Shipbuilder Metal Shark has delivered a new 36' welded-aluminum patrol boat to the Policia Municipal de San Juan (San Juan Police Department), its newest customer in Puerto Rico.
The new patrol boat is a 36 Fearless stepped-bottom center console vessel built at Metal Shark’s Jeanerette, La., production facility and custom-configured to meet the requirements of the San Juan Police Department. The high performance craft has been equipped with triple 300-hp Suzuki outboard engines and reaches a top speed in excess of 50 knots. Other mission-enhancing features include a custom 36" dive door and dive ladder, underwater lighting, twelve dive tank holders, Garmin radar, and FLIR camera.
Metal Shark has delivered five new patrol boats in the past three years to Puerto Rico, where another law enforcement agency, the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD), also operates a fleet of Metal Shark vessels.
“The design, construction, and performance characteristics of this highly capable craft have been extensively proven in Puerto Rico’s demanding open-ocean conditions, with the Puerto Rico Police Department logging over 3,000 hours per year in its Metal Shark 36 Fearless vessels,” Metal Shark’s vice president of international business development, Henry Irizarry, said in a statement announcing the delivery. “Metal Shark’s performance, durability, and safety, as demonstrated and proven by the PRPD over years of around-the-clock operation, made the selection of this vessel a logical choice for the San Juan Police.”
The San Juan Police will use the new patrol boat to support a wide range of missions. The department provides port security and law enforcement to the Port of San Juan and the metropolitan San Juan coast, and also supports dive operations throughout the island.
“Puerto Rico presents unique challenges from a maritime law enforcement perspective due to the vast range of missions routinely conducted by its agencies, including disaster relief, search and rescue, counter narcotics, border patrol, and interdiction missions, all of which may be conducted in heavy offshore conditions,” said Irizarry. “Metal Shark is proud to be repeatedly chosen by Puerto Rico’s law enforcement agencies for these demanding but vital missions.”
In addition to this latest delivery, Metal Shark has multiple other projects for Puerto Rico in various stages of development, including a custom 27' vessel currently being built for another Puerto Rico government agency.
