Highfield PRT Gives Professional RIBs a Dedicated Home

Highfield Boats has established Highfield PRT to organise its professional offering around patrol, rescue and specialist operations. The move brings a dedicated leadership team and three named product families to a business the manufacturer says it has already been developing alongside its recreational boats.

An Existing Activity Gains Its Own Division

Highfield PRT takes its name from patrol, rescue and tactical applications. BoatIndustry's report describes a dedicated offer for professional and institutional users, while the manufacturer's announcement says Highfield has supplied such operators for several years.

Founder Julien Carussi will lead the division as CEO. Stefanie Sun moves from supply-chain leadership at Highfield to director of operations for PRT. Their appointment gives the new organisation an identified management team, though the announcement does not provide a separate financial breakdown for the activity.

For readers familiar with the brand through tenders and leisure RIBs, the change is therefore organisational as well as commercial. It gives professional projects a clearer place within the manufacturer's offering, with their own product identity and stated priorities.

Three Families, Different Requirements

The range is organised into Viper, Raptor and Sentinel. The published offer spans inflatable boats and RIBs, with sizes extending from approximately 3.8 to 11 metres. Customisation and technical support form part of the positioning.

For a buyer, those family names are a starting point for discussing the work a boat must do. A transport requirement, rescue assignment or harbour task can lead to different priorities even where the boats being compared appear similar in size.

A practical comparison would keep the intended load, equipment and routine attached to each proposal. Where will people stand or sit? What must remain accessible? Which parts of the arrangement will need to change between tasks? Those questions help describe a working requirement before a buyer begins choosing individual features.

The new division's name does not, by itself, establish that a particular boat holds every approval needed for a specific operation. Relevant documentation and configuration would still need to be checked for the actual vessel and intended use.

The Connection With Yacht Operations

For AUVEMARE's audience, the announcement is relevant to the wider conversation about support craft and boats expected to perform a defined job. A yacht-related requirement would need its own assessment; no model should be assumed suitable simply because it belongs to a professional range.

What the development offers is a clearer place to have that discussion. A buyer can ask who will coordinate the configuration, explain the documentation and remain the point of contact after delivery.

As Highfield PRT develops, specific projects and operator experience will make its position easier to judge. The launch establishes the organisation and product families. How well those translate into useful, consistently supported boats will give the story its longer-term substance.

Source: BoatIndustry — Antoine Gaillard, 20 October 2026