Silver Ships, Mobile, Ala., completed reactivation and crew familiarization training on four Coastal Fast Response Boats (CFRBs) that were recently delivered to the Montenegrin Navy.
The CFRBs will serve as coastal and harbor patrol vessels, as well as law enforcement interceptors patrolling Montenegro’s 183 miles of coastline along the Adriatic Sea in southeastern Europe.
The four custom-designed military CRFBs feature specialized communications and navigation equipment on 46’ deep-vee hulls vessel with cabins and WING collar systems.
The boats are powered by twin Caterpillar C7.1 500 hp marine diesel engines and Hamilton HJX-29 waterjets. The C7.1 diesels provide efficient fuel combustion, quieter operation and no visible smoke when running. The engines were supplied by Silver Ships partner Thompson Marine, Spanish Fort, Ala.
Crew training took place over two weeks and culminated with a graduation ceremony attended by officials from the Montenegrin Navy, Montenegrin Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Embassy. U.S. Ambassador Judy Rising Reinke was on hand to congratulate the crews and award training certificates.
“Thompson Marine has been an impressive and highly reliable partner on this build,” said Jason Powers, Silver Ships chief operating officer. “They provided the critical power train (main diesel engine and transmission) for the project. Their implementation engineering team’s responsiveness is exceptional, which continues to make them a dependable and valued partner for this important and high-visibility project and future projects.”
“We are honored that Silver Ships trusts Thompson Marine’s engineering and project management team to be their partner in this fleet’s creation. Our great working relationship has been forged over years together, and we’re always proud of the vessels they design and manufacture. CAT’s C7.1 engines suit the CFRB application with their power-to-weight ratio, great torque and ease of maintenance for the operators,” said Richard Tremayne, Thompson Marine general manager-marine.
“It was very rewarding to work alongside the highly professional Montenegrin Navy,” said Shawn Lobree, Silver Ships’ director of federal programs, and retired U.S. Navy captain.
“They hand-selected their CFRB crews based on experience and ability to work together as a team. Their Sailors caught on very quickly and within just a few days our team was impressed by their enthusiasm and work ethic as they were performing advanced seamanship and maintenance operations on the vessels,” said Lobree. “This NATO navy is small but very capable and these boats will serve as a workhorse as they fulfill their diverse coastal patrol missions.”
