Evolution of the Pilot Boat: From Wooden Schooners to High-Tech Launches
Arguably there are no two names more closely related to Pilot Boat design and construction in the United States than Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding and Ray Hunt Designs. Together the dynamic duo has designed and built more than 80 vessels – not to mention a vibrant refurbish and repair operation – design and building for pilot organizations around the country. In a recent episode of Maritime Matters: The MarineLink Podcast, a trio of executives: Peter Duclos, President, Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding…
Incat Crowther to Design Whitsundays Passenger Vessel
Incat Crowther has been commissioned by Cruise Whitsundays, part of Australian tourism group Journey Beyond, to design a 36-meter passenger vessel that will be built by Austal Vietnam.The vessel will be deployed year-round as a resort connection service between Airlie Beach, the resorts of Daydream Island and Hamilton Island and Cruise Whitsundays’ Reef World pontoons – located 39 nautical miles from shore at Hardy Reef.Designed specifically for local conditions, optimized for its routes and tailored to infrastructure…
A Shocking Success Story: How a Navy Doctor Revolutionized High-speed Boat Safety
For years, operators of high-speed boats have silently endured the physical toll of their profession. Repeated slamming impacts from rough seas caused serious injuries—many of them life-altering. However, one Navy doctor saw these challenges not as an unavoidable consequence but as a problem that could be solved. His solution? A seat that would change the course of high-speed boat safety.The hidden cost of high-speed operationsRecent research shows that professional high-speed boat operators suffer more severe injuries than seen in almost any other peacetime profession.
Second JHSV Completes Builder's Trials
Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) 2, the future 'USNS Choctaw County', successfully comes through Austal USA's sea trials. Builder's trials are a significant step in the construction and delivery of a ship to the fleet and are the first opportunity to operate the ship underway and test overall system performance prior to demonstration to the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). "JHSV 2 is the second ship in this class to go through rigorous builder's trials testing," said Strategic and Theater Sealift Program Manager Capt. Henry Stevens. "At this stage, JHSV 2 is more complete than the lead ship, and we are benefitting from JHSV 1's lessons learned.
LCS 2 Independence Completes Builder's Trials
LCS2 Independence, the high-speed trimaran combatant ship being constructed by shipbuilder Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, as part of the General Dynamics Littoral Combat Ship Team, successfully completed a series of tests known as builder's trials on October 18 in the Gulf of Mexico. The trials included more than 50 demonstration events that rigorously test the ship and all of its systems in preparation for final inspection by the Navy before delivery. Notable achievements during the trials included reaching a sustained speed of 44 knots during the required four-hour full-power run…
NAIAD Acquires VT Motion Control Group
USA Naiad Maritime Group, Inc. and VT Group plc (VT) announced Naiad Maritime Group’s completion of the acquisition of the collection of businesses known as the VT Motion Control Group, including Naiad Marine Systems, Maritime Dynamics, Vosper Motion Control and Vosper Stabilizers. The acquisition was led by John Venables, former Group President of the VT Motion Control businesses, with 27 years in various engineering and executive capacities at the companies. Venables will continue to lead the business as President & CEO of Naiad Maritime Group. Naiad Maritime Group, Inc. is comprised of Naiad Dynamics US, Inc., Naiad Dynamics UK, Limited, and Naiad Dynamics Holland, BV. It has operations in Connecticut, Maryland, Florida, and Washington, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Australia.
Now the Carousel Ship
Technical proposals for the shipment of natural gas under compression rather than in the refrigerated, liquefied state have surfaced from time to time over the years, but have received a lukewarm response from the marine industry. The considerable cost of the shipboard containment methodology has been a major stumbling block. Now, a Canadian engineering contractor has come up with an altogether more economic solution to the cargo carrying needs of compressed natural gas (CNG), and pitched at relatively short-distance sea transport applications. Instead of the prohibitively expensive pressure bottles that have earlier been central to CNG transport concepts…
Salacia Returns to Boston
Boston Harbor Cruises recently completed the first successful ferry service between St. Thomas and St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Salacia, the largest of the company’s high-speed catamarans, built by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, returned to Boston, having carried from 200 to 700 passengers daily between the islands from November til early May. Until now, islanders normally traveled between the islands by plane. While not the first vessel to attempt this run, Salacia is the first to succeed. “This is probably the most difficult ferry route in the country,” explained Chris Nolan, Boston Harbor Cruises’ managing partner. “The easterly winds blow 15 to 20 knots. The seas were three to five feet eighty percent of the time and would frequently increase to six to eight [feet].
