The Polish Border Guard announced the signing of a contract for the purchase of two Griffon Hoverwork hovercraft for a patrol and intervention role conducted by Kashubian Border Guard Division in Stara Pasłęka, to be delivered in 2024.

Adrian Went, Managing Director at Griffon Hoverwork, explains: “The amphibious abilities, combined with the high manoeuvrability, of our hovercraft are a perfect fit for the Polish Border Guard’s mission parameters. We are experts in building border guard fast marine vessels and our aftercare service helps maintain maximum operational readiness. 

We construct craft that keep working in the harshest conditions, at extremes of both low and high temperatures by including robust components in the design and our specialist training programmes ensure the crews are capable of exploiting the unique advantages a hovercraft brings to border patrol operations.”

The hovercraft will be used for patrol, intervention and search and rescue operations in winter conditions on ice (solid and crushed), in summer - on water, as well as in areas covered with rushes and swampy areas, during the day and at night with limited visibility, on water areas up to 20 nautical miles from the shore. 

The Border Guard’s maritime branch protects the sea border of the Republic of Poland, including extensive areas of internal marine waters such as bays and lagoons.  It is in the Vistula Lagoon where the hovercraft will be most likely to be regularly deployed.

As well as the build and delivery of the hovercraft, the contract includes training for crew members conducted by Griffon Hoverwork’s highly regarded training team.