Safehaven wins second Interceptor 48 contract in Miami

In a post on social media, the company quoted marine pilot Bronson Stubs as saying the vessel was undeterred by 40-knot winds blowing all night and 3m wave heights, and carried out pilot transfers with no problem.

Safehaven, which was established in 1998 by current managing director Frank Kowalski, builds fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) pilot vessels patrol boats, workboats, naval and military interceptors and custom private yachts in sizes from 11m to 22m.

It has delivered more than 60 pilot boats to ports in the last 18 years, it says. The Interceptor pilot boats comprise a range of monohulled 11m-18m vessels as well as a Wildcat Catamaran range.

Safehaven Marine operates from facilities in Youghal comprising a main production factory and a research and development unit, with work undertaken largely in-house by engineers, electricians, shipwrights and other technical staff. The premises are certified by classification societies including Lloyd’s Register and Bureau Veritas.

It entered the specialist pilot-boat sector in the mid-2000s following a tender for a new pilot vessel for the Port of Cork, after which further pilot-boat orders were secured from a range of international ports.

With Miami due for delivery in early 2027, Safehaven Marine currently has in build pilot boats for Coruna in Spain, Montevideo in Uruguay and Blythe in the UK, with another Pilot 48 recently launched and currently being shipped to Newport in the USA.