Gladding-Hearn Delivers Fast Response Boat
Gladding-Hearn Delivers First Fast Response Boat in North America with Firefighting Capability and Volvo Penta’s Dynamic Positioning System
Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, has delivered the first multi-purpose, fast response pilot boat in North America with firefighting capabilities and equipped with Volvo Penta’s Dynamic Positioning System. The vessel owner, Southeast Ocean Response Services, a sister company to the Charleston Branch Pilots Association, took delivery on August 20, 2014
The all-aluminum vessel, designed jointly by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard and C. Raymond Hunt Associates, has a deep-V hull, measuring 64.11 feet overall, with a 21.4-foot beam and a 6-foot draft. Designed to meet its primary mission of supporting major offshore salvage operations by other companies between Morehead City, N.C., and St. Augustine, Fla., the vessel will also serve as a fireboat for the Port of Charleston, a supply boat to ships offshore of the harbor, and a back-up pilot boat for the Charleston pilots.
The 12-passenger boat features three IPS pods, each powered by a Volvo D13-700, EPA Tier III diesel engine, producing 700 Bhp at 2,300 rpm. The vessel’s top speed of over 28 knots loaded.
“We went with triple IPS drives because we could use smaller engines with a range of about 400 nautical miles and still get the required speed with 30 percent improved fuel efficiency and EPA Tier III technology,” said Winn Willard, a vice president at the design firm.
A Volvo IPS integrated control system provides for three stations with three-axis joysticks—at the wheelhouse console and at two aft docking stations—to control the engine speed and pod steering. The vessel is equipped with the Humphree Interceptor trim-control system, with active ride control. “This boat’s maneuverability and handling are further enhanced by the Volvo Dynamic Positioning System, especially when holding in a stationary position on the ocean is essential,” added Peter Duclos, the shipyard’s president.
The vessel’s firefighting system includes a pair of monitors that supplies seawater from a 3,500-gpm Hale pump, which runs off the vessel’s middle engine. For petro-chemical fires, there is a foam-concentrate injection system that automatically proportions four to 20 gallons-per-minute to a single injection point.
A hydraulic knuckle-boom crane, aft of the main cabin, services a 10,000 lb. cargo deck. At the transom, recessed steps lead to a rescue platform. On the roof of the main cabin is the pilots’ boarding platform.
Below the main deck is the forecastle, with a fully-equipped galley, head and separate shower, and four berths. A 96,000 Btu seawater-cooled air conditioning system cools the vessel’s interior.
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