Joint Venture Joins U.S. Forces
In the fall of 1999, the situation in East Timor was tense. The United Nations mission was cut off from reinforcement and resupply, with 430 miles of open ocean between the chaotic Indonesian island and the UN's nearest supply base in Darwin, Australia. Then the Royal Australian Navy's Jervis Bay, a fast ferry built by INCAT Australia Pty., Ltd. and chartered by the Navy, came to the rescue. Making hundreds of crossings in an average of 11 hours for each trip, with an average speed of 43 knots fully loaded, the 292-ft. wave-piercing catamaran's performance "stunned" the United States Seventh Fleet representatives attached to the UN mission, according to RAN personnel.
Money Talks
The American Shipbuilding Association has long bemoaned the level of U.S. Navy funding, arguing that the amount of spending on new ships would, in the future, leave the force woefully under-equipped to handle its duties of defense. Though the ASA is but the lobbying voice of the country's "Big Six" shipbuilders — by consolidation now reduced to, in effect, the Big Two — would be the primary beneficiaries of a spending splurge, it now seems the arguments presented were visionary, as the U.S. enters a gray area in international relations with the recent terrorist attacks in New York and Washington and the resultant war in Afghanistan.
Bollinger INCAT USA -- Marking Its Territory
Known for its sleek, fast and high-performance wave-piercing catamarans, Incat Australia expanded its reach to U.S. shores with its decision last year to partner with Lockport, La.,-based Bollinger Shipyards for the construction and design of a new breed of high speed, aluminum fast craft for operation in the U.S. Wanting to break into the U.S. military market, Bollinger Incat USA is poised to establish a new breed of fast ferry construction that will meet the needs of the U.S military forces. The company also plans to position its vessels as a means to alleviate traffic on highways with its plan for high-speed, high-performance freight vessels, which will be able to carry a mix of semi-trailers and freight vehicles.
