History
Civil Ensign of the United StatesUnited States
NameFireboat 20
OperatorLong Beach Fire Department
Ordered2010
BuilderFoss Maritime inc.
Cost$25,500,000
Completed2014-05
General characteristics
TypeFireboat
Length108 ft (33 m)
Draft15 ft 10 in (4.83 m)
PropulsionVoith-Schneider propellers
Speed13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Endurance5 days
Complement6
Crew6

The City of Long Beach, California started to operate a new fireboat, now known as the Protector, in May 2014.[1][2][3][4] The vessel was known as Fireboat 20, until she was officially commissioned, on June 8, 2016.[5] A sister ship will follow within a year. The two new vessels will replace the Challenger and the Liberty, commissioned in 1987.[6] The earlier vessels had a troubled maintenance record.[7] She will be one of the most powerful fireboats in the world.

Protector is propelled by a pair of Voith-Schneider propellers, an advanced propulsion system that bears some resemblance to helicopter propulsion, and enable instantaneous changes in the propeller thrust.[1] She is 108 feet long, with a maximum speed of 13 knots. Her ten water cannon can pump 41,000 gallons per minute, more than four times as much as her predecessors. She is able to throw her water up to 236 feet (72 m) in the air, and up to 580 feet (180 m) away.

The two vessels were designed by Robert Allan Limited, a firm known for designing many widely admired tugboats, fireboats and support vessels.[2]

In addition to firefighting duties Fireboat 20 and her sister have air-tight crew compartments and a decontamination chamber, so they are equipped to respond to the releases of hazardous material, in particular they can respond to radiological, poison gas, or germ warfare attacks.[8] The vessels pumps can de-water flooded structures. The vessels are highly automated, and require only a crew of four. They can transport 12 additional individuals. Part of the cabin can serve as an emergency infirmary. The pair of vessels was budgeted at $51 million.[8]

Operational history

On May 20, 2016, the Protector joined other emergency vessels and vehicles in fighting a fire at Long Beach's Seal Beach Pier.[9]

Protector and Vigilance helped celebrate the 2019 Great Pacific Air Show.[10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Powerful fireboat christened at Foss Maritime". Marine Log. 2014-04-15. Archived from the original on 2014-05-16. Fireboat 20 and its sister are replacements for two older fireboats, the Liberty and Challenger.
  2. 1 2 Rob Almeida (2013-08-29). "First Look: Port of Long Beach's Powerful New Fireboat". GCaptain. Currently taking shape at Foss Maritime's shipyard in Seattle are the Port of Long Beach's new Robert Allan-designed fireboats. Once delivered in 2014, these will be amongst the world's most powerful fireboats.
  3. ↑ John Snyder (2014-11-04). "Pilots, fire, patrol: A powerful fireboat for Long Beach; port security buoys patrol market". Professional Mariner. Retrieved 2015-11-21. The boat's firefighting power consists of 10 monitors with the capability of delivering 41,000 gallons of water per minute. The jets can reach a height of 230 feet and a distance of 580 feet. There are four fire pumps aboard, two driven by the Cat diesel engines. In firefighting mode, 75 percent of the propulsion power is available for pumping.
  4. ↑ "Port Welcomes Protector, The World's Most Advanced Fireboat". Everything Long Beach. 2016-06-09. Retrieved 2016-10-15. Protector and a second, still-under-construction boat, "Vigilance," will replace the Port's fireboats "Challenger" and "Liberty," which began service in the late 1980s and were designed in an era of vessels carrying 4,500 containers. The biggest vessels calling in Long Beach now have a capacity of 18,000 containers, with even larger ships coming in the future.
  5. ↑ Emily Thornton (2016-06-05). "Long Beach Fire Department Debuts New Boat". Long Beach Gazette. Retrieved 2016-06-06. The vessel, called "Protector," has its dedication from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8, at the Port of Long Beach Joint Command and Control Center. The ceremony isn't public, port media relations lead Lee Peterson said.
  6. ↑ Chris Woodyard (1988-04-27). "2 Long Beach Fireboats Gathering Rust". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2014-05-16. After spending $4.4 million for two state-of-the-art fireboats, the Port of Long Beach is struggling to keep the vessels from becoming floating rust buckets.
  7. ↑ Chris Woodyard (1988-09-29). "Long Beach to Spend $883,000 to Save 2 Fireboats". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2014-05-16. Retrieved 2014-05-16. The commission is paying $653,000, the largest chunk of the funds, to a Terminal Island boatyard to correct design and construction deficiencies and to fix corrosion damage on the twin $2.2-million Challenger and Liberty, which were delivered to the city within the past two years.
  8. 1 2 David Krapf (2013-10-01). "Two enhanced fireboats for the Port of Long Beach". Workboat.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-29. In addition to firefighting, the new boats will be capable of water rescue, including vessel dewatering, towing and dive support. EMS and paramedic operations will also be incorporated. And the vessels will be equipped for detection of and self-protection from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear agents.
  9. ↑ Emily Thornton (2016-06-07). "Cause Of Seal Beach Pier Fire Electrical, Not Arson". Long Beach Gazette. Retrieved 2016-06-07. Two rescue boats and two fireboats — including the new Protector — from Long Beach Fire Department responded. Three from Los Angeles County and one Orange County Sheriff's Department fireboat also responded to assist the fire attack from the ocean.
  10. ↑ Rachel Jordan (2019-10-02). "Come aboard the biggest fire boat on the West Coast". ABC News. Long Beach, California. Retrieved 2019-10-02. Both Vigilance and Protector measure 108-feet-long and 38-feet-wide.
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