VESSEL REVIEW | CP 335 – Italian Coast Guard places new fast rescue boat into service

The Italian Coast Guard has taken delivery of a new fast search and rescue (SAR) boat designed and built by Italian shipyard FB Design.

Intended for operations off the southern coast of Italy particularly off the Port of Brindisi, the composite-hulled, waterjet-equipped CP 335 can house four crewmembers plus medical personnel and up to 18 rescued accident survivors. The vessel also boasts self-righting capability, ensuring it will still be able to operate even following a capsize in Sea State six conditions.

The boat has a length of 18 metres (59 feet), a beam of 4.5 metres (15 feet), and a draught of only 1.15 metres (3.77 feet). Key features include an infrared camera to permit SAR operations even at night or in bad weather, a rescue ladder with a capacity of 300 kg, and a firefighting monitor.

Power is provided by two Scania DI16 076M engines, which propel the boat to speeds of up to 36 knots and enable to sail 300 nautical miles. The engines also comply with IMO Tier II emissions standards, while the waterjets boast improved internal waterflow and performance.

Flexible design for coastal and near-shore operation

“The client required an existing vessel design ready to be delivered within a short time frame of six months,” FB Design told Baird Maritime. “The vessel was also a quite complex one, being a self-righting boat with advanced Furuno electronics and SAR facilities, including a medical room for the transportation of injured people and a separate compartment for 20 people.”

The builder explained that the boat also needed to be built according to both RINA and Italian Coast Guard rules, particularly those covering rescue and maritime police, unrestricted navigation, and survival under Beaufort Force five conditions.

To satisfy SAR requirements, the boat is fitted with rescue platforms all throughout. An aft rescue area is devoted to rescue of castaways or injured and deceased individuals. The platform is fitted at a lower level, and steps are provided to permit easy access to and from the water.

The aft rescue area also features a floating stretcher and a winch for heaving and hauling the stretcher. Rollers are fitted on the handrails to enable the stretcher to easily slide into the water and back onto the boat.

Two lateral rescue platforms are also fitted. There is even a foldable platform (with a ladder and a safety parapet) that will permit the operator to get closer to the water and an MOB cradle with a remotely controlled winch.

“The innovative self-adaptive stretcher was created after twenty years of experience in the design, manufacture and use of damped seats for high speed vessels,” said FB Design. “Distinguished by a small size (no bigger than a standard medical stretcher) and reduced weight (around 100 kg), it automatically adjusts the dampening according to the weight of the patient on two different points (head and legs), for optimal customisation.”

It also allows the stretcher to be raised, lowered and tilted depending on prevailing conditions and the patient's own condition, thus ensuring optimal and safe transport at all times.

Compact platform for demanding missions

The major design complexity was having to fit everything inside a comparatively small vessel, and this meant not only the medical and SAR equipment, but also a dedicated space for rescued individuals.

“FB Design has quite a long proven history in terms of patrol vessels, and we had already built several self-righting units,” the builder told Baird Maritime. We also had already acquired a fairly good experience in addressing SAR requirements, thanks to other clients that have been using our vessels to support their missions for many years.

“However, the time constraints, in combination with the complexity of the project, were definitely quite challenging. This was also a comparatively slower vessel for our standard, with a lower maximum speed and waterjets, which we rarely install on our vessels.”

The company’s admitted lack of experience in installing waterjets was a critical part of the process, especially given the time constraints. There was also a need to add a gyrostabiliser, another step that the company had not previously done.

FB Design nonetheless took on the challenge, taking risks in pre-ordering the waterjets and other equipment, and the company said this move proved correct, as the tender was awarded and the boat was delivered in record time.

“It’s essential to underline how, with such tight time constraints and delay penalties looming, it is vital to achieve the right collaboration with the main suppliers. We are lucky to have established collaborations with all of them.”

The builder added that it was satisfied with the incorporation of the gyrostabiliser.

“We were very surprised by how much the stationary stability of the boat improved and even more surprised by the fact that the gyrostabiliser did not hinder the self-righting ability or the seaworthiness of the boat at maximum speed,” FB Design told Baird Maritime.