Silver shipsMobile, Alabama, completed Reactivation and crew familiarization training on four Coastal Fast Response Boats (CFRBs) recently delivered to the Montenegrin Navy.

The CFRBs will serve as coastal and harbor patrol vessels and interceptors for law enforcement agencies, patrolling Montenegro’s 304-kilometer coastline along the Adriatic Sea in southeastern Europe.

The four individually developed military CRFBs feature special communications and navigation equipment on a 46-foot long vessel with a deep-V hull, cabins and WING collar systems.

The boats are powered by twin caterpillar C7.1 500 HP marine diesel engines and Hamilton HJX-29 water jets. The C7.1 diesel engines offer efficient fuel combustion, quieter operation and no visible smoke during operation. The engines were delivered by partner Silver Ships Thompson Marine, Spanish Fort, Alabama.

crew The training lasted two weeks and culminated in a graduation ceremony attended by representatives of the Montenegrin Navy, the Montenegrin Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Embassy. U.S. Ambassador Judy Rising Reinke was present to congratulate the crews and present training certificates.

“Thompson Marine has been an impressive and extremely reliable partner on this build,” said Jason Powers, Chief Operating Officer of Silver Ships. “They provided the critical powertrain (main diesel engine and transmission) for the project. The responsiveness of their implementation engineering team is exceptional, which continues to make them a reliable and valued partner on this important and high-profile project and for future projects.”

“We are honored that Silver Ships has trusted Thompson Marine’s engineering and project management team as a partner in creating this fleet. We have had a great working relationship for years and we are always proud of the vessels they design and build. CAT’s C7.1 engines are well suited to the CFRB application with their power-to-weight ratio, high torque and ease of maintenance for operators,” said Richard Tremayne, General Manager Marine at Thompson Marine.

“It has been very rewarding to work with the highly professional Montenegrin Navy,” said Shawn Lobree, director of federal programs at Silver Ships and retired U.S. Navy captain.

“They personally selected their CFRB crews based on their experience and ability to work as a team. Their sailors settled in very quickly and after just a few days, our team was impressed with their enthusiasm and work ethic as they performed advanced seamanship and maintenance on the vessels,” Lobree said. “This NATO Navy is small but very capable and these boats will serve as workhorses as they complete their diverse coastal patrol missions.”

The CFRB vessels were acquired under a $6.12 million contract from the US Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command. This project includes two variants: those for Montenegro and Guatemala, which differ mainly in their electrical systems, which must be compatible with the country’s power grids. The ships were designed and built under the US Navy’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.