SAFE Boats International

What SAFE Boats International does

SAFE Boats International is a Bremerton, Washington-based designer and manufacturer of high-performance aluminum boats, founded in 1996 and 100% employee-owned since April 2023 through an ESOP. The company builds custom vessels ranging from approximately 21 feet to over 100 feet across six core platforms (Full Cabin Outboard, Full Cabin Inboard, Walk Around Cabin, Center Console, Interceptor, and Emergency Medical Transport), plus specialty products such as the 85-foot Mk VI Patrol Boat for the U.S. Navy, the SAFE 3812 fireboat (in service with FDNY), the 33' and 41' Full Cabin patrol series, the 23' 223e electric patrol boat, and the 23-meter Merlin autonomous hydrographic survey vessel. Its underlying technology centers on marine-grade 5086 aluminum welded construction with proprietary features including the SAFE XDR-1 and XDR-2 closed-cell polyethylene foam collar systems, stepped transom with speed shoe, and integration of HamiltonJet waterjets and high-horsepower outboard propulsion. With more than 2,700 vessels in service across 72+ countries, 18 million+ cumulative operating hours with no hull failures reported, ISO 9001:2015 certification, and ~300 skilled professionals across Bremerton and Tacoma facilities, SAFE Boats serves defense, federal, state and local law enforcement, fire & rescue, and commercial operators.

The company generates revenue primarily through custom-built hardware sales to government and commercial buyers under long-cycle procurement contracts, supplemented by recurring training services (1,200+ training days delivered since 2005 across 69+ U.S. agencies and 29 countries) and parts/support. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales executed through federal procurement pathways — GSA Schedule, Sourcewell cooperative purchasing (contract awarded 2025), NPPGov, and FEMA Port Security Grant Program assistance — alongside channel partners (CYLINDER for Greece/Mediterranean), international FMS for defense customers, and an exclusive boatbuilding Mission Partnership with NASBLA's BOAT Program (since September 2025). Customer logos include the U.S. Coast Guard (540 RB-S, 58 SPC-LE), U.S. Navy (12+ Mk VI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (52 Coastal Interceptors), FDNY, the Ukrainian Navy (Mk VI via FMS), and state agencies such as Florida Fish and Wildlife. Pricing is quote-based and project-specific; the company does not publish list pricing. Notable strategic milestones include a $119M largest single contract for Mk VI Patrol Boats to Ukraine (2022), completion of ESOP transition (April 2023), and a December 2025 transition to a cooperative leadership model under four executives (CRCO, COO, CFO, CPO) reporting to a Chief Executive Board chaired by founder Scott Peterson.

Name

SAFE Boats International

Legal name

SAFE Boats International LLC

Website

https://safeboats.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

SAFE Boats International designs and manufactures custom high-performance aluminum patrol, fire/rescue, military, and commercial vessels for defense, federal, state/local, and international customers across 72+ countries, operating as a 100% employee-owned company from Bremerton and Tacoma, Washington.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aluminum Patrol and Defense Vessels

NAICS

Ship and Boat Building (3366), Ship Building and Repairing (336611), Ship and Boat Building (33661), Boat Building (336612)

SIC

Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730)

akta.pro primary industry

Fireboats & Emergency Response Craft (IMAJADAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Day Cruiser, Bowrider & Runabout Manufacturing (IMAJAEAI)

Keywords

• Aluminum patrol boats
• Military maritime vessels
• Law enforcement boats
• Fire rescue watercraft
• Custom boat manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Bremerton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Boat Manufacturing and Sales: SAFE Boats generates revenue primarily through the design, manufacture, and sale of custom-built high-performance aluminum vessels. Boats are configured to customer specifications and sold as complete vessels to government, military, law enforcement, and commercial operators. Revenue is project-based and typically involves long sales cycles with government procurement processes.
2. Training Services: SAFE Boats provides comprehensive training programs to civilian and government customers including operators, support personnel, and management. Training is offered at the company's Seattle-area facility and globally. Training revenue supplements boat sales and builds customer loyalty.
3. Parts, Support & Maintenance: The company provides ongoing support, parts, and maintenance services for its vessel fleet. This includes technical manuals, operations manuals, maintenance procedures, and boat information booklets as part of after-sale support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

SAFE Boats International designs, manufactures, and sells custom high-performance aluminum vessels for military, law enforcement, fire and rescue, emergency medical transport, and commercial operators. The company offers six core platform families (Full Cabin Outboard, Full Cabin Inboard, Walk Around Cabin, Center Console, Interceptor, and Emergency Medical Transport) plus specialty vessels ranging from approximately 21 feet to 85+ feet, supported by training programs and cooperative purchasing pathways.

Product overview

SAFE Boats International is a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance aluminum boats for military, law enforcement, fire and rescue, and commercial applications. The company offers a portfolio of six core boat platform categories: Full Cabin Outboard (FCO), Full Cabin Inboard (FCI), Walk Around Cabin (WAC), Center Console (CC), Interceptor, and Emergency Medical Transport (EMT). These platforms range from approximately 21 feet to over 100 feet. Specialty products include the SAFE 3812 Fire Rescue Boat, the 41' and 35' Interceptor series, SAFE 33 and 41 Full Cabin patrol vessels, and the 29' T Top. The company also produces the Mk VI Patrol Boat (85 feet), the Merlin autonomous hydrographic survey vessel (23 meters), and the 223e electric patrol boat. Through a licensing agreement with Stormer Marine BV of the Netherlands, SAFE Boats offers Stormer Workboats including the Porter series (4.5m to 12m). Beyond vessels, SAFE Boats provides training programs in partnership with NASBLA, cooperative purchasing pathways (Sourcewell, GSA, NPPGov), and FEMA grant funding assistance. The company is 100% employee-owned and headquartered in Bremerton, Washington.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Full Cabin Outboard (FCO) Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2,600 boats in service globally with no hull failures reported across millions of operating hours
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature11 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• CYLINDER (Greece)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 25 May 2026SAFE Boats International announced partnership with CYLINDER as SAFE Boats' representative in Greece and the broader Mediterranean region. CYLINDER is a Greece-based company specializing in advanced solutions for defense, security, emergency response, and civil protection sectors. The partnership targets maritime security, border protection, offshore energy, disaster response, and special operations requirements throughout the Mediterranean, supporting SAFE Boats' international growth and regional market presence.
• NASBLA (National Association of State Boating Law Administrators)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025SAFE Boats International and NASBLA announced an exclusive Mission Partnership for NASBLA's Boat Operations and Training (BOAT) Program. SAFE Boats becomes the exclusive boatbuilding Mission Partner, expanding resources, visibility, and support for maritime law enforcement and emergency responder training. The partnership will enhance training opportunities, recognition programs, and insights into tools supporting waterway safety. The NASBLA BOAT Program has trained more than 40,000 professionals since its inception and is recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard as the National Standard in maritime first responder training. Partnership officially began September 1, 2025 and was highlighted at the NASBLA Annual Conference in Des Moines, Iowa (September 16-18, 2025).
• Vita PowercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 November 2023SAFE Boats and Vita Power signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop and build zero-emission electric patrol boat options. The first objective was a 100% electric patrol boat - the SAFE 223e - adapting the 23' Center Console with Vita Power's V300 electric motor and battery package. Performance: 10 hours at 5 knots, 1 hour at cruise speed, 34 knot sprint speed, recharge in under 1 hour via Aqua superPower charger. Expected to save thousands in annual fuel and maintenance costs. Vita Power leads marine electric propulsion with powertrains from 100hp to 600hp.
• Echo81coreTechnology or Integration · 26 March 2023SAFE Boats partnered with Echo81 as the hydrographic systems provider for the Merlin autonomous survey vessel. Echo81 provides a fully integrated geophysical sensor suite configured specifically for U.S. Offshore Wind, representing the industry's first geophysical vessel that can be acquired directly from the builder with a fully integrated sensor suite. Echo81 is a nationally recognized leading expert in the hydrographic survey industry.
• World Marine Design (subsidiary of Walker Marine Design)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2023SAFE Boats collaborated with World Marine Design to develop the Merlin 23-meter autonomous hydrographic survey vessel. World Marine Design (WMD) is synonymous with developing innovative hull forms built in Europe, USA, and Far East. WMD brings optimized hull forms and configurations for offshore wind, defence, search and rescue, and fire boat sectors. SAFE Boats holds exclusive rights to build the Merlin design at their Tacoma, Washington large-craft production facility.
• Mythos AIcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2022SAFE Boats International and Mythos AI (West Palm Beach, FL) entered a production partnership for autonomous maritime technology. SAFE Boats delivers purpose-built aluminum-hull workboats for integration with Mythos AI's self-driving and autonomous hydrographic survey control system. The first vessel ArchieOne is fully equipped and in-service collecting hydrographic survey data. Future builds are scheduled. Mythos AI applies self-driving car-derived technology to the maritime environment to streamline hydrographic survey operations and reduce human-prone error.
• Diverse MarineminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2021SAFE Boats signed a new partnership agreement with Diverse Marine in August 2021 to pursue domestic offshore wind vessel opportunities. Diverse Marine brings proven crew transfer vessel (CTV) designs and experience from European markets. Through this partnership, SAFE Boats and Diverse will collaborate in pursuit of promising offshore wind vessel opportunities in the domestic market.
• Stormer Marine BV (Netherlands)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerSAFE Boats International holds a Jones Act-compliant licensing agreement with Stormer Marine (Amsterdam, Netherlands) to build and offer the full line of Stormer workboats to U.S. operators. Stormer products range from 4.5-meter center console open work boats to 12-meter twin-engine cabin boats. Both companies share a mission and culture dedicated to tailor-made vessels. The first Stormer vessel under this agreement (Porter 68S) was delivered to the Town of Hempstead Harbormaster. SAFE Boats has exclusive rights to build the Merlin 23-meter autonomous survey vessel design at their Tacoma facility.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Damen Shipyards: Damen is a broad, established global shipbuilder with patrol, interceptor, and naval auxiliary offerings (including the Damen Stan and FCS ranges) that overlap with SAFE Boats in international and defense procurement, particularly for navy/law enforcement tenders in Europe, the Mediterranean, and Africa.
• Brunswick Corporation (Boston Whaler): Brunswick is a diversified marine incumbent that owns Boston Whaler, whose government/defense products overlap with SAFE Boats in the center-console patrol and law enforcement segment. Brunswick is much broader in scope (recreational, propulsion, parts) but competes on the patrol/center-console federal side.

Direct peers

• Moose Boats: Moose Boats designs and builds aluminum patrol, fire, rescue, and dive boats for municipal, port, and law enforcement agencies — closely comparable to SAFE Boats in product, customer, and customization profile.
• Hike Metal Products: Hike Metal Products manufactures aluminum patrol boats and other workboats for military, government, and commercial operators in North America, and competes with SAFE Boats on USCG, police, and fire/rescue vessel procurement.
• SeaArk Marine: SeaArk Marine manufactures aluminum workboats, patrol boats, and specialty craft for law enforcement, fire/rescue, and commercial customers. Like SAFE Boats, it competes in the federal/state aluminum boat market with custom-configured mission vessels.
• Metal Shark Boats: Metal Shark is the closest direct peer to SAFE Boats — an aluminum boat builder specializing in military, law enforcement, fire/rescue, and commercial patrol vessels for federal and international customers. Both companies compete head-to-head on USCG, Navy, CBP, and foreign military patrol boat awards using welded aluminum hull construction.
• Silver Ships: Silver Ships builds aluminum patrol boats, fire/rescue craft, and other mission vessels primarily for government agencies, mirroring SAFE Boats' customer base and aluminum-hull construction approach.
• Willard Marine: Willard Marine builds aluminum boats — including patrol, rescue, and mission craft — and has a long-standing federal government contracting history similar to SAFE Boats. The companies overlap on USCG, Navy, and federal agency patrol boat and response craft bids.

Emerging players

• Diverse Marine: Diverse Marine is a UK-based builder of crew transfer vessels (CTVs) for the offshore wind market and a SAFE Boats partner since 2021. It is an emerging/specialized player in the same adjacent offshore wind survey and workboat space SAFE Boats is targeting with its Porter and Merlin platforms.
• Xponential (autonomous marine): Xponential is an emerging player in uncrewed/autonomous surface vessels; SAFE Boats competes in the same unmanned/autonomous workboat category through its Mythos AI partnership and Merlin autonomous survey vessel. Comparable as an emerging player in autonomous maritime technology where SAFE Boats has platform-side exposure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/safeboats
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SAFEBoatsInternational
• Facebookfacebook.com/127323917316816
• Instagraminstagram.com/safeboats
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/safe-boats-international-llc

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SAFE Boats International