Emergency Service Vessel News Roundup | December 21 – Finnish patrol vessels, US-built firefighting catamaran and more

A fire department in California welcomes a response boat into service as a Finnish builder begins construction of a new class of patrol vessels for border guard use. Orders have meanwhile been placed for an emergency towing vessel that will serve outlying islands off Australia and an oil spill response craft that will serve communities in southern Finland.

Catamaran response boat delivered to California’s Alameda Fire Department

Vallejo, California-based Lind Marine, through its Moose Boats boatbuilding division, has handed over a new response boat to the Alameda Fire Department (AFD) in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area.

The catamaran vessel is powered by two Cummins QSB6.7 engines driving Hamilton waterjets via Twin Disc gearboxes to deliver a top speed of 38 knots and a cruising speed of 30 knots. The firefighting equipment includes four monitors connected to two PTO-driven pumps that can be controlled from the helm station.

The boat also has space for additional personnel such as divers and rescued survivors.

Construction begins on new patrol vessel for Finnish Border Guard

Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku has commenced construction on the first in a series of two patrol vessels ordered by the Finnish Border Guard.

The two Turva-class vessels will be delivered in 2025 and 2026 to replace three of the border guard’s older patrol vessels. The newer vessels will each have a projected service life of over 25 years.

Both vessels will be built in Gdansk, Poland.

Smit Lamnalco to operate dedicated response vessel on behalf of Australian government

Netherlands-based towage company Smit Lamnalco will place a new response vessel into service in the waters of Australia’s Torres Strait and the Great Barrier Reef in fulfillment of a 10-year contract recently awarded by the Australian government, through the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).

The vessel will be built to a design by Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd. It will have a hybrid propulsion system that will deliver a bollard pull of 120 tonnes.

Smit Lamnalco will provide an interim vessel for operation in the Torres Strait and the Great Barrier Reef for the first two years of the contract while the dedicated vessel is being built.

Delivery of the replacement response vessel is scheduled for no later than the middle of 2026.

Finnish rescue organisation selects local builder for new spill response boat

Finnish boatbuilder Kewatec Aluboat has been selected for the construction of a new oil spill response vessel for the Eastern Uusimaa Rescue Department, an emergency services operator based in southern Finland’s Uusimaa region.

Features will include a bow ramp, a rescue platform, a fire pump, a crane, a towing hook, and space for equipment such as containment booms. Power will be provided by two Volvo Penta D4 270kW diesel engines.

Delivery is scheduled for the end of 2024. The new boat will replace an older spill response vessel that was acquired in 2001.

The craft may also be used for maritime rescue duties.