MetalCraft delivers CBRN patrol boat to Los Angeles

MetalCraft Marine has delivered a 43′ patrol boat to the Los Angeles Port Police. The vessel is a new breed of CBRN detection patrol boats. The $1.5 million Boat 42 was christened in February.

A very fine bow entry is the critical design feature of all the Interceptor model line. Its high-speed rough water performance allows the operators to go offshore to inspect incoming ships before they enter the port for nuclear and chemical hazardous contaminants.

The boat is designed for rough water with structure design to ISO 12215 and, equally important, stability to ISO 12217 Category B. Cat B means it can work safely in 13′-17′ waves. The boat has a very tall mast for restricted in maneuverability lights or tow lights. It has visibility that meets ABYC sight lines. Its spotter windows are designed to clearly see the ship’s upper superstructures and sheerline. The unique feature is that in a hard overturn the side spotter windows give the operator an unobstructed view to either port or starboard while at 45° heel.

The propulsion system is designed around reliability and ease of maintenance and includes two Cummins 6.7L 480-hp engines and Konrad heavy duty 680 duo-prop outdrives. This combination provides a spacious engine room and easy access to all service points minimizing down time for servicing. Oversize engine hatches provide access to all sides of the engines.

Boat 42 is fitted with an aft deck helm, which allows an operator to be part of a boarding exercise or water rescue and provide additional support. It has a portable 900-lb. davit for body recovery. The wide body version of the Interceptor line provides comfortable seating for three officers and extra seating for a boarding party or mass rescue. The boat has overwide side decks with cabin access from near normal size sliding doors. These large doors provide good ingress/egress and for use with side arms.

The boat has a high-speed stainless deck windlass for when the boat is at anchor and surveilling the harbor and its entrance. It can bring up the anchor at a rapid rate safely with no chance of fouling to let the crew get underway immediately.

The electronics selection is the latest Furuno Timezero navigation system, with 16″ displays at the helm and a giant 24″ screen at the command/navigation station.

The Timezero system is virtually instant at responding to new crew commands, with overlays so clear and intuitive that you really don’t need additional training on these units. A four-way split screen permits navigation information, CCTV cams and infrared cam info simultaneously.

The boat has two very powerful CBRN detection units that are the highest-level state of the art detection systems available and are military grade. The RAD system was supplied by Radiation Plus. The RS-700 has a gamma and neutron detection system. The unit has an integrated controller and data acquisition system. The heart of the RS-700 is the proprietary advanced digital spectrometer (ADS) module.

Using a unique detector energy calibration curve stored in the ADS module, the spectrum is linearized and compressed into the system’s 1024 channel resolution.

A high-speed processor allows data to be corrected, if necessary, without distortion and can process 250,000 characters per second. All data is posted to the RAD Assist software with mapping and Nuclide Identification features.

The RAPIDplus chemical detector by Bruker is the second piece of this powerful CBRN patrol boat. It can automatically detect, identify and monitor all known chemical warfare agents (CWA) and important toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) at long distances (3.1 miles.

The system can provide real time detection. The instruments utilize Bruker’s proven RockSolid flex-pivot interferometer and can be operated while static or on the move with no degradation in performance. The software provides the user with enhanced visual surveillance and analytical displays overlaid on video with an extended substance library and increased detection capability.

The chemical detection limits of the remote sensor for CWAs and TICs are in the low ppm range and the new enhanced list of chemicals in the library is comprehensive. The system requires minimum training and maintenance and utilizes operator friendly software that allows easy control of the instrument and interpretation of data.