Keeper-class cutter

USCGC Henry Blake, the 13th Keeper-class ship launched
Class overview
Name	Keeper class
Builders	Marinette Marine Corporation
Operators	United States Coast Guard
Preceded by	White class Red class
Built	1995–1999
Completed	14
General characteristics
Type	Coastal buoy tender
Displacement	850 long tons (864 t) full load
Length	175 ft (53 m)
Beam	36 ft (11 m)
Draft	8 ft (2.4 m)
Installed power	2,000 hp (1,500 kW) sustained
Propulsion	2 × Caterpillar 3508 DITA diesel engines; bow thruster, 500 hp (373 kW)
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Range	2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)

The Keeper class of coastal buoy tenders consists of fourteen ships built for and operated by the United States Coast Guard. The ships were launched between 1995 and 1999 and all remain in active service. Their primary mission is to maintain thousands of aids to navigation, both buoys and land-based. Their secondary missions include marine environmental protection, search and rescue, law enforcement, and light ice-breaking.

The Keeper-class ships play a specific role in the Coast Guard's buoy tender fleet. They are primarily deployed to coastal areas such as New York Harbor, Chesapeake Bay, and Puget Sound, while the seagoing tenders of the Juniper class handle more off-shore areas, and inland tenders are assigned to the nation's large river systems.