Bremerton, Washington-based high performance aluminum boat builder SAFE Boats International has been selected by the Colombian Navy/Coast Guard to build its new Type-F Riverine Interceptor Vessel.
Under the contract, SAFE Boats will provide the Colombian Navy/Coast Guard with a state-of-the-art, shallow draft, aluminum high speed intercept vessel designed to provide tactical mobility and support in opposed riverine and littoral environments.
The vessel will perform missions of offensive patrolling, combat drug trafficking, piracy, arms and explosives smuggling and conduct vessel-to-vessel boarding operations to insure the security of commercial shipping lines within Colombia.
The SAFE Boats design has twin Yamaha outboard engines, a tropical climate retractable canopy, forward and aft machine gun mount foundations and a 10 person seating capacity, including shock mitigating seats by SHOXS for five crew members.
The Type-F Riverine Interceptor is air deployable by fixed wing, rotary wing and commercial mover. It’s built with a maximum speed of 37-plus knots and 200-nautical mile range, and has capabilities in austere shallow water environments.
“The Colombian Coast Guard currently has over 20 SAFE Boats in service,” revealed John Hotz, SAFE’s director of sales for Latin America and the Caribbean. “We have worked very close with the Colombian military to understand just how aggressive and remote their missions can be and to develop a boat that will significantly enhance their patrol and interdiction capabilities on the large rivers of Colombia.”
