Port of Long Beach commissions second fireboat

A second new fireboat, Vigilance, has been officially brought into service at the Port of Long Beach to provide what it says is the most robust waterborne safety of any container seaport in the world.

Port Executive Director Mario Cordero said Vigilance was dedicated in a dockside ceremony for the late Long Beach Harbour Commissioner Dr John Kashiwabara, a Korean War veteran who served as a commissioner from 1996-2002. He died in 2010.

“These fireboats are technological marvels, able to turn on a dime, move sideways and throw water or foam anywhere on the world’s largest container ships and oil tankers,” said Mr Cordero.

Vigilance and its twin Protector are equipped with 10 water cannons capable of extinguishing fires in the harbour or on nearby land with more than 155,000 litres per minute – four times the output of the previous fireboats. They can shoot water the length of two football fields, and higher than a 20-storey building.

The fireboats include facilities for medical treatment, a command information centre, boom deployment to contain spills, and an onboard crane. They can also assist with chemical, biological and nuclear threats.