Four Metal Shark patrol boats join DCCG
Four Metal Shark patrol boats with a top speed in excess of 45 knots have entered service with the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard (DCCG) on Aruba.
The 38-foot Defiant-class welded aluminum monohull patrol boats were acquired by the Dutch Ministry of Defense to bolster its capabilities across the Caribbean and are powered by twin Cummins Marine QSB6.7 diesel engines coupled with counter-rotating dual-prop stern drives.
“With the acquisition of these four state-of-the-art high-performance patrol boats, the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard has significantly increased its capabilities in Aruba,” said Josh Stickles, Metal Shark’s vice president of marketing, “Joining the four identical Metal Sharks delivered to neighboring Curaçao last year, these vessels will strengthen the DCCG’s presence across the region.”
Fully-enclosed pilothouse
Designed in-house by Metal Shark and built at the company’s Louisiana, US production facility, the vessels each have a fully-enclosed pilothouse which shields the crew from the elements, while Metal Shark’s ‘Pillarless Glass’ pilothouse arrangement offers optimum visibility.
Composite armour panels provide ballistic crew protection. Shockwave Corbin shock-mitigating seating is also provided, alongside anti-fatigue floor covering in the pilothouse and the belowdecks crew spaces.
For extended patrols at sea, accommodations include an enclosed head compartment, galley, and v-berth.
The patrol boats feature range of navigation electronics includes Raymarine radar, GPS and multifunction display, plus a FLIR thermal-imaging system for night operations.
In all, the DCCG will operate twelve Metal Sharks in the territorial waters of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, and Saba.
By Rebecca Jeffrey
