Emergency Service Vessel News Roundup | October 31 – Chinese sea rescue ship, Australian flood response craft and more

Deliveries include a large rescue ship to a Chinese government agency and three flood response workboats to an Australian volunteer organisation. A future US Coast Guard cutter is launched into the water for the first time. Finally, a Maryland fire department places orders for new vessels.

Large rescue ship delivered to Chinese transport ministry

China Merchants Heavy Industry recently handed over a new large rescue vessel to the Chinese Ministry of Transport.

The aptly named Nanhai Jiu 103 (“Nanhai Rescue 103”) will be operated by the Ministry of Transport’s South China Sea Rescue Bureau. Duties will also include firefighting, towing, salvage, and pollution response.

The vessel’s key equipment consists of a DP system, multibeam sonars, and an active heave-compensated crane.

Nanhai Jiu 103 was built in compliance to China Classification Society requirements.

Australian operator adds flood response boats to fleet

Australian volunteer search and rescue (SAR) organisation Marine Rescue NSW recently took delivery of three new flood and emergency response vessels from local builder Yamba Welding and Engineering.

Marine Rescue 20, Marine Rescue 21, and Marine Rescue 22 can be operated year-round and can be deployed quickly anywhere within New South Wales if needed. When the vessels are not tasked for flood response, they will be part of the Marine Rescue NSW fleet assisting boaters in need.

Each of the boats is fitted with a bow door, a Raymarine multi-function display, and two Suzuki outboard engines that deliver speeds of up to 35 knots.

US Coast Guard’s first Heritage-class cutter hits the water

The Eastern Shipbuilding Group launched a new US Coast Guard offshore patrol cutter (OPC) at its Panama City, Florida shipyard on Friday, October 27.

The future USCGC Argus is the first of the coast guard’s Heritage-class OPCs. These cutters will provide a capability bridge between the Legend-class national security cutter, which patrols the open ocean in the most demanding maritime environments, and the Sentinel-class fast response cutter, which operates closer to shore.

The first OPC is named for the revenue cutter Argus, which was one of the first 10 ships assigned to the US Revenue Cutter Service, a predecessor service to the US Coast Guard, in 1791.

Maryland fire department orders new response boats

The Anne Arundel County Fire Department in Maryland has selected Louisiana-based Metal Shark Boats for the construction of two new response boats in a series.

The 50-foot (15.2-metre), welded-aluminium vessels will each have climate-controlled pilothouses, twin PTO-driven firefighting pumps with dedicated water tanks, and three monitors. Two diesel inboard engines driving waterjets will deliver a top speed in excess of 45 knots and a cruising speed of 30 knots.

The pilothouse on each boat will have a unique window arrangement with a second tier of side windows below the beltline to provide improved downward-angle visibility while manoeuvring alongside smaller vessels or during man overboard retrieval. An overhead skylight array will meanwhile provide an unobstructed upward view when operating alongside ships or elevated structures, or during helicopter hoisting operations.