Safe Boats International, Bremerton, Wash., hosted Israel Marine Police officials this week as they inspected and sea trialled the last three vessels out of a total of 10 patrol boats under contract. The delivery of a 25-footer, a 27-footer and a 31-footer finalizes an extensive multi-year vessel procurement planned by the Israel Marine Police since 2012.
“Safe Boats is very proud to be delivering these last vessels under contract to the Israel Marine Police,” Kevin Rowlee, the shipyard’s sales and marketing manager, said in a prepared statement. “We are extremely honored to be partnered with such an important, prestigious and capable agency and look forward to supporting their operational requirements in the future.”
The first Israel Marine Police boats delivered by SBI are currently in service patrolling the coastal waters of Israel in the Mediterranean Sea. The last of the aluminum vessels, which have 36" drafts, are to be placed in service by March of 2017.
Designed by Safe Boats, the patrol, response and search and rescue vessels are powered by pairs of Honda 225-hp outboards that deliver running speeds of 45+ knots. Other features include tankage for 150-300 gals. of gas, Honda controls, Sea Star steering system, Furuno electronics suite, SHOXS seats, and a FLIR thermal camera. In addition, the 25-footer will feature a center console, the 27-footer, a full cabin, and the 31-footer, a walk around cabin. Each vessel can carry a crew of four.
“Over the past three years the Israel Marine Police partnered with Safe Boats International to construct 10 vessels for the safety and security of our community. Each vessel has enhanced command and control systems that will increase the Israel Marine Police interoperability within our region” said Yuval Karta, commander, Israel Marine Police. “Our new vessels will serve our community by keeping the public safe through Law Enforcement and Search and Rescue. I thank all the partners along the way from Safe Boats International and the Israel Police for helping make this dream come true.”
