AWARDS 2024 | Best Fisheries Patrol Boat – Protector IV – Chartwell Marine

This purposeful looking combined fisheries patrol and research vessel is remarkably innovative, versatile and practical.

Unusually for the UK, the boat is a relatively fast catamaran that incorporates many unusual features for a comparatively compact vessel. It should serve its owners very well.

"It is a versatile platform enabling multiple operations including survey, patrol and protection," Andy Page, Chartwell Marine Managing Director, told Baird Maritime.

"With multi-configuration payloads, careful design consideration needed to be made with respect to the vessel’s structural arrangement and stability."

When asked about trends impacting naval architecture, Page gave the cost of manufacture, the availability of construction finance, and the integration of emerging future fuels technologies during or prior to the formation of applicable regulations as examples.

"It is anticipated that the industry will experience multi-sector influence with the likely two most dominant markets being defence and commercial," Page remarked about the direction being taken by the maritime security industry.

Page said much innovation is required in defence to prepare for active anticipated threats, some of which can be learnt or transferred from commercial/renewable platforms and some of which will need to be developed from ground up prototyping.

"We at Chartwell believe we are well-positioned as an organisation active in both sectors to provide multi-sector design intelligence and experience," he told Baird Maritime.

For a list of the 2024 "Best Of" award winners, please click here.