FRC903 Fast Rescue Craft – Twin Outboard (2 × Mercury F200) – Southport Offshore Rescue Trust

Sou­t­h­port Off­sho­re Res­cue Trust and Hab­be­ke Shi­py­ard have sig­ned the con­tract for the design, con­struc­ti­on, and deli­ve­ry of a Fast Res­cue Craft (FRC903 OB).

The agree­ment was for­ma­li­zed bet­ween repre­sen­ta­ti­ves of Sou­t­h­port Off­sho­re Res­cue Trust and Hab­be­ke Shi­py­ard Glo­bal Sales Direc­tor Arnoud Straak­en­broek. The new FRC903 OB will ser­ve as a modern and capa­ble addi­ti­on to their res­cue fleet.

The FRC903 OB is a fur­ther devel­op­ment of the pro­ven FRC903 plat­form, cur­rent­ly in ser­vi­ce with orga­ni­za­ti­ons such as the KNRM (Niko­laas Class Life­boat). This ver­si­on is spe­ci­fi­cally con­fi­gu­red with twin out­board engines:

  • 2 × Mer­cu­ry F200

In com­bi­na­ti­on with a dedi­ca­ted PIRS (Propul­si­on Inte­gra­ti­on & Redun­dan­cy Sys­tem), this setup ensu­res enhan­ced reli­a­bi­li­ty, opti­mal engi­ne con­trol and redun­dan­cy, pro­vi­ding safe and pre­ci­se manoeu­vring during deman­ding res­cue ope­ra­ti­ons. The ves­sel will reach a top speed of over 40 knots, depen­ding on con­fi­gu­ra­ti­on and loading.

Fast Rescue Craft Concept

A Fast Res­cue Craft (FRC) is a com­pact, high-per­for­man­ce res­cue ves­sel desig­ned for search and res­cue (SAR) ope­ra­ti­ons. The­se ves­sels are typi­cally ope­ra­ted by coast guards, res­cue orga­ni­za­ti­ons and off­sho­re sup­port ope­ra­tors, and are suit­able for both inland and off­sho­re environments.

The FRC903 is desig­ned and equip­ped to per­form mul­ti­ple mis­si­on profiles:

  • Fast res­cue operations
  • Man over­board (MOB) recovery
  • Safe trans­fer of per­son­nel and equipment

Design by Pie­ter Meu­ze­laar, Hab­be­ke Shipyard.

Specifications

  • Length over­all: 9.20 metres
  • Maxi­mum beam: 3.20 metres
  • Beam (hull): 2.60 metres
  • Draft: 0.90 metres
  • Weight: approx. 2,800 kg (incl. 4 crew + fuel)
  • Fuel capa­ci­ty: 2 × 198 litres
  • Per­for­man­ce: > 40 knots
  • End­uran­ce (full power): approx. 3.5 hours
  • Crew: 4 + 20 res­cued persons
  • Mate­ri­al: Alu­mi­ni­um H111

Twin Outboard Installation

  • Engi­nes: 2 × Mer­cu­ry F200
  • Inte­gra­ted PIRS sys­tem for propul­si­on con­trol, redun­dan­cy and opti­mi­zed handling