Coast Guard Modernizing Patrol Boat Fleets in Baltimore/Yorktown

Coast Guard units at Baltimore, Md., and Yorktown, Va., have added new Response-Boat Small (RB-S II) platforms to their fleets. Built by Louisiana-based Metal Shark Boats, the vessels will be placed into service for patrol and rescue operations in Baltimore, and as part of the Boat Forces Training Center's operational fleet in Yorktown, where the Coast Guard trains all of its new coxswains. The nation's capitol will be the next area to receive the new RB-S II. The vessels are part of a $192 million, 470-boat contract designed to gradually replace the Defender-class RB-S as it reaches the end of its service life.

 

RB-S II's flexibility as a multi-function platform makes it ideal for use across the Coast Guard's full mission spectrum, including search and rescue, ports and waterways security, law enforcement, drug interdiction, and environmental response operations. Future deliveries will be assigned to various units including Marine Safety Units (MSU), Maritime Safety and Security Teams (MSST), and shore stations throughout the coastal United States and its territories.

 

To better manage the increase in manufacturing requirements, Metal Shark plans to expand its 65,000 square-foot Jeanerette, La., manufacturing facility while increasing its production team of skilled aluminum welders, riggers, electronics experts, and installation professionals by over 25 percent in the next six months.