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COVER STORY
ST Marine develops multi-purpose fire boat
by Dr Nigel Koh, Manager, Initial Design Group, ST Marine Ltd
Customers will be able to increase their capabilities in fire-fighting as well as search and
rescue operations.
As reported by the US Fire Administration in its special technical
report (2003) titled ‘Fireboats: Then and Now’, many fire
departments are transitioning from larger traditional fireboats to
smaller, faster and more versatile craft designed and configured
for multiple operational roles.
In the report, the US Fire Administration clearly defines three
basic functions of the multi-purpose fireboats, as follows:
• They serve as vehicles for conducting rescue operations and
transporting personnel and equipment to and from incidents
that are inaccessible from shore for land-based fire-fighters.
• They provide a stable platform for conducting and supporting
marine fire-fighting operations. Fireboats serve as forward
operational command posts for marine and some land-based
fire operations, rescue and recovery missions, and marine
environmental emergencies.
• They play a critical role in the supply of water for many kinds
of land-based fire operations and during natural and manmade
disasters.
In early 2011, ST Marine began in-house development of multipurpose
fireboats to provide potential customers with solutions
to enhance their fire-fighting capabilities. Primarily, there are
three areas - fire-fighting (Fi-Fi) for merchant and passenger
vessels, fire-fighting in coastal regions and refineries, and search
and rescue missions in case of marine disasters and oil spills.
ST Marine’s fireboat is designed to measure 42 m in length,
with a 10 m beam and a 3 m draft. It has a semi-displacement
hard chine steel monohull and aluminium superstructure.
With a response speed of over 18 knots, achieved through a
quadruple-screw, controllable pitch propeller system, it will be
driven by four MTU 12 V 4000 M70 main engines, each rated
1671 kW at 2,000 rpm. The main engines are also directly
coupled to drive the four main fire pumps through their Power-
Take-Offs (PTOs) on the front end. Station-keeping of the vessel
The fireboat has a semi-displacement hard chine steel monohull and
aluminium superstructure.
The multi-purpose fireboat, with Fi-Fi III capability, has been developed in-house by ST Marine.
12 THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2012