Stabicraft Marine delivers vessels to Alaska

New Zealand’s Stabicraft Marine has delivered nine custom 659 Wheel House vessels to Alaska where they will be used as observation boats to monitor the gill net fishery and the fishery’s interaction with sea mammals and sea birds.

The vessel orders came at a special request from Saltwater Inc, a private organisation that gathers data on wildlife and fish stocks for the Alaskan Department of Fish and Game and by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The order is a coup for Stabicraft Marine, as the vessels had to meet stringent U.S. criteria. Stabicraft as a manufacturer came under intense scrutiny for being a non-U.S. company as well as having to have an independent marine surveyor assess Stabicraft’s design -- ultimately endorsing their design and build.

"Saltwater, Inc. located in Anchorage, Alaska, has ordered the vessels as part of a US federal government contract with national marine fisheries. It will last for the next two summers and will be located in the Petersburg-Wrangell area of southeast Alaska,” said Stabicraft Marine Managing Director, Paul Adams.

Each boat will have an operator and observer onboard, some days the vessels and their operators will need to travel a total of 80 miles in all conditions and will be observing fishing vessels in the gill net fishery.

The vessels will be used in a variety of roles, mainly based around rivers and estuaries and offshore work.

"This is a significant order for Stabicraft. It has traditionally been very difficult for non-US boat manufacturers to supply vessels to be used in government projects. It's a real coup.

"We are led to believe that this is a high-profile operation and everyone in the area will be watching these boats. Even though, they will be used in the inside waters of southeast Alaska, there are many days that the wind whips the seas up and the performance of these will be tested.

"Stabicrafts are already inherently very strong and the pontoon design adds a lot of rigidity. On these particular 659 Wheel House vessels, this has been enhanced by the use of 6mm plate alloy for the hull, 4mm for the pontoons and 4mm for the cabin.

"The positive buoyancy tubes offer ‘life-ring’ security, the Saltwater Inc observers are going to be very, very safe when out on the job," added Mr Adams.

The nine Stabicraft vessels will begin on water operations in the coming weeks.

For further information contact Stabicraft Marine Limited Ph +64 3 211 1828 Email: office@stabicraft.com web: http://www.stabicraft.com