MetalCraft Marine wins $31M Coast Guard contract

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) - A Watertown manufacturer was awarded a contract worth tens of millions of dollars to design and build a boat for the U.S. Coast Guard.

MetalCraft Marine, with sites in Watertown and Kingston, Ontario, was awarded a $31 million contract to build its second boat for the Coast Guard.

The 11-meter (36-foot) long-range interceptor III (LRI III) is the successor to the LRI II MetalCraft has already built. The craft are typically launched from larger Coast Guard vessels.

The boat can be open or closed, depending on the weather, and can travel 236 nautical miles (roughly 270 miles) to investigate any suspicious activities detected by its mothership’s electronics.