CONTACT: Eric Durr, 518-786-4581 or 518-429-5186

FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, Jun 03, 2008

WHO:

The crew of PB 440, members of the New York Naval Militia; one of New York’s two state defense forces, which is comprised mainly of 2,900 members of the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve

WHAT:

PB 440, the New York Naval Militia’s most sophisticated vessel, will be in Albany for a training mission on June 3, and members of the media are invited to inspect the boat and speak with the crew at the Corning Preserve. The 44 foot patrol boat is water-jet propelled, and steered by a computer system. A training mission to familiarize boat crews with the Hudson River and the Port of Albany. Reporters, photographers and video crews are invited to board the boat and take a short ride in the Hudson River and interview members of the Naval Militia crew and Commander Don McKnight, the commander of the Military Emergency Boat Service, about the boat’s missions and capabilities.

WHEN:

9 a.m.-10 a.m. Tuesday, June 3

WHERE:

The Corning Preserve Amphitheater in downtown Albany on the Hudson River.

Coverage Opportunities: There will be an opportunity to interview the crew of PB 440 and Commander Don McKnight, the head of the New York Naval Militia’s Military Emergency Board Service, about their mission. Members of the media will be able to take a short ride on PB 440 to learn more about the vessel’s capabilities. Special arrangements can be made for television stations interested in including the PB 440 in their morning news programs prior to 9 a.m. Contact Eric Durr at DMNA Public Affairs NLT noon on June 2 to schedule this. The New York Naval Militia Military Emergency Boat Service: New York is one of seven states which maintain a state naval force of some kind. The New York Naval Militia was originally formed in 1889 and served in the Spanish American War. Members of the New York Naval Militia are mainly drilling members of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Reserves who agree to perform State Active Duty missions on a volunteer basis. Five percent of the members can be volunteers not currently affiliated with the Federal Reserve forces. The Military Emergency Boat Service, or MEBS, was created after 9/11 and maintains a fleet of 13 patrol boats which are used to support U.S. Coast Guard and law enforcement maritime missions. PB 440 patrols regularly in conjunction with USCG security and law enforcement efforts in New York Harbor. A MEBS boat is also constantly on patrol in the Hudson River off the Indian Point nuclear power plant, enforcing a security zone there. Other MEBS boats are deployed as required with volunteer crews in New York’s waterways. PB 440: PB 440 is driven by water jets powered by two 600 horse power Cummins 8.3 liter diesel engines. This allows the boat enter waters as shallow as two feet. The Catamaran design hull is made of marine grade aluminum. The boat is steered with a Blue Arrow Electronic Control System and is 43 feet, six inches long and 16 feet wide. The boat is run by two-to-four mariners and can carry ten passengers. The shallow draft of Patrol Boat 440-21 inches-its water-jet propulsion and “fly-by-wire” computer controlled steering system enable the boat to go into very shallow waters in harbors and rivers. PB 440 was built by Mooseboats Inc. of Petaluma, California. It was financed through a Homeland Security grant. It will be based at the USCG Sector New York base at Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island. Fuel for the vessel is being supplied by the Coast Guard under an operating agreement. The $790,000 cost of the boat was covered by a federal homeland security grant.