The Hong Kong Fire Department spent $16 million to buy a self-balancing firefighting boat that can recover after capsizing in just a few seconds.
The ship built by Lungteh shipyard in Taiwan’s Yilan district is said to be the world’s largest self-righting firefighting vessel, serving maritime research and rescue operations in Hong Kong waters. The ship could arrive in Hong Kong as early as June 2024 after completing trials at the factory, Interesting Engineering reported on April 25.
According to authorities, the ship’s self-righting function ensures that rescue and firefighting operations can continue even in difficult conditions, helping to increase the protection of firefighters on board, while increasing mobility. Moving in adverse weather conditions. The new ship, 35 – 40 meters long and weighing about 200 tons, will need several months of testing at To Ao port in Nghi Lan district and crew training before handover.
The vehicle is named “Fire Fighting Boat 12”. The Hong Kong Logistics Department issued a contract to build a firefighting ship to Lungteh in June 2020. According to the schedule, the ship needs to be delivered in 2022, but the construction and handover process is prolonged due to Covid-19. The ship has a balance arm in the range from 0 to 180 degrees, so it can return to an upright position when rolling.
According to the Fire Department, the number of emergency accidents in Hong Kong’s eastern seaboard has tended to increase over the past few years. The new ship model will help them strengthen maritime search and rescue activities in rough sea conditions in this area. Authorities will add a firefighting ship and two command ships to replace Fireboat 2 and command ships Boats 1 and 2 over the next few years.
Lungteh Shipyard, established in 1979, specializes in the production of medium-speed vessels and has built many vessels for Hong Kong’s government agencies, including the fire service, coast guard and customs.