Founded in 1997, SAFE Boats International is an American-based boat manufacturer. SAFE stands for Secure All-around Flotation Equipped. Their headquarters is near

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

in neighboring

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, Kitsap County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 43,505 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and an estimated 44,122 in 2021, making it the largest city ...

. SAFE Boats International manufactures vessels for military, law enforcement, fire and rescue, and other agencies. SAFE Boats also provides training program to their customers in driving and maintaining the boats. SAFE Boats International was founded in 1997 by Scott Peterson and William Hansen. Since 1997 SAFE Boats has further expanded to three factory locations in the Port of Bremerton's Olympic View Industrial Park. Their motto is "God, Country and Fast Boats." It is contracted by the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. G ...

(GSA) for procurement by U.S. Federal and Government agencies. The current

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

is Richard Schwarz.

Notable clients

There are over 2,000 boats currently in service by organizations in over 60 countries around the world. In 2008, the

Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy () is one of the components of the Mexican Armed Forces. The Secretariat of the Navy is in charge of administration of the navy. The commander of the navy is the Secretary of the Navy, who is both a cabinet minister and a career ...

signed a US$12 million contract for six 33-foot craft, and plans to acquire 30 or more in the next two or three years. In June 2009 the

Iraqi Navy The Iraqi Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Armed forces of Iraq. Formed in 1937, initially as the ''Iraqi Coastal Defense Force,'' its primary responsibilities was the protection of Iraq's coastline and off ...

acquired 26 of the 25-foot ''Defender'' class craft for US$8.4 million. They will be deployed to the Iraqi port of

Umm Qasr Umm Qasr (, also transliterated as ''Um-qasir'', ''Um-qasser, Um Qasr. Kurdish: ئومقەسڕ, Ûmqêsir'') is a port city in southern Iraq. It stands on the canalised Khawr az-Zubayr, part of the Khawr Abd Allah estuary which leads to the P ...

and will secure critical infrastructure; including the Khor al Amaya (Khawr al ‘Amīyah) and al Başrah Oil Terminals in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

. In 2012

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

purchased two 13 m response boats from SAFE Boats International for the

Royal Gibraltar Police The Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP) is, along with His Majesty's Customs (Gibraltar), the principal civilian law enforcement agency in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It is the oldest police force in the Commonwealth of Nations outsid ...

's role in combating the rise in

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

in the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...

. The RGP Commissioner, Mr. Yome was quoted as saying "These are very high-powered vessels and they give us a further capability out at sea, they also provide more protection for our officers." Media reports linked the purchases with a need to combat increased drug smuggling across the

Straits of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...

United States government

On February 5, 2011, SAFE Boats International won a U.S. government contract of $180,611,987.33 to provide 470 Response Boat-Small (RB-S) boats to U.S. Coast Guard shore units in order to perform law enforcement missions. It will also include 20 boats for Customs and Border Protection and 10 boats for the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

, for a total of 500 boats. In May 2012 the US Navy announced that SBI beat out two competitors to win a US$30 million contract to build five 78-foot MK VI Patrol Boats with an option for a sixth boat for another US$6million. Ultimately the US Navy plans to purchase 48 MK VI Patrol Boats. The MK VI Patrol Boats are based upon SBI's 780 ''Archangel''-class patrol boat and the new vessels will be the Navy's next generation of

patrol boats A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

. They will have the capability to be transported and launched from large-deck LPH LHA and LHD

amphibious assault ships An amphibious assault ship is a type of warship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory during an armed conflict. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (which, as a result, are ...

. SAFE Boats International stated that the contract would allow them to hire 100 new employees alongside the existing 275 employees. A few months later in July 2012, SAFE Boats International was selected to build the U.S. Coast Guard's new

Cutter Cutter may refer to: Tools * Bolt cutter * Box cutter * Cigar cutter * Cookie cutter * Cutter (hydraulic rescue tool) * Glass cutter * Meat cutter * Milling cutter * Paper cutter * Pizza cutter * Side cutter People * Cutter (surname) * Cutt ...

Boat-Over the Horizon-IV (CB-OTH-IV). SAFE boats will build over 100 CB-OTH-IV vessels over a seven-year period with delivery starting in 2013. The SAFE Boats CB-OTH-IV vessel was selected over three other competitors' vessels.

Earmarks

In the summer of 2010 an article was published by ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'' claiming that former aides of

Patty Murray Patricia Lynn Murray (, October 11, 1950) is an American politician serving in her sixth term as a United States senator from Washington (state), Washington, beginning her tenure in 1993, and is the state's Seniority in the United States Senate, ...

, the senior United States senator from

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, were benefiting from earmarks added to defense appropriations bills. Murray added US$57 million in earmarks to the 2011 defense

appropriation bill An appropriation bill, also known as supply bill or spending bill, is a proposed law that authorizes the expenditure of government funds. It is a bill that sets money aside for specific spending. In some democracies, approval of the legislature ...

, of which $19.5 million went to clients of her former aides who now work as lobbyists. According to the article, SAFE Boats International paid lobbying firm Denny Miller Associates US$300,000 in lobbying fees and in 2008 received $6million in an earmark sponsored by U.S. Rep

Norman D. Dicks Norman DeValois Dicks (born December 16, 1940) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for , between 1977 and 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His district was located in the northwestern corner of ...

, D-Bremerton. SAFE Boats CEO Scott Peterson said that the 2011 earmark would allow for 15 or more people a year to be hired.

Models

Defender class boat The Defender-class boat, also called Response Boat–Small (RB-S) and Response Boat–Homeland Security (RB-HS), is a standard boat introduced by the United States Coast Guard in 2002. The boats serve a variety of missions, including search and ...

Center Console The Center Console design is a 23-to-35-foot boat with open deck space geared for a variety of mission applications. :*SAFE 23 Center Console :*SAFE 25 Center Console :*SAFE 29 Center Console :*SAFE 35 Center Console Center Console - Offshore is a 41-foot dual-stepped

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

boat with a

Go-fast boat A go-fast boat is a small, fast motorboat, powerboat designed with a long narrow platform and a planing (boat), planing hull. Depending on definitions used, it is either a speedboat (synonymously) or a certain type of speedboat. During the Pr ...

design. :*SAFE 41 Center Console - Offshore Full Cabin is a 25 to 38-foot boat with an enclosed cabin, and an outboard-driven motor. Some operators include the U.S. Coast Guard,
and

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilita ...

:*SAFE 25 Full Cabin :*SAFE 27 Full Cabin :*SAFE 29 Full Cabin :*SAFE 33 Full Cabin :*SAFE 38 Full Cabin Full Cabin - Inboard is a 36 to 65 foot boat with an enclosed cabin with an Inboard diesel motor and available water jet propulsion. :*SAFE 36 Full Cabin - Inboard :*SAFE 44 Full Cabin - Inboard :*SAFE 65 Full Cabin - Inboard *

Small unit riverine craft The small unit riverine craft (SURC) is a rigid-hull, armed and armored patrol boat used by the U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy to maintain control of rivers and inland waterways. They are similar in size and purpose to the much older Patrol B ...

*Apostle *Archangel

References

External links

* {{Puget Sound shipyards Companies established in 1997 Shipbuilding companies Shipbuilding in Washington (state) Companies based in Kitsap County, Washington Bremerton, Washington