Metal Shark is building a 115 Defiant patrol vessel for Guyana

Through a press release, the U.S. shipbuilder Metal Shark informed that it is building a Type 115 Defiant patrol vessel for the Guyana Defense Force.

The vessel was acquired through direct purchase and is being built at the company’s shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana, USA.

It confirms what InfoDefensa has been reporting since mid-2021, but about which the authorities of the South American nation have not been sufficiently explicit about its characteristics.

The Guyanese government announced, in June last year, the contracting of Metal Shark for the construction of a patrol vessel, and then, in February 2022, the approval by Parliament of the last payment to that company; however, on neither occasion were details about the vessel given, alleging “security reasons”.

STRATEGIC PARTNERS

The company’s Vice President of International Business Development, Henry Irizarry, emphasized that the “Guyana Defense Forces and Metal Shark have been strategic partners for almost ten years and we are pleased to continue building our relationship”.

In this regard, Irizarry refers to the ten 38 Defiant type speedboats received by Guyana between 2014 and 2017.

He highlighted that Georgetown’s U.S. Ambassador and Embassy staff “were crucial in advocating for Metal Shark.”

“Our team worked closely” with the Defense Force and the Government of Guyana “to design a vessel ideal for their operational requirements.”

FEATURES

The 115 Defiant is a state-of-the-art monohull vessel and one of the newest models in the Defiant series. Built in welded aluminum, it measures 35 meters in length and 8.4 meters in beam.

It is powered by two 1,600 hp CAT C32 diesel engines turning conventional propellers through Twin Disc marine gears, allowing it to reach a cruising speed of 12 knots and a top speed of over 20 knots.

At cruising speed, the vessel has a range of 2,000 nautical miles and a range of ten days. The crew consists of 24 personnel.

The 115 Defiant carries a 5.2-meter rigid inflatable boat (RIB), built by Metal Shark, on the aft deck. The RIB can carry up to 10 people and is powered by two 50-hp outboard engines.

In the specific case of the vessel being built for Guyana, the RIB will be launched and recovered via a Palfinger Stiff Boom PS11000M-5m marine crane.

The patrol vessel 115 Defiant will replace the larger GDFS Essequibo (1026) in the Guyana Coast Guard fleet, a former British 900-ton displacement River-class minesweeper converted to an offshore patrol vessel and delivered to Guyana in 2001.

With information from InfoDefensa