Moose Boats, Vallejo, Calif., has been awarded a contract from the city of Memphis (Tenn.) fire and police departments for the construction of a M2-38 fire rescue and patrol catamaran. The boat will respond to incidents on the Mississippi River and in the port of Memphis.

Twin Cummins engines producing 425 hp each will be connected to Hamiltonjet waterjets to power the boat. The new boat will be equipped with a single Hale fire pump flowing close to 2,000 gpm of water through Task Force Tips (TFT) fire monitors and valves.

The M2 will be equipped with a host of Simrad electronics including multifunction navigation screen, 4G radar, and AIS, and a Flir thermal imaging camera to help with the wide range of response scenarios Memphis fire and police will encounter on the Mississippi River and in inland ports.

The new catamaran’s large walk-around climate controlled cabin will be outfitted for patrols, search and rescue and incident command. The deck will be outfitted for deploying life rafts and water rescue teams, law enforcement personnel and a large volume discharge for fire suppression water supply to land based apparatus.

Ken Hocke has been the senior editor of WorkBoat since 1999. He was the associate editor of WorkBoat from 1997 to 1999. Prior to that, he was the editor of the Daily Shipping Guide, a transportation daily in New Orleans. He has written for other publications including The Times-Picayune. He graduated from Louisiana State University with an arts and sciences degree, with a concentration in English, in 1978.