Page 23: of Marine News Magazine (June 2021)

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A Naval Submarine Base New London harbor patrol boat participates in a small boat attack drill in support of Exercise Citadel Shield-Solid Curtain 2021 (CS-SC21).

Sailors assigned to Commander, Task Force (CTF) 56 patrol aboard a Mark

VI patrol boat in the Arabian Gulf in June 2020. CTF 56 is responsible for the planning and execution of expeditionary missions including coastal riverine operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

Maddelin Hamm/ U.S. Navy Tristan B. Lotz / U.S. Navy

Many of the Navy’s boats are built to a standard design mand’s Coastal Riverine Forces (CRF was created in 2012 and can be adapted by different customers for their pur- with the merger of the Riverine and Maritime Expedition- poses. Navy standard boats are procured to support mission ary Security Forces).

requirements for force protection; harbor security; patrol; The CRF boats operate in seven ports continental port operations; special mission; search and rescue; VBSS United States and worldwide, from Djibouti to Bahrain (Visit Board, Search and Seizure) operations; MIO (mari- to the Panama Canal. Typical escort missions run three to time interdiction operations); escort and personnel transfer. 12 hours from idle to bursts of 35 knots. The boats may

Current and future acquisitions include the Mark VI be idle for hours, with short bursts of speed. The 34-foot (MK VI) patrol boat; rigid in? atable boats (RIB); riverine boats have a range of about 200 nautical miles, and have a command, assault and patrol boats; dive boat replacement; ? ve-man crew, with 360-degree weapons coverage.

oil spill response (OSR) utility boats and rapid response skimmers; support craft; force protection boats; workboats New patrol boats and the new 40 PB 40-foot patrol boat. The Navy had planned to buy a number of the MK VIs,

Many of these boats are armed and carry ballistic pro- calling it the “Next Generation Patrol Boat.” However, tection for the crew, such as those operated by the Coastal due to a number of reasons, the program has been halted

Riverine Force (CRF), including the 52-foot Riverine and the Navy is moving forward with the 43-foot 40 PB.

Command Boat and 85-foot MK VI patrol boat, which Originally called the PB(X), the 40 PB is being built by serve as part of the Naval Expeditionary Combat Com- Metal Shark of Jeanrette, La. Metal Shark’s initial contract www.marinelink.com MN 23|