Liferaft Systems News

Incat delivered its latest large fast ferry, a 110-meter catamaran for Virtu Ferries of Malta dubbed Saint John Paul II.Saint John Paul II is the 44th large commercial fast ferry delivered by Incat and the sixth in excess of 5,500gt in the past decade; a decade also shared with 19 other Incat newbuilds of smaller passenger ferries and support vessels.“Using the latest computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and hydrodynamic free-running model test techniques, the well proven Incat Wave Piercing Catamaran hullform has been further developed for Mediterranean winter conditions…

Interferry, the trade association representing the worldwide ferry industry, has announced that the new chairman of its board of directors is John Steen-Mikkelsen, CEO of Danish ferry operator Danske Faerger.Steen-Mikkelsen was elected together with three new board members at the annual general meeting held last week in Cancun, Mexico, during the association’s 43rd annual conference.The Interferry board is drawn from all types of large and small ferry operations - including ro-pax, ro-ro, cruise ferries, fast ferries and passenger-only ferries - as well as industry suppliers.

A new generation fast ferry has left Tasmania on her delivery voyage to Denmark via the Panama Canal. The Express 3 is a 109 meter long high speed vehicle/passenger ferry from Australian shipbuilder Incat Tasmania for Danish operator Molslinjen, becoming the fourth Hobart-built catamaran in the company’s current fleet. An entirely new generation fast ferry, the 109 meter wave piercing catamaran Express 3 has evolved from Incat’s well proven 112 meter catamaran range which first entered commercial service in mid-2007. Incat’s Tim Burnell commented, “The design brief was simple.

Interferry has unveiled a strategic plan promising to put safety issues at the heart of its work as the voice of the worldwide ferry industry. The pledge came at the global trade association’s 41st annual conference in Manila – a venue chosen to spotlight the challenges of domestic ferry safety in developing nations. According to Interferry, the plan signals its overriding ambition to help lift ferry safety in all parts of the world to the very high standard already in place in North America and Europe, where casualties in recent decades have been extremely rare.

Firefighting led a stream of topical debate at trade association Interferry’s 40th annual conference in Copenhagen last week – but not before a record 342 delegates came under fire from a leading Green politician claiming that ‘shipping is currently one of the unaddressed areas of air pollution’. Michael Cramer, German chair of the European Parliament’s transport and tourism committee, delivered a stinging opening address demanding that the ferry and shipping sectors become more environmentally sustainable. He said ‘most vessels are like hazardous waste incinerators because they burn heavy fuel oil which should be processed as highly toxic waste but is usually exhaled without sufficient filtering’.

The latest delivery from Australian shipbuilder Incat Tasmania Akane, an 85 metre high speed Wave Piercing Catamaran Ferry, Incat hull 068, will arrive in Japan early April. Built at the Incat shipyard at Prince of Wales Bay, Hobart the vessel was sea trialled late   March, and has departed Hobart on her delivery voyage. The vessel will go into service in April with Sado Kisen, a long standing ferry operator in Japan. Akane will operate from the Niigata and Naoetsu ports on the west coast of Japan to the Sado Island ports of Ogi and Ryotsu.

A review of the ferry industry’s latest challenges and opportunities attracted a record 340 delegates to Vancouver last week for the 39th annual Interferry conference. The global trade association event exposed a string of concerns – notably over punitive safety and environmental regulations – but also highlighted the financial potential of new routes, onboard shopping incentives and the use of LNG fuel. Alongside sessions on the future of the industry, Canada-based CEO Len Roueche outlined a vision for maintaining Interferry’s influential lobbying role among politicians and regulators.

On Wednesday, May 21 at Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS) Yard in Vlissingen Oost, the Netherlands, an evacuation test deployment of a Liferaft Systems Australia (LSA) 20m MES and 100-person capacity self-righting liferaft was conducted from the new Royal Netherlands Navy Joint Support Ship, HLNMS Karel Doorman. The deployment exercise involved the evacuation of 100 Royal Netherlands Navy personnel. The simulated evacuation training exercise was timed and the full 100 person complement was evacuated in less than 5 minutes.

Liferaft Systems Australia (LSA) has secured a contract worth approximately $4.8m to supply Marine Evacuation Systems to the UK Ministry of Defense for use on two new British aircraft carriers. LSA European Manager Mr. Peter Rea said it was the biggest single contract since the company was founded over 16 years ago. “LSA has been working on finalizing this contract for about 18 months after we were initially approached by Aircraft Carrier Alliance who had noticed the design and quality of our product” he said.

Derecktor Shipyards delivered its 299 ft. (91 m) high speed catamaran, Flying Cloud, to Woods Hole & Martha's Vineyard Steamship Authority. Completed one week ahead of schedule, the vessel will be used for year-round passenger and vehicle ferry service to the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Attaining an excess of 39 knots during sea trials, Flying Cloud demonstrated high stability and ride comfort due to its dynamic ride control system. Its service speed of 36 knots will allow the ferry to cross from Hyannis Port to Nantucket Island in less than one hour - significantly lower than the conventional two hour crossing time. Flying Cloud is powered by Paxman 12VP185 diesel engines driving Kamewa 71SII waterjets.

Making the Tasmanian Award for Export Leadership at the 2007 Tasmanian Export Awards at the Launceston Country Club, Tasmania’s Deputy Premier Steve Kons said Clifford was recognized not only for this significant contribution to industry, but also to the economy, the Tasmanian brand, and to Tasmania’s reputation around the world. “As founder of catamaran builder Incat, Robert has been an important part of our export industry for more than 40 years and Tasmania has benefited greatly from his passion and commitment. “His world-class catamarans are being developed and produced here in Tasmania and are recognized the world over. In the past 13 months Incat has delivered two of its largest vessels to date to opposite sides of the world.

Incat recently delivered a new 321-ft. (98 m) wave piercing catamaran to one of Spain’s largest shipping companies, Acciona Trasmediterránea. Milenium Tres is the sixth Incat high speed catamaran to join an Acciona Trasmediterránea fleet which already includes the 314-ft. (96 m) Milenium and the 321-ft. Milenium Dos, both of which have been operating on the Spanish mainland-Balearic Islands links since 2000 and 2003 respectively, and also the 96 metre Alborán on the Gibraltar Strait’s busy Algeciras – Ceuta crossing. In addition, this summer saw Incat’s K-class catamaran Incat K3 in operation on the new route from Alicante to Palma and Ibiza.

The Australian marine industry is noted for building large, fast, efficient vessels, primarily for commercial ferry purposes. But as coastal patrol needs grow, so too do the military applications for these amazing breeds. Following is a brief review of some of the recent news from Down Under. Hobart-based shipbuilder Incat is emerging from a challenging year with news of not one, but two orders for the United States military. Just three weeks after the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) announced the lease of their first Theater Support for the Army from Bollinger/Incat USA. Military Sealift Command (MSC), Washington, D.C., also announced a contract for a 322-ft. (98-m) craft from Bollinger/Incat USA, to support U.S. Navy Mine Warfare Command.