Metal Shark Delivers Patrol Boat to San Juan PD
US shipbuilder Metal Shark said it has delivered a new 36-foot welded-aluminum patrol boat to the Policia Municipal de San Juan (San Juan Police Department).
The new patrol boat is a 36 Fearless stepped-bottom center console vessel built at Metal Shark’s Jeanerette, La. production facility and custom-configured to meet the specialized requirements of its newest Puerto Rican customer. The high performance craft has been equipped with triple 300 HP Suzuki outboard engines and reaches a top speed in excess of 50 knots, the builder said. Other mission-enhancing features include a custom 36” dive door and dive ladder, underwater lighting, twelve dive tank holders, Garmin Radar and FLIR camera.
The San Juan Police will use the new vessel to support a wide range of missions, including port security and law enforcement to the Port of San Juan and the metropolitan San Juan coast, as well as dive operations throughout the island.
“Puerto Rico presents unique challenges from a maritime law enforcement perspective due to the vast range of missions routinely conducted by its agencies, including disaster relief, search and rescue, counter narcotics, border patrol, and interdiction missions, all of which may be performed in heavy offshore conditions,” said Metal Shark’s vice president of international business development, Henry Irizarry.
Metal Shark has now delivered five new patrol boats in the past three years to Puerto Rico, where another law enforcement agency, the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD), also operates a fleet of Metal Shark vessels.
“The design, construction and performance characteristics of this highly capable craft have been extensively proven in Puerto Rico’s demanding open-ocean conditions, with the Puerto Rico Police Department logging over 3,000 hours per year in its Metal Shark 36 Fearless vessels,” Irizarry said. “Metal Shark’s performance, durability and safety, as demonstrated and proven by the PRPD over years of around-the-clock operation, made the selection of this vessel a logical choice for the San Juan Police.”
In addition to this newest delivery, Metal Shark noted it has multiple other projects for Puerto Rico in various stages of development, including a custom 27-foot vessel currently being built for another Puerto Rico government agency.