The U S Coast Guard has issued a delivery order for 18 new boats to Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC).
This delivery order represents a $37.5m obligation by the Coast Guard, reports said. Production at Marinette Marine Corporation is expected to support the delivery of one response boat medium per month starting in September 2008. The first response boat from Marinette Marine Corporation will be delivered to Coast Guard Station Milwaukee, Wis.
Upon delivery to Milwaukee it will be the first response boat located on any of the Great Lakes.
The Response Boat- Medium (RB-M) is a twin-engine,
water jet propelled, 45-ft. boat which will be capable of exceeding 40 knots. These new boats will replace the Coast Guard's existing 41-foot utility boat, which has a maximum speed of 26 knots. The response boats will also improve mission capability through state of the art electronics, which include a Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) system, which will help the four-person crew see better in conditions that are not normally conducive to searching like at night, in rain, sleet, snow or fog. The response boat's new design and enhanced safety features will allow boat crews to be more effective and lessen crew fatigue.