The Savannah-Chatham Police Marine Patrol has taken delivery of a 27-ft. Workskiff Harbor Security boat.
The boat, obtained through a federal grant from the Transportation Security Administration, will be used to patrol the abundance of waterways throughout Chatham County, including security duty along the Savannah River waterfront.
The Marine Patrol regularly patrols the local waterways, working with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the United States Coast Guard, providing harbor enforcement and providing an extra layer of security for Savannah's busy port. Accordingly, the Marine Patrol investigates waterway and marine-related accidents and/or crimes. The unit also enforces all the safe-boating laws of the State of Georgia.
In addition, the boat will also be used as a diving platform for the Underwater Search and Recovery Unit (Dive Team), particularly involving boating accidents and the recovery of water-borne accident victims.
WORKSKIFF starts the new year with a contract to build additional 25 foot utility boats for the United States Navy and delivery of a 27 foot Harbor Patrol Boat to Savannah, Ga., part of Homeland Security efforts. Supplying Federal, State and Local governments with patrol and utility boats is not new to Workskiff. This fall Workskiff received an "outstanding" rating from the US General Services Administration as a US Government supplier and has renewed it's GSA contract for an additional five-year period. Last year, the US Navy took delivery of three Workskiff Oil Spill Response Boats that in service at Navy Facilities in Jacksonville, FL, Guam and Diego Garcia. The U.S. Department of Interior North Cascades National Park and Katmai National Park both returned to Workskiff this year for additional 16 to 21 ft. crew boats. Workskiff delivered boats to commercial entities from coast to coast as well as private parties in New York, Connecticut, Michigan, Washington and Alaska.