Metal Shark recently delivered its latest law enforcement patrol boat to the Puerto Rico Police Department.

The 35' Defiant-class welded aluminum pilothouse vessel, built at Metal Shark’s Jeanerette, La., production facility, joins a fleet of 36' Fearless-class high performance center console boats the company delivered to the PRPD in 2017.

The new boat features a fully-enclosed, climate-controlled pilothouse for all weather operation, outfitted with Shockwave shock-mitigating seating for a crew of four.

Three Mercury 300-hp Verado four-stroke outboards push the vessel to speeds in excess of 45 knots. while offering nimble handling and a smooth dry ride. A Wing urethane-sheathed, closed-cell-foam collar affords maximum impact protection during docking, boarding, or other alongside maneuvers, while port and starboard dive reliefs facilitate water access.

Puerto Rico police officers with the new 35' Defiant-class patrol boat from Metal Shark. Metal Shark photo.

Puerto Rico police officers with the new 35' Defiant-class patrol boat from Metal Shark. Metal Shark photo.

The Defiant is the first new boat to enter service with the PRPD since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September. It has already been put to use in ongoing hurricane recovery efforts alongside the PRPD’s other Metal Shark boats, all of which weathered the storm undamaged and have served on relief missions around the coast of mainland Puerto Rico and the islands of Culebra and Vieques.

“Metal Shark is honored to support the Puerto Rico Police Department with the most advanced, capable, and durable law enforcement boats on the market,” Henry Irizarry, Metal Shark’s vice president of International Business Development, said during crew training aboard the new vessel in San Juan last December. “These boats are a vital part of the PRPD’s efforts. They are operated in open-ocean conditions, around the clock, for up to 3,000 hours per year, so safety and reliability are crucial. It’s a testament to the quality of these boats that the PRPD continues to choose Metal Shark for its fleet modernization efforts.”

The Metal Shark vessels are operated by the PRPD’s Fuerzas Unidas de Rapida Accion (FURA), which is an agency within the PRPD operating specialized divisions relating to and coordinating with U.S. federal law enforcement agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Department of Homeland Security.