Feb. 15, 2019 —
A boat crew from Station Valdez, Alaska, conducts underway training near the station Aug. 18, 2018, in a new 29-foot response boat-small II (RB-S II). The Coast Guard placed a delivery order for 20 additional RB-S IIs Feb. 4, 2019. U.S. Coast Guard photo.
The Coast Guard placed a delivery order on Feb. 4 for 20 response boats-small II (RB-S IIs), worth approximately $8.5 million, with Metal Shark Boats of Jeanerette, Louisiana. The boats are targeted for delivery starting in May and extending through September; they will be stationed throughout the country in Great Lakes, East, West and Gulf Coast locations.
The 29-foot RB-S II is replacing the 25-foot RB-S, which is being phased out. The new boats can reach a top speed of over 40 knots and are used for a range of missions, including search and rescue, vessel boarding team deployment and law enforcement missions, port security, drug and migrant interdiction, and environmental response operations.
This brings the total of RB-S IIs ordered to 370; 339 RB-S IIs have been delivered.
For more information: Boat Acquisition Program page