Kentucky State Police have a boat of their own again for the first time in 33 years, acquired through federal grant funding. Gov. Andy Beshear and state law enforcement leadership announced on Thursday, August 27, that the agency's new Metal Shark 23 Relentless patrol boat was acquired through federal grant funding, restoring a maritime rescue capability the department has lacked since 1993.
According to Kentucky State Police, the vessel was purchased through FEMA's Port Security Grant Program, a federal grant program. As KY State Police
put it in its own announcement, the moment marks the first time in 33 years that the agency has had water rescue capabilities of its own. The program, established under the Marine Transportation Security Act of 2002, has awarded more than $3.2 billion nationwide to help state and local agencies protect maritime infrastructure, per FEMA.
A Return After a Three-Decade Gap
Kentucky's original dedicated State Water Patrol operated under KSP and state government until 1993, when the division was dissolved by executive order and folded into the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Law Enforcement Division. KDFWR conservation officers conduct water patrols on Kentucky's lakes and rivers. The new boat gives KSP its own hardware for a different kind of job.
The 23-foot vessel comes loaded with equipment built for that job: an 8-foot-6-inch beam, a welded-aluminum hull, and a urethane-sheathed closed-cell foam collar for impact protection, along with FLIR thermal imaging, side-scan sonar, and standard cruiser law enforcement gear including a mobile data terminal and radios, according to the same KSP release. It was built by Metal Shark Boats.
Built for Tactical Missions, Not Routine Patrol
KSP Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr. said the vessel will be used for high-risk maritime operations, explosive dive missions, flood and severe weather rescues, and security at major public events like Thunder Over Louisville, as reported by the Northern Kentucky Tribune. Members of the KSP Special Response Team have already completed specialized tactical watercraft training, including joint aerial hoist rescue drills with the KSP Aircraft Support Branch, to carry out coordinated air-and-water rescues with the new boat, the department said.
That kind of capability matters given the sheer scale of Kentucky's waterways. KSP Special Response Team Captain Dallas Greer noted in August that the state contains more than 1,600 miles of navigable waterways, including seven major rivers, three natural lakes, and over 100 man-made lakes, per figures cited by ColumbiaMagazine.com. KDFWR game wardens patrol those waters, while the new boat gives KSP a dedicated platform for direct tactical intervention.
A Recent Reminder of the Stakes
A recent fatal crash involving a water recovery occurred closer to home just over a week before the boat's unveiling. On August 14, KSP Post 10 troopers investigated a fatal single-vehicle crash off Little Indian Creek Road near Woodbine in Knox County, where local rescue personnel had to wade into creek waters to recover the driver. That post oversees primary state law enforcement across Bell, Harlan, and Knox counties, underscoring how water hazards touch nearly every corner of the state KSP patrols.
