Major emergency response fireboats for New York City, designed by Robert Allan Ltd., Vancouver

January 21, 2010

Please be advised that in February, coinciding with the final delivery of the vessel, a major Press Release will be issued to coincide with the imminent delivery of the first of two major new emergency response fireboats for the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY).

The first new fireboat, Three Forty Three, is named in honour of the 343 firefighters of New York City who lost their lives in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. All the nameboards on the ship are cut from steel salvaged from those buildings.

The Three Forty Three is being built at Eastern Shipbuilding Inc. of Panama City, Florida. These fireboats were designed by Robert Allan Ltd. of Vancouver, B.C., and the completion of these ground-breaking vessels coincides with the 80th Anniversary in business of that firm, Canada’s most senior firm of consulting Naval Architects. The significant design contract was awarded to Robert Allan Ltd. as the result of an international design competition. Robert Allan Ltd.’s experienced shipyard supervisory staff also acted in the capacity of Owner’s Representatives in the shipyard throughout the entire construction process.

These boats are designed to specifically address the fire-fighting and rescue needs of the greater New York harbour, including the New Jersey shore. This includes the capability within the vessel to respond to any CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) incident. The fireboats are designed for a response speed of over 17 knots, with a total pumping capacity in excess of 50,000 GPM. The total installed propulsion power is 4 x 1,492 kW (4 x 2,000 HP).

The FDNY fireboats will be the largest, and have the greatest fire-fighting capacity of any fireboats in North America, and are amongst the most capable of the top two or three dedicated fireboats worldwide.

Robert Allan Ltd. has emerged in the past decade as the leading designer of major fireboats worldwide, having designed, in addition to the FDNY vessels, new fireboats for the ports of Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Shenzhen (China), Dongguan (China), and Portland, Maine. Currently under construction are further new fireboats to our designs for Kuwait, Dongguan, and Chicago.

Please stay tuned for the full Press Release on these very significant new vessels.