Louisiana-based boat manufacturer Metal Shark has reached an agreement with Damen Shipyards to market Damen designs. Metal Shark will construct the Damen designs at its new Franklin, La., shipyard.
“We are proud to offer globally proven Damen designs as we expand our footprint in new markets,” said Metal Shark president Chris Allard. “Damen’s impressive portfolio serves as the perfect complement to our own designs, and our location on the Gulf of Mexico puts us within easy reach of many of the most important players in the offshore commercial sector.”
The Damen announcement caps off a busy year for Metal Shark, which announced the acquisition of its new Franklin shipyard in January. In April, Metal Shark hired marine industry veteran Carl Wegener, previously of Austal USA and Kvichak Marine, as its director of commercial sales. The company’s new yard, which became operational in July, is currently producing 45’, 55' and 75’ monohull and catamaran vessels.
“We intend to aggressively market a wide range of Damen designs including fast crew suppliers, harbor and terminal vessels, wind farm support vessels, offshore patrol boats, pushers and tugs, barges, and other specialty vessels,” said Wegener. “Our new Damen designs, along with the Metal Shark designs that we’re producing at both of our facilities, give us an incredibly diverse product offering that will make us uniquely appealing to number of commercial operators.”
Metal Shark’s Franklin yard is capable of producing aluminum and steel vessels up to 250’ in length.
Established in 1986, Gravois Aluminum Boats and its government/commercial boat entity Metal Shark, are leading suppliers of custom boats for defense, law enforcement, and commercial entities. Key customers include the U.S. Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force, Army and foreign militaries.Â
