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Zodiac Milpro, headquartered in Paris, France, is a company that manufactures inflatable boats and rigid hull inflatable boats for the emergency services, military and professional users, including heavy-duty inflatable work boats that can carry payloads up to four tons and passengers for ecotourism, whale watching, etc. [1]
Headquartered in Paris, France and with manufacturing facilities in Delta, British Columbia, Roses, Spain, and Stevensville, Maryland. Zodiac Milpro was a business unit of Zodiac Aerospace till 2008, when it was renamed Milpro. In 2011 it was spun off from Zodiac Aerospace and it became an independent company. [2]
In December 2012, Zodiac Milpro Group was sold by its parent company, Zodiac Marine and Pool, being acquired by Oaktree Capital. [3]
The following year, Zodiac Milpro acquired the British inflatable boat manufacturer Avon Inflatables, which was renamed Zodiac Milpro UK. [3]
Though Zodiac Milpro and Zodiac Nautic produce a large range of both inflatable and rigid-hulled boats, the name "Zodiac" has become synonymous with inflatable boats such as the FC470 and as a generic term for inflatable boats. [4]
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The first inflatable boats were designed in 1920 by Zodiac, which produced its first prototypes for the army in 1934. In 1934, Zodiac engineer Pierre Debroutelle designed the prototype of an inflatable kayak. In 1937, interested in his research, the Naval Aviation commissioned him to develop a boat capable of carrying torpedoes and bombs. Pierre Debroutelle developed a new prototype: a U-shaped boat equipped with two side air chambers joined by a wooden dashboard: the ancestor of the modern Zodiac inflatable boat.
In 1940, Zodiac invented the prototype of the first inflatable boat.
In the early 1960s, the Royal National Lifeboat Institute in Great Britain designed the first rigid hulled inflatable boat (RIB). This hybrid craft was developed for high speed, offshore sea and rescue operations. Zodiac Milpro continued research and development of this new technology and developed the concept into today's rigid hull inflatable boats.
In 1987, Zodiac SA acquired a majority share in the capital of Zodiac Marine Ltd. and a majority stake in Hurricane Rescue Craft Inc. and formed Zodiac Hurricane Marine Inc. (ZHM).
In 1991, Zodiac SA combined its Toronto-based distribution subsidiary (ZIT) with its manufacturing company in Richmond (ZHM), to form Zodiac Hurricane Technologies Inc. (ZHT). Today, Zodiac Hurricane Technologies is the world's largest manufacturer of professional RIBs.
The Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force (ABDF) is the armed forces of Antigua and Barbuda. The ABDF has responsibility for several different roles: internal security, prevention of drug smuggling, the protection and support of fishing rights, prevention of marine pollution, search and rescue, ceremonial duties, assistance to government programs, provision of relief during natural disasters, assistance in the maintenance of essential services, and support of the police in maintaining law and order.
A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are inflated with air to a high pressure so as to give the sides resilient rigidity along the boat's topsides. The design is stable, light, fast and seaworthy. The inflated collar acts as a life jacket, ensuring that the vessel retains its buoyancy, even if the boat is taking on water. The RIB is an evolutionary development of the inflatable boat with a rubberized fabric bottom that is stiffened with flat boards within the collar to form the deck or floor of the boat.
An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and hull is often flexible, while for boats longer than 3 metres (9.8 ft), the floor typically consists of three to five rigid plywood or aluminium sheets fixed between the tubes, but not joined rigidly together. Often the transom is rigid, providing a location and structure for mounting an outboard motor.
The Zodiac Milpro Futura Commando 470 or in short FC470 Combat Rubber Raiding Craft (CRRC), also known as the "Combat Rubber Reconnaissance Craft," is a specially fabricated rubber inflatable boat often used by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Army, and others. The CRRC is typically called "Zodiac," referring to the boat's manufacturer, Zodiac Milpro.
Avon Inflatables, Ltd is a manufacturer of inflatable boats, RIBs and marine safety equipment. The company is based in Dafen, near the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales, and supplies the leisure, commercial and military markets.
Avon Protection plc is a British company that specialises in the engineering and manufacturing of respiratory protection equipment for military, law enforcement and fire personnel. Its corporate headquarters are 3 km (1.9 mi) south of Melksham in Wiltshire, England, at the Hampton Park West development. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Zodiac Aerospace was a French aerospace group founded in 1896 that supplied systems and equipment for aircraft. In October 2018, it was acquired by French aerospace and defense company Safran. At the time of acquisition, it was one of the oldest aerospace groups known to exist.
Inflatable Rescue Boats (IRBs) are rubber boats with an outboard motor used in surf lifesaving. IRBs have been used for all forms of surf rescue, retrieval, and service by Surf Lifesaving in New Zealand, Australia, and Del Mar, California since the late 1980s.
The D-class (EA16) lifeboat is a class of inflatable boat operated since 1987 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It has been replaced operationally by the D-class (IB1), but many are still used as part of the relief fleet, as boarding boats for the larger classes of lifeboat and by the RNLI Flood Rescue Team.
Since its inception, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has provided lifeboats to lifeboat stations in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The Barbados Coast Guard is the maritime element of the Barbados Defence Force. Its responsibilities include territorial defence, patrolling Barbados' territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), as well as conducting maritime law enforcement, counter-narcotic, search and rescue, fisheries and environmental protection and the enforcement of port & harbour regulations. The Barbados Coast Guard currently is based at its headquarters at BCGS PELICAN in Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados. The base consists of a partially enclosed base for the coast guard fleet to dock. It consists of a small fleet, including its flagship BCGS TRIDENT.
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crew and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine. Lifeboats may be rigid, inflatable or rigid-inflatable combination-hulled vessels.
Mundesley Volunteer Inshore Lifeboat is a voluntary run lifeboat station located in the village of Mundesley in the English county of Norfolk. The station operates one lifeboat which is used for inshore work. The lifeboat service is a "Declared Facility"; this means that H.M. Coastguard regard it as being on a par with the RNLI. The lifeboat provides its service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to windsurfers, fishing boats, swimmers and divers or anybody in distress within the Mundesley area. The service has also provided assistance to boats of various sizes which have required towing etc.
Atlantic College Lifeboat Station opened in 1963 as one of the first experimental inshore lifeboat stations established by the RNLI.
Zodiac Nautic is a French company best known for their widely used inflatable boats.
Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCMSAR) is a volunteer marine rescue service that saves lives and promotes public recreational boating safety throughout the coastal and some inland waters of the province of British Columbia and is associated with the national organization of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Praga class of patrol boats are series of five Rigid-hulled inflatable boat built by M/s Praga Marine, India for National Coast Guard (NSG) organisation, Mauritius and are also referred as Heavy Duty Boat (HDB). They are intended for patrol, interception and search and rescue operations.
The D-class lifeboat was a sub-class of 4 inflatable boats operated as part of the D-class between 1971 and 1986 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was superseded by the D-class lifeboat.
Various series of rigid inflatable boat (RIB) are operated by naval forces of Iran. Based on a design by Italian Fabio Buzzi, they have been manufactured and modified in Iran.
USCGC Terrapin (WPB-87366) is a United States Coast Guard ship of the Marine Protector class. She is assigned to Coast Guard District 13 and is home-ported at Bellingham, Washington. Her main areas of responsibility are the San Juan Islands, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Puget Sound. Her missions include search and rescue, law enforcement, and homeland security.