Emergency Service Vessel News Roundup | March 10 – A rescue boat for Western Australia, a coast guard fast cutter and fireboats for US municipal operators

Deliveries include a rescue boat for a Western Australia-based volunteer organisation, two fireboats for an operator in Maryland, and a US Coast Guard fast cutter. A California municipal fire department has meanwhile placed an order for a new response boat for inland operations.

US Coast Guard takes delivery of 52nd Sentinel-class cutter

The US Coast Guard has taken delivery of the future USCGC Maurice Jester, the 52nd Sentinel-class fast response cutter (FRC) built by Bollinger Shipyards of Louisiana.

Bollinger said this is the third of six FRCs to be homeported in Sector Boston.

The cutter honours the late Lieutenant Commander Maurice Jester, a coast guard officer who saw action in World War II. Lieutenant Commander Jester was serving as the captain of the patrol boat USCGC Icarus when it successfully sank the German submarine U-352 off the coast of North Carolina on May 9, 1942.

Fast rescue boat handed over to Western Australia operator

Henderson, Western Australia-based boatbuilder Cordina Marine recently delivered a new aluminium-hulled boat to local operator Volunteer Marine Rescue Western Australia (VMRWA).

Neptune will be operated by VMRWA’s Marine Rescue Two Rocks station.

The boat measures 11.5 by 3.9 metres and has space for two crewmembers and six other personnel. Two Yamaha outboards deliver a top speed of 44 knots and a maximum endurance of 12 hours.

Maryland volunteer fire department acquires two response boats

The Oakland Volunteer Fire Department of Maryland has expanded its marine rescue fleet with the acquisition of two new boats and associated equipment from local manufacturer Mid-Atlantic Rescue Systems..

The acquisitions include a 14-foot (4.2-metre) inflatable boat and a 16-foot (4.8-metre) aluminium boat. Both vessels are powered by Mercury outboards.

The boats were acquired with the aid of grant funding from local charity the Gary Sinise Foundation.

California’s Woodbridge Fire District orders new boat

The Woodbridge Fire District of San Joaquin County, California, has placed an order for a new response vessel to be built by San Franciso Bay Area-based Moose Boats.

The monohull boat will be powered by two Mercury engines. The emergency response equipment will include two monitors and a dive platform with doors.

The boat will be operated primarily in the San Joaquin River.