On 8/29/23, the Town of Braintree officially christened Braintree Police “Marine 1” at the Braintree Yacht Club. The ceremony began with remarks from Chief Cohoon, Mayor Kokoros, Marine Unit Lieutenant Lydon, and a blessing from former Braintree Police and Fire Chaplain Father Clifford. In traditional fashion, we ended with a ceremonial champagne christening by Braintree’s own Kate Naughton of the Mayor’s Office.
BPD Marine 1 is a 27’ Safe Boat with a walkaround cabin, custom drop bow, and the latest in maritime technology powered by twin 300hp Yamaha engines. In 2022, the Braintree Police Department was the recipient of a FEMA/DHS grant that covered over 90% of the boat’s cost and Marine 1 was deployed in late spring of this year, staffed by members of the Department’s Marine Unit.
In addition to being responsible for Town of Braintree waterways and 1.75 miles of coastline, the BPD Marine Unit is a member of the Fore River Maritime Safety & Security Partnership which is responsible for maritime safety and security for the critical infrastructure and facilities in and around The Fore River, Back River, and Neponset River. These facilities include large marine bulk liquid transfer facilities, chemical manufacturing plants, power plants, a natural gas transfer station, critical roadway bridges, numerous yacht clubs, and marine traffic from tankers, commuter ferries and pleasure boats.
Marine 1 also provides mutual aid support to our partner agencies and this year alone has responded to numerous incidents such as a boat fire, disabled vessels, special events and a medical distress call off of Peddocks Island during which Braintree Officers transported a victim to Hull for medical treatment.
On behalf of Chief Cohoon and Mayor Kokoros, we’d like to thank all those who attended today’s event as well as the agencies that helped us get here, including FEMA and DHS, USCG Sector Boston, Quincy Police, Scituate Police, Weymouth Police, Boston Police, Massachusetts Environmental Police, Massachusetts State Police, and Braintree Fire.
Marine 1 is truly an asset to the Town of Braintree and its Police Department, and will serve the Town for years to come.