Defiant News

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said no more Venezuelan oil or money will go to Cuba and suggested the Communist-run island should strike a deal with Washington, ramping up pressure on the long-time U.S. nemesis and provoking defiant words from the island's leadership.Venezuela is Cuba's biggest oil supplier, but no cargoes have departed from Venezuelan ports to the Caribbean country since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces in early January amid a strict U.S.

U.S. President Trump on Monday announced plans for a new "Trump class" of battleships, marking the start of an expanded naval buildup and signaling increased scrutiny of defense contractors over production delays and cost overruns.Trump said the new battleships would be larger, faster and "100 times more powerful" than any previously built, forming the centerpiece of what he called an expanded "Golden Fleet" aimed at cementing U.S. naval dominance.The program will begin with two vessels and is expected to grow to between 20 and 25 ships, Trump said.

Israeli forces boarded boats with foreign activists carrying aid to Gaza and took them to an Israeli port, disrupting a protest that had become one of most high-profile symbols of opposition to Israel's blockade of the enclave.A video from the Israeli foreign ministry verified by Reuters showed the most prominent of the flotilla's passengers, Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, sitting on a deck surrounded by soldiers."Several vessels of the Hamas-Sumud flotilla have been safely stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port…

The Dominican Navy has received its second 85’ x 19.5’ welded aluminum Near Coastal Patrol Vessel (NCPV), built by Louisiana-based boat builder Metal Shark.Christened ARCTURUS CG-114 in keeping with the Dominican tradition of naming military vessels after constellations and celestial bodies, the new patrol craft was built at Metal Shark’s Franklin, Louisiana shipyard and officially incorporated into the Dominican Navy during a ceremony at the Port of Sans Soucí on August 31st.

U.S. Coast Guard crews from across two districts have worked together to assist three mariners aboard a disabled fishing vessel about 95 miles west of Newport, Oregon.The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Alder, an Air Station Sacramento C-27 Spartan aircrew, an Air Station North Bend MH-65 Dolphin aircrew, and a Station Yaquina Bay 47-foot Motor Lifeboat (MLB) crew responded to the Defiant, a 97-foot fishing vessel, after it reported at 6:42 a.m. Sunday that it was disabled, adrift…

Metal Shark has announced the delivery of a new 40’ x 12’ welded aluminum monohull pilothouse fireboat to Tampa Fire Rescue. Designed in-house by Metal Shark and built at the company’s Jeanerette, Louisiana production facility, the new vessel is the first of two next-generation 38 Defiant NXT fireboats being built for the Department.Powered by triple 300 hp Yamaha outboards with HelmMaster controls and joystick operational capability, the new 38 Defiant NXT combines proven high-speed performance with exceptional maneuverability.

NR Marine Services has commissioned Chartwell Marine to design a new crew transfer vessel (CTV) in response to client requests for a new class of vessel capable of supporting older generation assets, now referred to as legacy turbines.Chartwell Marine has developed the Defiant Class vessel, a 20-meter CTV designed to Workboat Code Edition 3 with IMO Tier 3 compliance featuring a step free flush forward deck, superstructure and modern furnishings and materials used in larger CTVs.The…

Israel stepped up pressure on Yemen's Houthis on Tuesday, deploying its navy to hit targets in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah and threatening the Iran-aligned movement with a naval and air blockade if attacks on Israel persist.Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said Israel carried out two strikes on the docks of Al Hodeidah port. The Israeli army said in a statement that the navy struck Houthi targets, adding the port is used by the group to transfer weapons.There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Canada’s Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) has launched Norway’s NorSat-4 maritime monitoring microsatellite.The seventh spacecraft developed for the Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA) by SFL, NorSat-4 carries a fifth-generation Automatic Identification System (AIS) ship tracking receiver and a first-of-its-kind low-light imaging camera.Built on SFL’s 35-kg DEFIANT microsatellite bus, NorSat-4 launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard the SpaceX Transporter-12 rideshare…

For years, operators of high-speed boats have silently endured the physical toll of their profession. Repeated slamming impacts from rough seas caused serious injuries—many of them life-altering. However, one Navy doctor saw these challenges not as an unavoidable consequence but as a problem that could be solved. His solution? A seat that would change the course of high-speed boat safety.The hidden cost of high-speed operationsRecent research shows that professional high-speed boat operators suffer more severe injuries than seen in almost any other peacetime profession.

Metal Shark, a Louisiana-based boat builder, has delivered the first of two cutting-edge 50-foot welded-aluminum fireboats to the Anne Arundel County Fire Department in Annapolis, Md. These new vessels are set to enhance emergency response capabilities across Chesapeake Bay, safeguarding over 500 miles of shoreline.Designed in-house and built at Metal Shark's Franklin, La. shipyard, the 50 Defiant NXT monohull fireboats feature advanced technology that improves response times, firefighting effectiveness and safety for firefighters, the builder said.

DARPA’s NOMARS program aims to revolutionize naval operations by designing a ship that can operate autonomously for extended periods at sea without an onboard crew.One project at the forefront of maritime innovation is the development of a vessel called “Defiant,” a project of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The Defiant is referred to as a NOMARS vessel – “No Manning Required Ship.”The project’s been underway at least since January 2020, when DARPA held a “proposers day…

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…

Metal Shark delivered a welded-aluminum 45 Defiant crew boat to Anchorage Launch Services Company, an Oregon-based operator providing launch, line, pilotage, and cargo services to vessels on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.Designed in-house by the Metal Shark engineering team and built at the company’s Jeanerette, La., production facility, the 47 x 12 ft. twin-diesel waterjet-powered “Triumph VII” is now in service.“Our captains, crew, and passengers have all been very impressed with the capabilities of our new vessel,” said Alex Scott, COO of Anchorage Launch.

The U.S. Department of Defense's research and development agency is moving into the second phase of a project to to build and demonstrate a new seagoing unmanned surface vessel.The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on Monday announced  it is moving into Phase 2 of the No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) program, which seeks to build and demonstrate a revolutionary new medium unmanned surface vessel (MUSV) that can go to sea and perform missions with unprecedented reliability and availability, while carrying a significant payload.

Louisiana-based boat builder Metal Shark is building a welded aluminum monohull patrol vessel for the Guyana Defense Force (GDF).Construction of the 115ft x 27ft (35m x 8m) vessel is underway at Metal Shark’s Franklin, Louisiana shipyard on the new 115 Defiant multi-mission vessel designed in-house by Metal Shark’s engineering team and being acquired by the GDF via direct purchase. Once complete, the new vessel will join the eight other Metal Shark interdiction and patrol vessels currently in service with the GDF.“Due to increasing maritime security concerns…

As a rudderless U.S. Navy debates maritime strategy, fleet futures and platform performance, America’s naval shipbuilding industry can look forward to another year of relative stasis.Barring a major geopolitical incident or unexpected maritime provocation, government shipbuilding isn’t going to change course. With Admiral Michael Gilday approaching the final “lame duck” year of his four-year term as Chief of Naval Operations and the 2024 election season looming, the prospect for major changes in the Navy’s demand signal seems limited.Aside from the U.S.

The United States is providing Ukraine with a range of defense articles, including 23 welded-aluminum military vessels built by Louisiana-based Metal Shark, to help Ukraine to better protect its coastline, waterways and ports.Last week it was announced that six of the U.S. Navy’s new 40 PB maritime combat vessels would be sent to Ukraine as part of a $450 million security assistance package. Built by Metal Shark and delivered to the Navy in 2021 as part of a currently active defense contract for 50 vessels…

China launched its third aircraft carrier on Friday, the Fujian, named after the province opposite self-ruled Taiwan, sending a statement of intent to rivals as it modernizes its military.President Xi Jinping has made overhauling the world's largest armed forces a central part of his agenda, seeking to project power well beyond China's shores, though the government says it has no hostile intent.Champagne, colorful ribbons, water cannons and smoke were deployed to celebrate the carrier's launch and official naming at a ceremony at the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai…

My first visit in 2007 to the American Society of Naval Engineers’ (ASNE) Multi-Agency Craft Conference (MACC) was an eye-opener. Having built a naval architecture career with frigates, destroyers and other large naval and commercial ships, I was eager to learn of the smaller craft used by the U.S. Navy and other government and military bodies. As my flight into Norfolk, Va. descended over Chesapeake Bay, I gazed in amazement as a Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) raced toward Virginia Beach, slowed, glided up the beach and into its shore base.

Boat builder Metal Shark said it has delivered a 55- by 17-foot welded aluminum pilot boat to the Pascagoula Bar Pilots Association in Mississippi.Designed by Metal Shark’s in-house engineering team and built at the company’s Franklin, La. shipyard, the new Singing River Island is the second Metal Shark pilot boat to join the Pascagoula Pilots fleet. It represents the latest evolution in the Louisiana-based builder’s Defiant-class pilot boat lineup, combining a proven hull form with a modern…

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.

Could you imagine designing your own car or truck or airplane, and then trying to build it? Unless you’re Elon Musk, you most likely couldn’t.Today’s consumers don’t want to solve their own problems, they want turnkey solutions, and they want them now. In what industry—other than maritime—do you see customers designing their own products, putting them out for bid, and then dealing with time and cost overruns? Yet, in the maritime world most acquisitions are long, drawn-out processes…