while being lowered in heavy seas.
- Chief Petty Officer Samuel Wilson, a boatswain’s mate, received the Coast Guard Medal of Extraordinary Heroism in 1979 for helping rescue 81 crew members from the Japanese fishing vessel Ryuyo Maru No. 2 after it ran aground on St. Paul Island, Bering Sea, Alaska.
Acquisition of the WCC fleet is supported in part by funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the largest single funding commitment in Coast Guard history. The law provided $162 million to accelerate production and deliver three cutters ahead of schedule.
The first waterways commerce cutter is expected to be completed in 2027.
For more information: Waterways Commerce Cutter Program page