A tri-partnership agreement was signed between AMC, Naval Architect Walker Marine Design and Firefighting supplier Angloco Limited to design and build the high-performance Firefighting vessel.

Built at AMC’s Shipyard in Cowes, Isle of Wight (UK), the Fire Boat is the first build of a new generation of Fire-fighting vessels which has been specifically designed and built to undertake multiple roles to meet the risks and hazards of modern-day marine fire-fighting.

AMC Director, Nigel True, commented ‘the order was a vote of confidence for the UK Marine Industry, the UK economy and emerging export market for Fire-Fighting and multi-role vessels.’ The 14m vessel will deliver speeds of up to 32 knots, supply up to 4,500 litres of water per minute from three monitors and ranging up-to 120 Metres and will carry a full set of fire-fighting equipment to tackle marine-based emergencies.

AMC has named its new class of vessels the ‘FiFi’ range, which an abbreviation of ‘Fire-fighting’. This state-of-the-art range offers a diverse array of configurations with both mono hull and catamaran; all the vessels have proven sea-keeping abilities with proven hull design with propulsion type to suit the task needs.

The new ‘FiFi’ vessels have the options of waterjets, conventional propellers, Voith Linear jets and hybrid propulsion, with firefighting performance to meet the risk of the individual operators. This allows the range of fire boats to offer high-performance for any marine-based emergencies and which can be supplied to type and classification approval and to meet NFPA 1925 and DNV Fi Fi regulations.

For operator versatility and flexibility, the 16 metre to 23 metre vessels have the option to be supplied with a system of demountable containers, called PODs. The PODs can be built in many configurations from open flatbed to a four-sided container, with canvas sides or multiple doors. The roles that the PODs can carry out can be suited to meet the necessary risk needs assessment and include functionalities such as drone operations, search & rescue and breathing apparatus support.

After safely being delivered to customer Angloco Limited, who has recently celebrated a 50th anniversary milestone for designing, manufacturing and supplying special purpose fire-fighting and rescue vehicles and equipment in over 50 countries world-wide, the vessel has now been delivered, serviced and is in working operation on the Demerara River, in Guyana, South America.

The vessel has been commissioned to protect a 10-mile stretch of the river which is the host to large commercial activity including industrial and food import/export and the storage of petroleum products. It will also carry out search and rescue missions and is equipped with accommodation for two stretchers in the case of medical evacuations.

Chief Fire Officer Marlon Gentle of the Guyana Fire and Rescue department commented that the Firefighting vessel will improve the country's fire service marine firefighting and response capability as it will be able to pump in excess of 5,000 gallons of water per minute. Gentle stated, ‘It heralds the need for this type of equipment so that we can have some sort of port protection for our storage, our wharves, warehouses and so on the waterfront, and also a fireboat is also a very useful piece of equipment for shore support in terms of land based firefighting operations.’

 Founded in 2007, AMC is headquartered alongside the River Medina in Cowes and East Cowes, Isle of Wight, and employs 35 staff. Specialising in the build of aluminium workboats for a wide range of applications, the company has built 46 vessels, predominately aluminium alloy workboats, for applications including crew transfer, pilotage, rescue and recovery.

AMC also specialise in aluminium fabrication and Stainless Steel projects and uniquely offer a bespoke consultancy service which involves routinely travelling world-wide to provide training and support across an extensive scope of entities throughout the Marine Sector.

AMC are accredited to ISO 9001, 14001 and 18001 by the British Assessment Bureau and is committed to ensuring projects are commissioned to the highest standard in a safe and environmentally responsible way.