The first of Incat’s landmark 367 ft. Wave Piercing Catamarans, Natchan Rera, has been delivered to Higashi Nihon Ferry and is currently on her delivery voyage to Japan.
Ordered in May last year, the largest vessel ever produced by Incat will operate across Japan’s Tsugaru Strait between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, approximately halving the time currently taken for voyages between Aomori and Hakodate by existing ships and greatly enhancing the convenience of regular passenger services. In service the Wave Piercer offers a crossing time of one hour and 45 minutes on the 61 nautical miles passage.
The largest catamaran ever built in Australia, the new ferry will provide greater seakeeping qualities and passenger comfort, even over the world-renowned Incat 98 metre class, on this often turbulent crossing.
The largest, most fuel efficient diesel-powered high speed catamaran in the world, Natchan Rera (Incat Hull 064), sails at loaded speeds of approximately 40 knots and has the capacity to carry 355 cars or 450 lane metres of trucks and 193 cars. While Incat’s 367 ft. design can accommodate up to 1500 people Natchan Rera’s luxurious accommodation has been custom designed and laid out to cater for 800 persons in unprecedented levels of style and comfort.