Foster, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island native has taken command of U.S. Coast Guard's Cutter Stingray during a change-of-command ceremony in Alabama.

Lt. j.g. Christopher Marquis relieved Lt. Molly Keyser as the commanding officer of the cutter in a ceremony held in Mobile, Ala., on Friday.

Marquis is a native of Foster, R.I. He took commander of the 87-foot cutter after serving as the weapons officer and the first lieutenant of the Coast Guard Cutter Albert, based in Astoria, Ore..

The Stingray is based in Mobile and its area of responsibility is from the Chandeleur Islands in the Gulf of Mexico to Carrabelle, Fla. The cutter's mission and its crew of 12 include search and rescue, law enforcement and living marine resources.

Marquis is a 2010 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.