Metal Shark delivers pilot boat

JEANERETTE, La. - The Alabama-Louisiana shipbuilder Metal Shark has delivered a custom welded-aluminum pilot boat to the Brazos Pilots Association of Freeport, Texas. The “Brazos Pilot” is a 64-foot Defiant-class mono-hull pilot boat designed by Metal Shark and built at its Franklin, La., shipyard. This pilot boat is intended to replace a smaller, single-engine 40-foot pilot boat that would allow for better crew safety and to enhance services to operators at Port Freeport. Following a christening Jan. 31, the new pilot boat is already in service. (Source: Metal Shark 02/04/19) Metal Shark has two Louisiana-based shipyards, including one at Jeanerette; and the company recently bought a shipyard in Mobile, Ala.