Derecktor Awarded High Speed Ferry Contract
Derecktor Shipyards has been granted a contract by Lighthouse Landings to construct a 115 ft. (35 m) aluminum high-speed catamaran ferry to be built at the yard's Mamaroneck, N.Y. facility. The catamaran holds the distinction of being the premiere vessel in a fleet of four that will be built for a new passenger service scheduled to begin in Spring/Summer 2001 between Stamford, Conn. and New York City. The vessels' operator, Lighthouse Landings, through its operating subsidiary, New York Fast Ferries Services, Inc. (NYFF) currently provides fast commuter service between Highlands, N.J. and New York City.
The new vessels will be built to a design in accordance with Nigel Gee and Associates (NGA) of Southampton, England. Developed with Derecktor specifically for the Stamford ferry service, the vessels will transport 250 commuters at a service speed of 42 knots. Able to arrive at their Wall Street port in less than one hour, the high-speed vessels are reportedly dubbed as the fastest commuter ferries ever to be put into service in the U.S.
Equipped with high-speed hulls derived from those developed for the 57-knot Derecktor 148 ft. (45 m) catamaran, the boats run on four Detroit Diesel engines each developing 2,300-hp driving four Kamewa A50 water jets through ZF456 reversing gearboxes. The jets are outfitted with active interceptors for maximum ride control and have no exterior lube or hydraulic oil lines, thus minimizing the risk of spill in case of line or hub seal failure.
Technologically driven safety equipment onboard includes high-speed ARPA radars and digital chart plotting system with radar overlay. Implemented on the vessels is the "Quad" configuration - four engines and four jets - with inherent propulsion and steering redundancy, offering reliability and increased safety.
