Canadian Company Debuts All-Electric Patrol Boat
Dec 26, 2024
Featured in the National Defense Magazine on December 26th, 2024
Article by: Allyson Park
Arlington, Virginia — Canadian company Voltari recently unveiled a new all-electric patrol boat designed for military and law enforcement use.
The Patrol 26 RIB, which features a carbon-fiber rib hull and sits at 28 feet and two inches long, is designed to fulfill the military’s near-shore search-and-rescue, security and patrol needs, as well as deliver enhanced performance with zero noise pollution and emissions, a company press release stated.
The Canadian Coast Guard has acquired one that will undergo testing in December in the Pacific Ocean, and a U.S. naval defense contractor has procured two units for a U.S. Navy security contract in San Diego.
Tim Markou, president of Voltari, said the company set out to build an all-electric boat that is not “electric for the sake of being electric.”
“It’s electric with a usable purpose, meaning that it may be faster, it may be better, it may be quieter, it may be all the things, but somebody who’s used to driving a small craft can actually not only find that this is an equivalent — they in many cases could find it better than their existing vessel,” he said in an interview.
One of the biggest advantages of the boat is the cost savings, he said. “You eliminate the cost of fuel, and, having no service intervals on the motor or the powertrain, you’ve cut your service cost down to very minimal,” he said.
“For the most part, the major cost of boating is your fuel and your maintenance, and we’ve eliminated that,” he said. “In fact, we could go as far as to say it woud be one-tenth the cost or less.” A company release estimated that the Patrol 26 RIB could save buyers $1 million per unit over 10 years.
The patrol boat operates with reduced noise, “little to no” heat signature and enhanced acceleration capabilities, with a top speed of over 55 MPH and range of up to 100 miles at idle or 30 miles at a 25 MPH cruise speed, Markou said.
It was primarily designed from an operator-first perspective, he said.
“We set out to build a better boat, not just an electric boat,” he said. “They all come with suspension seating. We have the proper angles on screens and windshields to reduce glare. We have the proper seating position so that nobody is hunching over, reaching towards throttles or steering wheels.”
Meanwhile, the demand for military electric patrol boats is “off the charts,” Markou said. ND
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