Among its many features is a comprehensive electronics package including the new Simrad Yachting Broadband 4G Radar and Simrad Yachting LSS-2 StructureScan module.

The Underwater Search and Marine Unit is jointly operated by the police forces of Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and North Wales. The boat will be used for a wide variety of tasks including maritime security operations, evidential and missing persons’ searches in reservoirs, rivers, docks and quarries, retrieving bodies, and for security patrols inshore and offshore up to 12 nautical miles out into the Irish Sea.

The FMCW technology of the Simrad Broadband 4G Radar will be invaluable in identifying objects sitting low in the water as well as aiding navigation in confined waterways and low visibility. The ability of LSS-2 StructureScan to deliver crisp, clear views to the left, right and directly beneath the vessel, as well as picture-like images of the seabed below the hull, will made underwater searches faster and more precise.

The craft is powered by twin Honda 90hp engines with hydraulic steering from Southern Cross. A side door allows easy access and a winch is mounted on the deck to tow a torpedo sonar. A Spencer Carter electric winch is fitted on the starboard side with a Honda 2kva generator supplying additional electrical power. Cheetah Marine is also supplying a custom built aluminium trailer so that the boat can be used throughout the North West region.

Inspector Dave Corcoran, who leads the unit, said: “Without doubt, this vessel will provide us with an even greater capability and capacity for our work, and the Cheetah will be proving its worth when deployed for the duration of the Olympics in Dorset.”

Simrad UK’s George Pollard added, “This electronics package is uniquely suited to the complex and demanding needs of a working boat such as this. The precision and accuracy of the instruments will be a significant asset to its crew, and indeed to any workboat involved in search and rescue procedures in all types of marine environment.”

For more information on the Simrad Professional Series of marine electronics, please visit http://pro.simrad-yachting.com