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VESSELS Silver Ships, Inc. located outside Mobile, Alabama has recently delivered 11M RHIBS to the U.S. Navy under its Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The vessels will be used as security patrol boats. These particular boats are cen- ter-consoles; however, they also offer the 11M in full cabin, outboard as well as inboard diesel waterjet confi guration, de- pending on the individual requirements, said Scott Clanton, Director of Special Projects. Beyond this, currently, the Al- abama-based boatbuilder has an Indefi nite Delivery/Indefi - nite Quantity (IDIQ) agreement through the U.S. Navy to provide in this calendar year, 100 High Speed Maneuverable Surface Target (HSMST) boats which operate either manned or unmanned with another 295 expected over the course of the following 4 years with a ceiling value of $48 million. De- veloping successful solutions has continued to allow Silver Ships to be awarded DOD contracts which integrate ballistic protection, counter measures, C4ISR systems, as well as the ability to maintain low-level sound and also reduced impact to crew; through use of shock mitigated seats and fl oors as well as the ergonomics throughout the entire craft. For ex- ample, the fi rm completed delivery of Riverine Patrol Boats (RPB’s) awarded through the Navy’s FMS in 2013. The RPB has a 40-length overall, center-console confi gu- ration, with a bow area capable of transporting troops and equipment and providing rapid egress through a bow door. The RPB is beachable, with the ability to work in shallow or open water, powered by inboard diesel waterjet propul- sion. “It’s designed to facilitate maintenance, inspections and repairs to provide ease of operation and extended service life,” and the PRB has multiple, crew-served weapon foun- dations,” added Clanton. That contract notably consisted of the complete package – boats, trailers, on-board and deploy- able spares, OEM Technical Manuals, and Boat Manual and training, providing the customer with a one-stop shop. According to Clanton, “Our competitiveness with US/ foreign shipyards is based on our quality of workmanship, along with our QA standards and our understanding and implementation of design in accordance industry stan- dards. That has always kept us in the fi ght, whether they’re U.S. or foreign small-boat manufacturers.” Building and delivering a vessel is unquestionably the easiest part of a contract while ‘cradle to grave’ requirements are always a challenge. Being able to provide after-sale service and sup- port is crucial to end users and Silver Ships continues its focus on the warfi ghters, assisting them in keeping their output ready to go into harm’s way. Silver Ships has provided, on a global basis, military, municipal and commercial users with work and patrol ves- sels for more than 27 years. Whether it’s brown or blue wa- ter operational requirements, Silver Ships can provide so- lutions from within its selection of hulls ranging between 21’ through 65’ manufactured entirely from marine grade aluminum – platforms designed to maximize the opera- tional life of the boat while keeping the overall life cycle cost to a minimum. 2014 is defi nitely shaping up to be one of the most pro- ductive years for the company. In fact, Silver Ships is on track to Ship Out between 100 to 150 US Military plat- forms this year alone, not including its commercial and Law Enforcement (LE). Chris Ransome and Associates, Inc., a hydrographic sur- vey company involved in a variety of on and under-water high technology projects nationwide, last month took delivery of their newest 26 foot survey vessel arrived this week. The new survey yacht is of all-aluminum construc- tion with a 9 foot cabin console and two 115 horsepower outboard engines. Scully’s Metal Fabrication, based out of Morgan City, La., teamed up with Chris Ransome and As- sociates on the construction of the boat. The new purpose- built vessel is capable of deploying all of the various sen- sors that Ransome currently employs, but specifi cally to enable the use of the latest generation of multi-beam depth sounding systems together with a mobile LiDAR sensor. Silver Ships: Solid Solutions for Military Clients Chris Ransome Welcomes New Survey Vessel MN 63www.marinelink.com MN May14 Layout 50-65.indd 63 4/21/2014 10:28:01 AM
