Metal Shark delivers new patrol boat to Puerto Rico Police Department

US-based boatbuilder Metal Shark has supplied a new boat to the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) for law enforcement patrol activities.

Built at Metal Shark’s Jeanerette, Louisiana production facility, the new patrol vessel is an addition to the PRPD’s fleet of 36ft-long Metal Shark Fearless-class centre console patrol boats.

The new 35ft-long Defiant welded aluminum vessel features completely enclosed, climate-controlled pilothouse for all weather operations equipped with four-seater shock-mitigating seating.

Equipped with Triple Mercury 300HP Verado four-stroke outboards to enhance its speed, the patrol boat is crafted with urethane-sheathed wing and protected with closed-cell-foam collar.

The new craft has been deployed to perform on relief missions along Puerto Rico coast and the islands of Culebra and Vieques post the Hurricane Maria attack.

Metal Shark International Business Development vice-president Henry Irizarry said: “Metal Shark is honoured to support the Puerto Rico Police Department with the most advanced, capable, and durable law enforcement boats on the market.

“These boats are a vital part of the PRPD’s efforts. They are operated in open-ocean conditions, around the clock, for up to 3,000 hours per year, so safety and reliability are crucial.”

The supplier’s vessels are operated by the PRPD’s Fuerzas Unidas de Rapida Accion (FURA), a PRPD agency, which coordinates with the US federal law enforcement agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Marshals Service and the Department of Homeland Security.

Founded in 1986, Metal Shark, a part of Gravois Aluminum Boats, supplies custom boats for defence, law enforcement and commercial entities.