The Pascagoula Bar Pilots’ Association has taken delivery of a 55-foot launch from Metal Shark.
Singing River Island was built using Metal Shark’s Defiant-class aluminum monohull design with modifications for pilotage, the shipyard said. Key features include nonskid decks from bow to stern and an array of safety rails and grab handles. The foredeck has boarding platforms on the port and starboard sides.
“Metal Shark has succeeded in combining quality and comfort,” Pascagoula Bar Pilots’ Association Capt. Walter Gautier said in a prepared statement. “This vessel is proving daily to be a safe and pilot-friendly platform for transfers at sea.”
The vessel is powered by twin 803-hp Caterpillar C18 engines paired with Twin Disc reduction gears and Michigan Wheel propellers. Its cruising speed is 25 knots, while its top speed approaches 30 knots. The electronics package includes an integrated Furuno TZtouch2 multifunction system with radar, GPS and depth sounder, along with a FLIR thermal imaging system.