Editing Keeper-class cutter (section)

{{Short description|U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender class}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = USCGC Henry Blake near Portland.jpg
| Ship caption = USCGC ''Henry Blake'', the 13th Keeper-class ship launched
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
| Name = Keeper class
| Builders = Marinette Marine Corporation
| Operators = {{shipboxflag|United States|coast guard}}United States Coast Guard
| Class before = *{{sclass2|White|buoy tender|4}}
* [[Red-class cutter|Red class]]
| Class after = 
| Subclasses = 
| Cost = 
| Built range = 1995–1999
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| Total ships completed = 14
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}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship type = Coastal [[buoy tender]]
| Ship displacement = {{convert|850|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full load
| Ship length = {{convert|175|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|36|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship draft = {{convert|8|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship power = {{convert|2,000|hp|abbr=on}} sustained
| Ship propulsion = 2 × Caterpillar 3508 DITA diesel engines; bow thruster, {{convert|500|hp|0|abbr=on}}
| Ship speed = {{convert|12|kn|lk=in}}
| Ship range = {{cvt|2000|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}}
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}}
|}

The '''Keeper class''' of coastal [[buoy tender]]s 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 [[Navigational aid|aids to navigation]], both buoys and land-based.  Their secondary missions include [[U.S. Coast Guard environmental protection|marine environmental protection]], search and rescue, law enforcement, and light [[Icebreaker|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 [[USCG seagoing buoy tender|''Juniper'' class]] handle more off-shore areas, and inland tenders are assigned to the nation's large river systems.