The following is the text of a news release from Moose Boats:
(PETALUMA, Calif.) — Moose Boats, a boat designer and manufacturer in the San Francisco Bay Area, has been awarded a contract from New Bedford Fire Department in Massachusetts for the construction of a M2-38 catamaran CBRNE emergency response and recovery vessel.
Twin Cummins 425-hp turbo diesel propulsion engines coupled to Hamilton waterjets will power the M2-38 aluminum catamaran. The M2 will be equipped with a fire pump, dual monitors, discharges fore and aft for hand lines and supply to land-based apparatus, multi-threat detection equipment and SCBA distribution throughout the vessel. The M2-38 will be capable of pumping firefighting water at a flow rate exceeding 1,500 gallons per minute of while maintaining full maneuverability from both propulsion engines and jets.
The navigation and electronics suite is comprised of multifunction navigation screens, radar, side scan sonar, AIS, VHF radios, communications headsets, thermal imaging and radiation detection equipment. A heavy-duty push knee will enable the M2-38 to come in contact with larger vessels and piers while the custom bow ladder will allow for firefighters to disembark in beach landing scenarios.
New Bedford Fire Department Chief Michael Gomes said, “The M2-38 will be used as the primary firefighting/search-and-rescue platform for the Port of New Bedford, the second-busiest commercial port in the state of Massachusetts. Located on Buzzards Bay and the approaches to the Cape Cod Canal, the Port of New Bedford has deepwater access and is protected by a hurricane barrier and is considered to be the safest port on the East Coast. It is home to over 400 commercial fishing vessels and has been the nation’s No. 1 dollar-producing fishing port for 11 straight years. This vessel is being funded through the combination of a Port Security Grant and the local matching funds. The CBRNE-capable vessel will provide additional capabilities to the port and the region. In 2010, the Port of New Bedford experienced an actual CBRNE incident when a number of World War I sulfur mustard rounds were dredged up by a fishing vessel and one ruptured. This incident resulted in two casualties and required 15 days and multiple agencies to bring to a successful conclusion.”
The city of New Bedford utilized GSA Schedule 84 clause allowing the vessel to be purchased from Moose Boats’ GSA pricing schedule.
Moose Boats has constructed numerous firefighting vessels for agencies throughout the United States including Richmond Fire Department, Tiburon Fire Rescue District, San Francisco Fire Department and Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation and Conservation District in California; Old Saybrook Fire Department in Connecticut; Lewes Fire Department in Delaware; Anne Arundel County in Maryland; Massport Fire Rescue at Boston Logan Airport and Sandwich Fire Rescue in Massachusetts; Northport Fire Department in New York; New Jersey State Police; North Kingstown Fire Rescue in Rhode Island; and West Pierce Fire Rescue and Bellingham Fire in Washington.
For more information, visit www.mooseboats.com.
