Page 37: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2021)

PATROL BOATS DESIGNS & TECHNOLOGIES

Metal Shark

Metal Shark f reboats for Miami Dade, Florida. for the military including riverine patrol and coastal response boats; it recent delivered a 28-ft. catamaran patrol vessel to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Little Rock District. Out- ? tted with an extensive array of electronics, it will be used for hydrographic survey work.

Safe Boats, with its recent expansion into workboats, con- tinues to offer boats for its traditional customer base, includ- ing the military. The U.S. Navy had previously purchased its MK VI 85-ft. patrol boats for deployments in the Middle

East. Through Foreign Military Sales transactions, they can also be sold abroad. In early 2021, Safe Boats announced a $20M lead contract award, to start construction of two Mark

VI patrol boats for the U.S Navy; ultimately, these boats will be sold abroad to the Ukraine (with delivery anticipated to 200 hp – 300 hp, though the larger size links an inboard die- be in late 2022) as part of a large aid package. The manu- sel plant with a waterjet. facturer explains that these boats, are “… equipped with bal- Digital technology, featured in boats from all the builders, listic protection, armor plating around the engines and fuel goes way beyond onboard displays and electronic controls. storage.” The boats are powered by twin diesel engines (MTU The trend towards autonomous vessels, where routine tasks 16V2000M94, providing 5,200 horsepower, which can burn can be reshaped digitally, and crews can be reduced, has been

JP-5 jet fuel, in addition to marine diesel ) and waterjets. an important topic across transport modes. Where the element

Washington State is also the home of Munson Boats, is of danger or hostile environments is added, the use case for well known for building landing craft, with a square bow autonomy becomes more compelling. Like much of the mari- design. Its welded aluminum boats, used by police and ? re time tech space, “winning” technologies have not emerged; departments around the U.S., range in size from 21 up to 48 there is no “industry standard” for software and systems. ft.; its craft are also used for oil spill response and utility/ Metal Shark has taken the lead in this space, having estab- workboat functions bene? tting from the bow ramp. These lished its Sharktech Autonomous Vessels division in 2018- boats are powered by outboard engines, typically pairs of which it describes as having a mission of: “…deliver www.marinelink.com 37

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