The following is text of a news release from Moose Boats:
(VALLEJO, Calif.) — Moose Boats has delivered a M2-38 catamaran for dive response and fire rescue to the San Francisco Fire Department.
Twin Cummins QSB6.7 425-hp turbo diesel propulsion engines with HamiltonJet HJ292 waterjets will power the aluminum catamaran. Serving primarily as a dive and rescue boat, the M2-38 is outfitted with an integrated dive/recovery platform and a bow ladder for beach rescues.
Due to the Moose Boat’s Homeland Security role, it is also equipped with a Hale fire pump providing in excess of 1,500 gallons per minute of fire suppression water, radiation detection equipment, and CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) positive pressure cabin air filtration. A heavy-duty push knee will enable the M2-38 to come in contact with larger vessels and San Francisco’s many piers.
The boat has a host of electronics including a Simrad multifunction navigation screen, radar and 3D side-scan sonar, L3 AIS, FLIR stabilized thermal imaging camera, Motorola and Icom communications radios, and an OTS diver recall system.
SFFD’s Marine Unit responds to hundreds of shoreline and open-water search and rescue calls per year so the new M2 is outfitted with a cabin roof observation tower and an array of high-powered searchlights.
FEMA’s FY 2015 Port Security Grant Program funded 75 percent of the purchase for the M2-38 catamaran, which will become a vital regional asset for San Francisco Bay Area marine response efforts.