Port of Houston to get three new fireboats

The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority has approved a contract with MetalCraft Marine, Inc. or its affiliate, through the federal General Services Administration, for the purchase of three high-tech fireboats, at a total price of $14,970,000, using $11.23 million in Port Security Grant Program funds awarded by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and 25 percent Port Authority matching funds of $3.7 million.

The Port Authority’s Marine Fire Department provides critical, waterborne fire protection services to vessel and landside facilities in the upper Houston Ship Channel. These new high-tech fireboats will replace a fleet of three boats whose average age now exceeds 30 years. MetalCraft Marine’s fireboats operate at speeds almost 2.5 times faster than the Port Authority’s current fireboats, and their water cannons discharge up to 15,000 gallons per minute (nearly four times the current boats’ output). Their engines are also certified low-emission.

August 25, 2011