Page 32: of Marine News Magazine (October 2015)

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BOATBUILDING

MetalCraft Swiftships tion to pilot boats, and are scheduled for delivery in spring ten, 35-foot cutter long-range interceptor boats for the 2016,” Reid said, adding, “They are a direct buy and not U.S. Coast Guard, and four of those have been delivered.” through a U.S. government program.”

Outlook: Terror Threat and Domestic Crime feed

Brunswick’s maritime security needs

Cutting Edge ‘Sentry’ Aluminum Model on Guard

Because of threats from ISIS and tensions in Syria and

In late July, Brunswick Commercial and Government the Persian Gulf, Middle Eastern demand for maritime se-

Products delivered the ? rst-of-its-kind, 30-foot Sentry alu- curity vessels will remain steady, Swiftships CEO Shehraze minum boat to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Shah told MarineNews. It is also true that smaller patrol

This new model in the company’s aluminum-vessel line vessels in the Gulf at least partly reduce the need for cruis- complements its 32-, 36-, 40- and 45-feet variants. Designed ers and destroyers in that region. As smaller, more agile with port security and extended patrol missions in mind, the assets become the preferred vehicle for smarter response 30-foot cabin boat contains lockable storage for weapons, a to coastal, littoral con? icts, these craft are rapidly replac- forward cuddy cabin and a computer workstation. ing the legacy 600 foot warship in this theatre. For foreign “This new platform was designed to accommodate governments and the Pentagon, that frees up larger assets many requirements in the maritime security industry,” for other uses and – in theory – reins in spending.

BCGP’s sales director Jeremy Davis said, alluding to the For its part, the U.S. Navy will likely continue to spread growing appetite of budget-conscious municipalities for ? nancing between boat builders as demand for maritime so-called multi-mission hulls. Today, local governments security vessels is met over the next several years, Shah said. are looking to leverage many missions on the back of one Separately, federal, state, county and local of? cials will hull. The Sentry, according to Brunswick, is just the ticket. continue bee? ng up waterway protection against foreign “Whether the mission is port security, game conservation and domestic terror threats, drug dealers, other criminals or the safety of recreational boaters, this vessel can be cus- and ? res. That demand isn’t relegated to just local markets; tomized to the needs of law-enforcement agencies world- foreign export hulls also constitute a big slice of the pie.

wide.” The company’s Sentry line stems from a Master U.S. yards in particular have demonstrated that –

Supply Agreement between Brunswick Commercial and through direct sales agreements – they can build in series,

Government Products and boat builder MetalCraft Ma- with economy and better quality than foreign counterparts. rine Inc. in Ontario. This, coupled with surprisingly persistent local domestic demand is a welcome infusion of life in a boat building cli- mate that might otherwise be showing the beginnings of a

MetalCraft Marine slowdown. Maritime Security, as it turns out, is one market

Supplies the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard

Not to be outdone, Kingston, Ontario-based MetalCraft that appears to be immune to market pressures elsewhere.

is also busy, feeding on a steady diet of maritime security and military mission-speci? c hulls. MetalCraft sales and

Susan Buchanan is a New Orleans-based business writer, customer-relations representative Emily Roantree told specializing in energy, maritime matters, agriculture, the

MarineNews in September, “We’re building several 30-foot, environment and construction. She holds a master’s degree boom-handling boats for the U.S. Navy’s Supervisor of Sal- from Cornell University in agricultural economics and an vage and Diving, or SUPSALV, with a total of 30 ordered,” undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania. said. “Nine have been delivered so far. We’re also building

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