Fire Rescue News

Louisiana-based boat builder Metal Shark announced it has won a contract to build 22 welded-aluminum high-speed surface interceptor vessels for the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF).JDF has selected the Metal Shark 36 Fearless, a high-performance center console craft proven in service with multiple military, law enforcement, and first responder agencies worldwide. Procured via direct purchase, these new surface interceptor vessels will be used by the JDF-Coast Guard for law enforcement, patrolling, and interdiction missions within Jamaica’s exclusive economic zone.

Australia's Birdon Group announced its U.S. subsidiary has reached a deal to acquire Metal Shark Boats' shipyard in Bayou La Batre, Ala.Birdon America said it will utilize the 32-acre facility for vessel repair work as well as newbuild activity, including construction of the U.S. Coast Guard's $1.187 billion 27-vessel Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) Program awarded to Birdon in 2022.Birdon Group CEO, Jamie Bruce, said, “The investment in this facility will not only ensure we deliver on our promise to the U.S.

North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District (NCFR) in Naples, Fla. has taken delivery of a newly built fireboat for fast fire and emergency response, including search and rescue.The 36-foot fireboat is an Ambar 1100 (AM 1100) multi-mission workboat from Silver Ships, based in Theodore, Ala. The vessel is custom-designed and -built for NCFR's daily operations along inland, intercoastal and gulf waters, said David Hunt, a the boatbuilder's business development team. “Finding effective…

The crew of Moran Towing's tug Lynne Moran has been honored for its courageous response and rescue of two stranded boaters near the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on the evening of October 25, 2023.The crew has received the U.S. Coast Guard Public Service Commendation, presented by Captain O’Connell, as well as the American Waterways Operators (AWO) Honor and Excellence in Rescue Operations (HERO) Award, presented by Brian Vahey, AWO’s Vice President, Atlantic Region.In collaboration with the U.S.

Louisiana-based boat builder Metal Shark is building two welded-aluminum fireboats for Anne Arundel County Fire Department in Maryland.The new 50 Defiant NXT monohull pilothouse fireboats were designed by Metal Shark’s in-house engineering team and are now under construction at the company’s Franklin, La. shipyard. The newbuilds were ordered to replace the department's 20-year-old main fireboat, Lady Anne, delivered from MetalCraft Marine in 2023. The new vessels will offer faster speeds enabling shorter response times…

David Clark Company is best known within the marine market for its wireless and digital headset workboat crew communication systems – the Series 9900 Wireless Marine Headset System and the Series 9100 Digital Marine Headset System. The company has over 20 years of experience designing and manufacturing boat crew communication solutions for a variety of workboats, e.g., patrol boats, fire/rescue craft, and offshore service vessels.But you may not know that David Clark Company started…

A towing vessel sank Tuesday night approximately 3 miles off North Myrtle Beach, S.C.Horry County Fire Rescue personnel rescued the three crew members aboard the vessel, identified as the 59-foot-long Jacqueline A—a U.S.-registered pusher tug built in 1981. No injuries have been reported.The vessel is currently in 30 feet of water, and has approximately 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board, the U.S. Coast Guard said. There are no reports of shoreline impacts, and the vessel’s owner…

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge Clean Canaveral completed its first barge-to-ship bunkering of a cargo vessel at Port Canaveral’s South Cargo Berth 4. JAX LNG, along with Polaris New Energy, handled the LNG refueling of the Damia Desgagnés on the ship’s inaugural call to Port Canaveral. The asphalt/bitumen tanker Damia Desgagnés completed her discharge of cargo and then JAX LNG proceeded with Desgagnés’s first barge-to-ship bunkering of LNG. The seafarers safely transferred approximately 400 cubic meters of LNG from North America’s largest LNG bunker barge…

A Coast Guard helicopter aircrew medically evacuated a 57-year-old woman from the cruise ship Carnival Radiance approximately 35 miles southwest of Point Loma, Saturday. Carnival Radiance crewmembers contacted Coast Guard Sector San Diego Joint Harbor Operations Center watchstanders at approximately 4:30 p.m. requesting assistance for a passenger displaying stroke symptoms.Watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Sector San Diego MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew with a San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR) Team paramedic aboard to assist.Once on the scene, the helicopter crew lowered the rescue swimmer, recovered the patient and transported her to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. The patient was reported to be in stable condition.

At least eight people have died after two fishing boats capsized off the coast of San Diego, California, in an apparent migrant smuggling operation, emergency officials said on Sunday.San Diego emergency crews began a search and recovery operation late Saturday night, after receiving a 911 call from a Spanish-speaker about fishing boats in distress off the coast of San Diego's Black's Beach. Crews arrived to find two fishing boats capsized in a 400-foot (366 m) area, and eight bodies were recovered from the water and the beach…

Hubert, N.C. shipbuilder US Watercraft said it has been selected by New Hanover County to build a custom 30-foot aluminum fire/rescue vessel. Now under construction, the vessel will be delivered in early 2023.Located in southeastern North Carolina, the county has 31 miles of shoreline on the mainland and barrier islands, with communities facing both the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean.In addition to fire-fighting capacity, the aluminum catamaran will feature an hydraulic bow door for deploying a rescue ATV.

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Silver Ships announced Steven Clarke has been appointed to the role of CEO. Clarke joined Silver Ships in 2015 as co-owner and chief financial officer. Since then, the company experienced a revenue increase of more than 40%. Clarke has focused on diversification of the Silver Ships customer base. This includes segmenting the customer base from more than 80% military focused to a more even cross-industry segmentation, with expansion into industries such as fire rescue and law enforcement."Since joining the team in 2015…

Mobile, Ala. boatbuilder Silver Ships announced it recently delivered a customized Ambar Series vessel to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).The vessel is a custom-built Ambar 6 meter (AM600), designed to be operated from NOAA oceangoing ships. At just under 28 feet in length, with a hull length of 20’ 5’’, this vessel is powered by two Mercury SeaPro 115hp, with an 80-gallon fuel tank, along with an 8’ 10’’ beam, 22’’ draft, a trailer, and a boat cradle for deck storage to make this custom vessel meet the needs for NOAA.Ambar series vessels…

Today, despite an abundance of market challenges and supply chain headaches, many of America’s police and fire boat builders are in possession of the shipyard holy grail: a healthy backlog.Dave Hunt, business development and project manager for Theodore, Ala. based Silver Ships said vessel orders from police and fire agencies have been on the rise and that the expectation is that this trend will continue. “Between vessels delivered and in production, we have seen a year over year increase steadily since 2017; particularly the last two years.

Italian boat builder High Tech Marine (HTM) is constructing a new firefighting and rescue patrol boat for operation in the harbor waters and along the Monaco coastline.Commissioned by the Monaco Government, the vessel will be delivered by September 2022 and enter service immediately, enabling the region’s Corps des Sapeurs-Pompiers to provide firefighting and rescue services in the Principality's ports and along a coastal zone which may include the surrounding French territorial…

Sea Change - America’s first hydrogen powered ferrySWITCH Maritime’s new 70-foot passenger ferry Sea Change is navigating uncharted waters as the United States’ first zero-emissions, hydrogen fuel cell-powered, electric-drive ferry.The pioneering aluminum newbuild, constructed by Bellingham, Wash. shipbuilder All American Marine, Inc. (AAM), has been completed and was launched this summer, though permitting of hydrogen fuel systems for maritime vessels is still being worked out with the U.S. Coast Guard.“Legislation and laws for passenger safety did not exist yet for this type of vessel.

Shipbuilder Metal Shark has introduced the 38 Defiant NXT, described as a next-generation welded aluminum monohull pilothouse model based on the company’s 38 Defiant platform. The first new vessel, “Fire Boat 2,” has been delivered to Orange Beach Fire Rescue in Alabama.Since 2011, Metal Shark has delivered over 100 legacy model 38 Defiant vessels, in a wide range of configurations to fire departments, law enforcement agencies, the US Coast Guard and Navy, and multiple foreign…

Four people were killed and more than two dozen injured on Sunday when a boat suspected of attempting to smuggle migrants into California broke apart off Cabrillo National Monument at San Diego's rugged Point Loma, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The initial call arrived just before 10 a.m. (1700 GMT) and prompted a large emergency response, including the U.S. Coast Guard and state and local agencies, as the magnitude of the incident became clear.The 40-foot (12-m) cabin cruiser had been pummeled to pieces by the surf by the time rescue boats arrived…

Shipbuilder Metal Shark has delivered two of three new welded-aluminum “50 Defiant” monohull pilothouse fireboats to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR).Designed by Metal Shark’s in-house engineering team and built to Lloyds Registry Standard, the welded-aluminum monohull pilothouse fireboats “FB-21” and “FB-73” were acquired to boost MDFR’s maritime firefighting capability and will replace existing vessels in its fleet.Compared to MDFR’s outgoing vessels, the new 55’ x 17.5’ Metal Shark fireboats offer faster speeds enabling shorter response times…

An ailing mariner was medevaced Thursday from a bulk carrier more than 250 miles west of San Diego, the U.S. Coast Guard said.On Wednesday night, watchstanders at 11th Coast Guard District command center received a request for assistance from the Panamanian-flagged bulker Jal Kamadhenu, which reported a 55-year-old crewman on board was displaying symptoms of a possible heart attack or stroke.A Coast Guard Sector San Diego MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter launched on Thursday morning with…

Theodore, Ala. boat builder Silver Ships said it has recently delivered an Ambar 1100 oceangoing rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) for the Eglin Air Force Base in western Florida.Built to assist in ocean rescue and firefighting missions, the 36-foot-long vessel includes an enhanced center console model that features Silver Ships’ specially designed console with a front windscreen and additional bolster seating. Twin Mercury Verado 300-horsepower outboard motors enable the vessel…

As the novel coronavirus and its impacts continue to spread across America, U.S. shipbuilders, by and large, continue to build. While most yards have been deemed essential to marine transportation and/or national security and have been able to maintain operations, the situation at and around every shipyard is different, and there are several builders across the country that have had to temporarily suspend activity. In either scenario, it’s far from business as usual for America’s…

Three people were rescued from the water after their fishing vessel caught fire near Dauphin Island, Ala., on Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Coast Guard watchstanders in Mobile were alerted at 5:55 p.m. of three people aboard a 36-foot sport fisher Beach S that caught fire in Dauphin Island Bay, approximately a half a mile north of Dauphin Island.The Coast Guard directed the launch of a 29-foot Response Boat-Small crew from Coast Guard Station Dauphin Island to assist the people.The boatcrew arrived on scene at 6:35 p.m.…