On Wednesday, Sept. 4, the Port of Houston Authority formally welcomed the first of a new fleet of high-performance emergency response vessels, the PHA press release said.
The powerful state-of-the-art vessels will be used to help protect facilities along the Houston Ship Channel, a waterway critically important to the state and nation for international commerce and because it is home to the largest petrochemical complex in the United States. The fireboats will enhance firefighters’ ability to save lives and property along the 25-mile-long Port of Houston.
The vessel delivery is part of the firefighting equipment upgrade.
The new emergency response vessel, a Firestorm 70 model, is a state-of-the-art command center and high-speed response vessel. The vessel was purchased with awards from the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency Port Security Grant Program as well as funding from the Port Authority.
The vessel has significant enhancements, including hazmat capabilities and infrared sonar, enabling the crew to see the bottom of the Houston Ship Channel. Built by MetalCraft Marine, the fireboat has powerful quad diesel inboard engines to propel the vessel at a swift 45 knots top speed – three times that of the current fleet vessels.
These new vessels will provide PHA firefighters with nearly three times the pumping power of the old fleet to help protect the nation’s No. 1 port for foreign tonnage.
Before the formal blessing and christening ceremony, a retirement ceremony was held for the emergency response fireboat Tellepsen, named for Howard Tellepsen, Sr., Port Chairman from 1956 to 1970. The Tellepsen family was present for the ceremony and Longoria presented his son, Tom Tellepsen with the nameboard from the Tellepsen vessel.
About the Port of Houston Authority
For nearly 100 years, the Port of Houston Authority has owned/operated the public cargo-handling facilities of the Port of Houston – the nation’s largest port in terms of foreign waterborne tonnage. The port has historically been an economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas and the nation. The port contributes to the creation of more than one million statewide and more than 2.1 million nationwide jobs and the generation of more than $178.5 billion of statewide and $499 billion of nationwide economic activity.
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