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The WLM, is a 175 foot steel hulled, self-propelled vessel, designed by MMC to meet ridged Military and American Bureau of Shipping standards. The vessels are designed to maintain floating aids to navigation (buoys) in coastal waters. It is intended to perform the same basic missions as the WLB with the exception of spilled oil recovery; however, manning requirements are only (1) officer and (15) crewman.
To achieve the minimum manning level desired by the Coast Guard, MMC incorporated an advanced Main Propulsion Control & Monitoring System (MPCMS) to provide automated control of the propulsion diesels, the Z-drive propulsion units, the bow thruster, the ships electrical generating plant, and all vital auxiliaries. The MPCMS working in concert with an integrated bridge and a dynamic positioning system provide the cutter with both full auto pilot and station keeping functions.
All of these systems work together though a fiber-optic LAN. The SAFENET standard LAN was designed and fabricated by MMC. By incorporating remotely and automatically controlled equipment into it’s design of the buoy handling deck, MMC further reduced the number of personnel required to conduct buoy operations and at the same time improved the safety of the operations. As with WLB, manning requirements were reduced through the use of the MMC designed chain retrieval system. MMC was awarded a contract to construct (14) of these cutters in 1993. Hull number 14 was delivered in August 2000, nearly two years ahead of schedule.
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