However readers might define “normal”, 2020 was anything but. But the business of rigid inflatable boats (RIB) has been going at full throttle.Matthew Velluto, Director of Business Development and Marketing at RIBCRAFT USA, based in Marblehead, Mass., described a business moving steadily ahead, though it’s had to weave and bob at times during 2020.
The University of Vermont (UVM) has ordered what is touted as the first hybrid research vessel, a project which brings together Derecktor Shipyards, BAE Systems and Chartwell Marine.The 19-meter catamaran will be designed for low-emission, low-fuel-burn operations and is set for launch in April 2022. Chartwell Marine’s hybrid design, which is powered by two Cummins QSB 6.
Norwalk, Ct.-based First Harvest Navigation, a marine transportation company that connects family farms to urban and suburban neighborhoods, has selected Boston-based Sea Machines’ technology to launch the first autonomous hybrid cargo vessel in the U.S. Powered by Sea Machines’ SM300 autonomous command and remote-helm control system, the U.S.
Ribcraft announced that the United States Navy (USN) has awarded a five-year indefinite quantity contract worth up to $43 million to build and deliver an estimated 48 of the 11-Meter Expeditionary Mine Counter Measure Boat. Ribcraft has also been providing the U.S. Navy with 7-Meter shipboard RIBs since 2014.
Shipbuilder Metal Shark reports it has delivered a new research tender to OceanX, a New York-based nonprofit ocean exploration initiative and media organization.The custom 38-foot Defiant-class welded aluminum monohull pilothouse vessel will be carried aboard the recently-launched one-of-a-kind scientific research, media production and exploration vessel, the R/V OceanXplorer.