Shipbuilding Contract: Incat Tasmania Scores Seaworld Express Ferry Deal

Incat Tasmania and Seaworld Express Ferry announced an order for a new generation fast ferry, a 76-m high speed wave piercing catamaran ferry to accommodate up to 700 passengers and 79 cars when it enters service on the new route between Jindo and Jeju early 2022.

Seaworld Express Ferry was selected as operator for the route, and its chairman Hyuk Young Lee said “We were most impressed with Incat Tasmania’s modern shipyard facilities, the advanced passenger safety systems incorporated into the Incat Tasmania design, the very high levels of on board passenger comfort and the yard’s record for on-time and on-budget deliveries.”

Incat Tasmania Chairman Robert Clifford AO says Incat Tasmania is no stranger in Korean waters having delivered its first vessel to the region in 1995, the Sunflower

The new 76-m vessel will be radically different from the 74- and 78-m vessels which were the world’s first vehicle-carrying high speed catamarans in the early 1990s and for which Incat Tasmania became well known.

Incat Tasmania CEO Tim Burnell says “With a significant improvement to both the waterline length and vessel trim compared with those earlier craft, the 76-m ferry will also benefit from vastly improved speed and fuel consumption. The new design very much reflects thirty years of experience building market leading high speed vehicle-passenger ferries.”

“Seaworld Express Ferry has made a strategic investment to secure the transport rights of local Jeju residents and tourists, thereby making a significant contribution to the revitalisation of the local economy” Burnell said.

Incat 76m Principal Particulars:
Builder: Incat Tasmania Pty Ltd
Design: Revolution Design Pty Ltd
Operator: Seaworld Express Ferry
Route: Jindo – Jeju
Length: 75.7 metres
Breadth: 20.6 metres
Draft: 2.35 metres
Deadweight: 300 tonnes
GRT: 3000 tonnes minimum
Passengers & crew: 700
Cars: 79
Speed: 42 knots