Rhode Island Fast Ferry News

As the novel coronavirus and its impacts continue to spread across America, U.S. shipbuilders, by and large, continue to build. While most yards have been deemed essential to marine transportation and/or national security and have been able to maintain operations, the situation at and around every shipyard is different, and there are several builders across the country that have had to temporarily suspend activity. In either scenario, it’s far from business as usual for America’s…

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, has delivered a second high-speed passenger ferry for Rhode Island Fast Ferry, Inc., for service between Quonset Point, Rhode Island and Martha’s Vineyard, alongside Ava Pearl, the operator’s first high-speed catamaran built by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard in 2012.The new 320-passenger, all-aluminum catamaran, Julia Leigh, measures 113.5 feet (34.4m) overall, 32.4 feet (9.9m) at the beam, and draws six feet (1.9m). It is powered by twin MTU-12V4000M64 diesel engines, each delivering 1875 Bhp at 1800 rpm.

The advent of U.S. offshore wind also brings the need for the quality and quantity of built-for-purpose vessels needed to sustain its momentum.As the long-awaited advent of offshore wind finally arrives on this side of the big pond, one question which continues to dominate the conversation is where (and when) the fit-for-purpose tonnage necessary for this great leap forward will come from. Just as important, stakeholders need to have confidence in the availability of proven vessel concepts, as they continue to explore opportunities and justify investment decisions in the growing sector.First Out of the GateRhode Island-based shipyard Blount Boats, in June, announced that it had signed a sublicense agreement with Marine Applied Physics Corp.

Rhode Island shipyard Blount Boats, Inc. said it has signed a sublicense agreement with Marine Applied Physics Corp. (MAPC) of Baltimore, Md., for the building of crew transfer vessels (CTV) designed by U.K. builder South Boats.South Boats has designed and built approximately 30 percent of the wind farm crew transfer vessels operating on European windfarms, and Blount Boats has held the U.S. license for the firm’s designs since 2011.In 2016, Blount delivered a South Boats 21-meter transfer vessel, Atlantic Pioneer, to Rhode Island Fast Ferry. The vessel is the first U.S.

A second catamaran ferry under construction at Gladding Hearn Shipbuilding in Massachusetts for Rhode Island Fast Ferry will expand on the success of the 2012-delivered Ava Pearl, meeting increased passenger demand and adding a new route to RIFF’s operation.The new ferry, scheduled to be delivered in 2019, has been designed by Incat Crowther to carry 320 passengers, more than twice the passenger capacity of Ava Pearl.The vessel utilizes Incat Crowther’s ‘S bow’ hulls which have demonstrated improved passenger comfort in the sea conditions typically encountered in the region. Powered by a pair of MTU 12V4000 M64 engines each producing 1…

Massachusetts based shipbuilder Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, said it has begun building a second high-speed passenger ferry for Rhode Island Fast Ferry, Inc., scheduled to be delivered in 2019.The new 320-passenger, all-aluminum catamaran will operate on a new seasonal route between Quonset Point, R.I. and Block Island.The newbuild follows the 2012 delivery of Ava Pearl, the operator’s first high-speed catamaran built by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard, which…

Marine News contributor Robert Kunkel asks: Are we ready to support the farms? On August 19, 2016, we watched as the fifth tower and associated nacelle was raised on the Deepwater Offshore Wind Farm approximately 3 miles offshore of Block Island, Rhode Island. This is the first Offshore Wind farm erected in the United States and, without a doubt, a huge step forward for this controversial project and alternative energy supply. The Block Island Wind Farm has a total generating capacity of 30 megawatts and is projected to produce approximately 125,000 megawatt hours annually.

The first US-built and operated offshore wind farm crew transfer vessel will be named at an official christening ceremony in Quonset Point, Rhode Island. Following the Christening the ‘Atlantic Pioneer’, owned and operated by Atlantic Wind Transfers, the commercial wind support services arm of Rhode Island Fast Ferry, will embark on the first phase of a 20-year charter to support the construction and operation of the Block Island offshore wind farm. The Block Island site, currently under construction by developer Deepwater Wind off the coast of Rhode Island…

Atlantic Wind Transfers, Blount Boats and Deepwater Wind welcome key U.S. Atlantic Wind Transfers, the commercial wind support services arm of Rhode Island Fast Ferry, joined boat builder Blount Boats and offshore wind developer Deepwater Wind on August 12 for an official Ribbon Cutting ceremony and to tour the first offshore wind farm crew transfer vessel in the U.S currently under construction. The event at the Blount Boats yard in Warren, R.I., brought together local supply chain businesses to celebrate the economic benefits of the Block Island Wind Farm project to U.S. firms.

Rhode Island based shipbuilder Blount Boats signed a contract with Rhode Island Fast Ferry for the construction of a crew transfer vessel (CTV) that will operate for Deepwater Wind Block Island, the shipbuilder announced today. The 21-meter aluminum vessel was designed by South Boats IOW (Isle of Wight), a company that has designed and built approximately 85 CTVs for the European Offshore Wind Sector. In 2011, Blount Boats signed a licensing agreement with South Boats to become the exclusive shipyard to manufacture U.S. Flagged aluminum catamarans of South Boats IOW designs for the U.S.

Agreement enables high-speed catamaran ferry company Rhode Island Fast Ferry to commission first US-built crew transfer vessel, to be built by Blount Boats, and launch Atlantic Wind Transfers, its commercial wind support services division. This long-term charter services agreement is the first deal of its kind to be signed in the United States and marks another milestone in the development and deployment of US offshore wind. Expectations within the North American offshore wind market have escalated in recent months…

When the long-time operators of the National Park Service passenger route from Key West, Florida, to Dry Tortugas National Park were looking to keep that contract and further upgrade the quality of their offerings in that market, they did what most satisfied customers would do: they went back to the builder of their current vessel, Massachusetts-based Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding. The original boat used by Yankee Fleet in this service, built in 1998, provided reliable service over the years, but new contract requirements and changes in certain regulatory regimes ultimately made its replacement necessary. With the new Yankee Freedom III now in service…

MTU Series 4000 engines power new catamaran passenger ferry on Martha’s Vineyard route; Rhode Island Fast Ferry’s new propeller-driven vessel is lighter, faster and more fuel efficient than its predecessor. The Ava Pearl, a new catamaran operated by Rhode Island Fast Ferry, is meeting the ferry service’s goal of fuel-efficient operation thanks to the vessel’s twin MTU 12V4000 M53 engines from Tognum America. The 34-meter passenger vessel, designed by Incat Crowther and built by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding…

'Ava Pearl,' a new catamaran operated by Rhode Island Fast Ferry, is fitted with fuel-efficient MTU Series 4000 engines. The 34-meter passenger vessel, designed by Incat Crowther and built by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, makes three daily round-trips between North Kingstown, R.I., and Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., a one-way distance of 52 miles. In the first two months of operation, the 150-passenger Ava Pearl logged more than 18,700 sea-miles and the fuel savings have added up.

A 34m Catamaran Passenger Ferry, Ava Pearl, designed by Incat Crowther and built by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding , was delivered to Rhode Island Fast Ferry, where it will contribute to an expansion of operations. As a long-time operator of Incat Crowther ferries, Rhode Island Fast Ferry turned to Gladding Hearn and Incat Crowther to develop and build a ferry with twin engines and propellers, with a view to more efficient operation. Designed specifically for the operation, the lighter, simpler vessel is driven by propellers.

Gladding-Hearn Delivers New High-Speed Ferry to Rhode Island Fast Ferry. Rhode Island Fast Ferry Co. has taken delivery of a new high-speed passenger ferry from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, to operate between Quonset Point, Rhode Island and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Designed by Incat Crowther, the new 150-passenger ferry, Ava Pearl, serves the same 52-mile route as the operator’s other 400-passenger fast ferry, Millennium, built by the Mass.-based shipyard in 1998.

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding’s fast ferry building expertise has taken an unusual turn, with the testing of a new torpedo-launching system for the U.S. Navy. Systems Engineering Associates Corporation (SEA CORP) of Middletown, R.I., chartered Millennium, the 125-ft. Incat-designed high-speed passenger ferry owned by Rhode Island Fast Ferry and built by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard in 1998 in May, to test an experimental surface torpedo launching system under development by NAVSEA.

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding's fast ferry building expertise has taken an unusual turn, with the testing of a new torpedo-launching system for the U.S. Navy. Systems Engineering Associates Corporation (SEA CORP) of Middletown, R.I., chartered Millennium, the 125-ft. Incat-designed high-speed passenger ferry owned by Rhode Island Fast Ferry and built by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard in 1998 in May, to test an experimental surface torpedo launching system under development by NAVSEA. The catamaran's 37-knot light speed and open third deck were ideally suited to simulate launching from a destroyer or carrier deck. Using their 3-D Finite Element Modeling (FEM) capability…