 2.01.07 MACKAY MARINE SELECTED FOR USCG RB-M PROJECT Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC) and Kvichak Marine Industries (KMI) have been awarded a $600 million contract for the production of up to 250 Response Boat Medium (RB-M) boats for the United States Coast Guard. It has been three years since the Marinette-Kvichak spec boat underwent extensive testing at the USCG base in Norfolk, VA. by Coast Guard personnel. After an exhaustive evaluation of designs, the UCSG selected the best vessel design for the job; the vessel builders selected the best nationwide commercial marine electronics company to provide continual service for these craft throughout their working life. Mackay Marine, Inc will be outfitting the 45 ft. RB-M patrol vessels with a state of the art marine electronics package. The main suite of electronics will consist of Furuno’s Navnet Vx2 radar/plotter/sounder system with ethernet capability so the crew will truly have an integrated electronics package. The autopilot system chosen is the Simrad AP25 autopilot and will be fully integrated as part of the main marine electronics platform. The RB-M infra-red camera will be interfaced to Furuno’s Navnet system so that vessel crew members may view IR video directly on all Navnet monitors. Crew members may also “plug-and-play” waypoints and routes onto the chart plotter screen as well as view echo sounder information at any given time. The USCG has selected the Furuno FM-8800S as their DSC VHF with built-in channel 70 watch receiver for both safety as well as search and rescue (SAR) purposes. Crew members will utilize the JMC DF5500 RDF in order to track down recreational boaters in distress via the signal from their VHF radio. RB-M was initially designed to replace the existing 41 ft. platform primarily for SAR purposes but since September 2001 their mission statement has grown to include both the homeland and national security interests of the United States. The vessels will be outfitted with the category 2 USCG approved McMurdo EPIRB with built-in GPS for the safety of the boat’s crew. A Furuno LH3000 loud hailing system will provide an additional level of safety for the boat crew. The 45 ft. craft is being hailed as a vital part of national and homeland security with a range of up to 25 miles offshore. One or more of these patrol boats will be stationed at every Coast Guard station located throughout the United States of America. “This is a very proud moment for everyone who has been involved with RB-M, which becomes the largest commercial new build project for Mackay Marine, Inc, with a contract estimated at $9 - $12 million over a 10 year period”, says Phil L’Esperance, West Coast Sales Manager for Mackay Marine. Full production will commence in late 2007-early 2008 and is expected to run through 2016-2018. |
