Manufacturer catalog

Marine Specialised Technology

Marine Specialised Technology is a British high-speed craft manufacturer based at Bromborough on the River Mersey. The company designs, builds, refits and supports rigid inflatables, high-speed workboats and patrol craft for defence, security, law-enforcement, search-and-rescue and professional maritime operators.

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Marine Specialised Technology, often branded as MST Group, was incorporated in 2002 and grew from small rigid-inflatable and workboat production into a specialist supplier of military and professional patrol craft. Its own history says the first MST boat was delivered to the German Coast Guard in 2003, followed by SAR and HPB-series craft for international users and a 48-boat FRISC order for the Netherlands' Defence Materiel Organisation in 2010.

The company's catalog relevance is strongest in small naval and security craft. MST supplied the Royal Navy's 19-metre Cutlass-class Gibraltar Squadron patrol boats and later won a UK Ministry of Defence contract for eighteen 15-metre HPB-1500 Police Patrol Craft for Ministry of Defence Police and Gibraltar Defence Police units. Those programs connect MST's composite and aluminium patrol-boat work with force-protection, port-security and maritime-interdiction systems in the catalog.

High-speed patrol boatsRigid-hulled inflatable boatsMilitary and law-enforcement workboatsCraft refit, maintenance, spares and training

Notable Systems

Cutlass Class, Force protection patrol boat, Naval Systems

Cutlass Class

Force protection patrol boat

A two-boat Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron class built by Marine Specialised Technology; DE&S describes HMS Cutlass and HMS Dagger as 40-knot patrol craft with modern optical/infra-red systems and three machine guns.

Sources: Defence Equipment & Support: New Patrol Boat HMS Cutlass Delivered to Royal Navy, MST Group official history
HPB-1500 Police Patrol Craft, High-speed police patrol craft, Naval Systems

HPB-1500 Police Patrol Craft

High-speed police patrol craft

A jointly developed MST/BMT 15-metre patrol craft ordered under a UK MOD program for eighteen boats for Ministry of Defence Police and Gibraltar Defence Police force-protection duties.

Sources: MST Group: £36 million UK MOD contract, BMT: Ministry of Defence Police vessel design order, MarineLink: MST launches first patrol craft

Manufacturer History

  1. Marine Specialised Technology incorporated

    MST's official history identifies 21 June 2002 as the incorporation date for Marine Specialised Technology Limited by Ben Kerfoot, Philip Hilbert and Andrew Phillips.

    Sources: MST Group official history, Companies House: Marine Specialised Technology Limited

  2. FRISC order expands Liverpool operations

    MST says a 48-craft FRISC order for the Netherlands' Defence Materiel Organisation became its largest contract to that point and supported expansion of the Liverpool site.

    Sources: MST Group official history

  3. Selected for HPB-1500 police patrol craft

    MST announced a GBP36 million UK MOD contract to supply eighteen 15-metre HPB-1500 high-speed patrol craft to the Ministry of Defence Police and Gibraltar Defence Police.

    Sources: MST Group: £36 million UK MOD contract, BMT: Ministry of Defence Police vessel design order

  4. Cutlass and Dagger delivered

    MST's official history records the delivery of HMS Cutlass and HMS Dagger to the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron as its largest craft delivered to that date.

    Sources: MST Group official history, Defence Equipment & Support: New Patrol Boat HMS Cutlass Delivered to Royal Navy

  5. Headquarters relocated to Bromborough shipyard

    MST says it relocated from its original Liverpool headquarters to a 35,000-square-metre waterside shipyard facility in Bromborough.

    Sources: MST Group official history, MST Group global company note

Subsidiaries
Specialised Inflatable Technology LimitedMST Fleet Services
Website links
Official websiteOfficial productsCompanies House record

MST uses several public labels, including Marine Specialised Technology, Marine Specialised Technology Group and MST Group. Its public materials describe Specialised Inflatable Technology Limited and MST Fleet Services as parts of the wider MST Group, while the catalog manufacturer name remains aligned with the canonical label already used by weapon records.

Manufacturer Sources

  • MST Group official historyPublisher: Marine Specialised Technology Group | Note: Supports company focus, delivery milestones, incorporation history, global craft-delivery count, services, headquarters relocation and Cutlass/Dagger delivery context. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • MST Group: £36 million UK MOD contractPublisher: Marine Specialised Technology Group | Note: Supports the HPB-1500 Police Patrol Craft contract, customer, quantity, mission roles, propulsion and C4ISR/craft-management description; also supports the official image used here. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • BMT: Ministry of Defence Police vessel design orderPublisher: BMT | Note: Supports MST's selection with BMT for 18 high-speed patrol vessels and provides design details including length, twin diesel/waterjet propulsion, 30-knot speed and C4ISR/craft-management features. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Defence Equipment & Support: New Patrol Boat HMS Cutlass Delivered to Royal NavyPublisher: Defence Equipment & Support | Note: Supports MST as the Merseyside-based manufacturer of HMS Cutlass and HMS Dagger and gives public specifications and role context for the Cutlass-class patrol craft. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • MarineLink: MST launches first patrol craftPublisher: MarineLink | Note: Supports the 2022 launch of the first Police Patrol Craft from MST's Bromborough slipway and the program's planned 18-craft delivery. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Seawork: Marine Specialised Technology LtdPublisher: Seawork | Note: Supports current business focus, Bromborough shipyard address, lifecycle support activities, markets and public company contact details. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • MST Group global company notePublisher: Marine Specialised Technology Group | Note: Supports MST Group structure, named grouped businesses, global support network and Bromborough contact address. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • Companies House: Marine Specialised Technology LimitedPublisher: Companies House | Note: Supports the UK legal company record and company number for Marine Specialised Technology Limited. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Naval Systems

Warships, submarines, unmanned surface vessels, naval craft, and maritime combat systems.

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Cutlass Class, Force protection patrol boat, Naval Systems2014 Russia-Ukraine WarCutlass ClassForce protection patrol boatBuilt in: United KingdomThe Cutlass class is a Royal Navy force-protection patrol boat class built by Marine Specialised Technology for Gibraltar Squadron duties. The two 19-metre craft combine 40-knot waterjet performance, optical and infra-red sensing, OpenSea360 mission-system integration, and a compact crew/passenger layout for territorial-water security, visiting-warship protection, and maritime-interdiction support from Gibraltar.
HPB-1500 Police Patrol Craft, High-speed police patrol craft, Naval SystemsHPB-1500 Police Patrol CraftHigh-speed police patrol craftBuilt in: United KingdomThe HPB-1500 Police Patrol Craft is a 15-metre UK Ministry of Defence Police and Gibraltar Defence Police patrol-boat program built by Marine Specialised Technology from a BMT design. The GBP36 million MOD/DE&S contract covers sixteen craft for MOD Police and two for Gibraltar Defence Police, replacing older police launches with waterjet craft for armed maritime policing, escort, cordon and naval-base force-protection duties.