A high-speed craft (HSC) is a high-speed water vessel for civilian use, also called a fastcraft or fast ferry . The first high-speed craft were often hydrofoils or hovercraft , but in the 1990s catamaran and monohull designs become more popular. Most high-speed craft serve as passenger ferries , but the largest catamarans and monohulls also carry cars, buses, large trucks and freight.
25-605: Incat Tasmania is an Australian manufacturer of high-speed craft (HSC) catamaran ferries. Its greatest success has been with large, sea going passenger and vehicle ferries, but it has also built military transports and since 2015 it has built smaller river and bay ferries. Based in Derwent Park , a suburb of Hobart , Tasmania , Australia, it was founded by Bob Clifford . The company builds vessels using aluminium construction, wave-piercing and water-jet technology. Vessels have been constructed up to 130 metres in length with
50-573: A crew size of 13 consists of 4 deck officers (including Captain) working shifts in pairs, 4 Able Seamen working in pairs, 3 Engineers , 1 ETO (Electro-Technical Officer), and 1 Steward. The crew may also include Cadets. Crews sign on to work and live aboard the ship an extended period of time, this is followed by similar period of time off. Depending on the ship's owner or operator the time aboard varies from 1 to 3 months with 1 month off. Work details on platform supply vessels, like many ships, are organized into shifts of up to 12 hours. Living aboard
75-640: A major player in the industry. Over the years innovation has led to the ships becoming bigger, faster, more fuel efficient and much more stable on rough seas. Vehicle decks are often movable to make way for high trucks or extra cars. Ships in this category have been built from 74 to 130 metres long and from 3,000 to 13,000 gross tons. The 99-metre HSC Francisco (Hull 069) is the world's fastest ship in commercial service and can achieve speeds up to 58 knots (107 km/h; 67 mph). Incat began by building small ferries under 37 metres, but from 1990 it concentrated on larger vehicle-carrying catamarans. However, in 2015
100-470: A platform supply vessel is to transport supplies to the oil platform and return other cargoes to shore. Cargo tanks for drilling mud , pulverized cement, diesel fuel, potable and non-potable water, and chemicals used in the drilling process comprise the bulk of the cargo spaces. Fuel, water, and chemicals are almost always required by oil platforms. Certain other chemicals must be returned to shore for proper recycling or disposal, however, crude oil product from
125-521: A size of 13,000 gross tons and with cruising speeds of up to 58 knots (107 km/h). The company began in 1972 as the Sullivans Cove Ferry Company in suburban Hobart and built four small ferries before International Catamarans was formed in 1977 by a partnership between founder Bob Clifford and marine architect Philip Hercus . This partnership created plans for what was probably the first large wave piercing catamaran in
150-515: A third was built by a Chinese partner. Plans for further Chinese built K class ferries did not eventuate and Hull NF08 remains the only Incat vessel not built in Hobart. Most offshore oil rigs are exposed to rough open seas with crew transfers by helicopter and freight needs served by platform supply vessels . However Azerbaijan 's offshore oil rigs are in the calmer waters of the Caspian Sea ,
175-420: A willingness to experiment and innovate. But the revolutionary Hull 023 completed in 1990 was quite different and was the first of the type of ferry that Incat is best known for today with its large capacity, high speed, wave piercing hulls and distinctive centre bow. As one of the first large aluminium vehicle carrying catamarans in the world, it contributed to the big changes in the ferry industry that occurred in
200-532: Is especially needed for locations with frequent severe weather conditions such as the North Sea. A typical DP set-up for a PSV is two thrusters located at the bow of the vessel which can be supplemented by two azimuth thrusters or Voith Schneider Propellers located at the stern. All modern PSVs are DP2 rated, meaning that there are two levels of redundancy in the DP system. Common and specialty tools are carried on
225-836: Is regulated by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention , Chapter 10, High-Speed Craft (HSC) Codes of 1994 and 2000, adopted by the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). In accordance with SOLAS Chapter 10 Reg. 1.3, high-speed craft are craft capable of a maximum speed, in metres per second (m/s), equal to or exceeding: where ▽ {\displaystyle \triangledown } = volume of displacement in cubic metres corresponding to
250-556: The Royal Australian Navy and HSV-X1 Joint Venture , Spearhead and HSV-2 Swift , which served with the United States Armed Forces . In the mid-1990s Incat built three "K class" ferries. They are 70 to 80 metres long, low profile passenger vessels without wave piercing bows or the distinctive centre bow that characterise all other larger Incat ferries. Two were built by Incat in Hobart and
275-628: The 1990s there were a variety of builders, but due to HSC high fuel consumption, many shipbuilders have withdrawn from this market so the construction of the largest fast ferries, up to 127 metres, has been consolidated to two Australian companies, Austal of Perth and Incat of Hobart. There is still a wide variety of builders for smaller fast catamaran ferries between 24 and 60 metres. Hulled designs are often powered by pump-jets coupled to medium-speed diesel engines. Hovercraft are usually powered by gas turbines or diesel engines driving propellers and impellers. The design and safety of high-speed craft
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#1732790702247300-456: The 1990s. In the "Length / class" field of the table WPC means the vessel is a wave piercing catamaran. The three K class vessels were a low profile design without the wave piercing bows and the capacity to carry fewer cars than traditional Incat designs. In the competitive ferry industry, ships often change operators, especially in Europe. Other ferries have alternated between summer service in
325-589: The Caspian Sea with the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. From 1990 Incat had almost exclusively built large catamarans, but this changed in 2014 when the company diversified into something that was not even a ship, although it did float. An earlier Brooke Street Pier ferry terminal on Hobart's waterfront needed replacement and Incat was commissioned to build an 80 x 20-metre floating pontoon. Hull 077
350-543: The company resumed building smaller ferries and in that year it delivered river ferries for operation in London , Hobart and Sydney . Since then it has designed and built more smaller ferries including two 35-metre, 400 passenger ferries (Hulls 090 and 095) for commuter runs by Port Phillip Ferries from Melbourne Docklands to Portarlington and Geelong . In the 1990s several catamarans built by Incat entered naval service as fast transports, including HMAS Jervis Bay with
375-448: The design waterline, excluding craft of which the hull is supported clear above the water surface in non-displacement mode by aerodynamic forces generated by ground effect. Platform supply vessel A platform supply vessel ( PSV ) is a ship specially designed to supply offshore oil and gas platforms and other offshore installations. They typically range from 50 to 100 metres (160 to 330 ft) in length and are distinguished by
400-608: The large decks of these vessels. Most carry a combination of deck cargoes and bulk cargo in tanks below deck. Many ships are constructed (or re-fitted) to accomplish a particular job. Some of these vessels are equipped with a firefighting capability and fire monitors for fighting platform fires. Some vessels are equipped with oil containment and recovery equipment to assist in the cleanup of a spill at sea. Equipment for receiving drill cuttings may also be installed on deck. Crew on these ships can number up to 50 crew members, depending on vessel size and working requirements. One example of
425-538: The large open deck area used to store supplies and house equipment and to allow for efficient loading and offloading. The primary function for most of these vessels is logistic support and transportation of goods, tools, equipment, and personnel to and from their destination. They belong to the broad category of offshore vessels (OSVs) which includes Service Operation Vessels (SOVs), Construction Support Vessels (CSVs), well stimulation vessels (WSVs) and anchor handling tug supply vessels (AHTSVs). A primary function of
450-522: The limited market for fast cats became crowded with manufacturers bidding low to keep their shipyards working. In August 2024, Incat purchased 12 hectares of land from Norske Skog to build a second shipyard on part of the Boyer Mill site. In 1990 Incat was one of the pioneers of large, fast catamaran ferries and they have been its core product ever since. The type of ship was different from earlier ferries and its instant success led to Incat becoming
475-519: The northern and southern hemispheres every six months. Some Incat vessels of the 1990s have been operated by up to six shipping companies with regular name changes. Gross tonnage is a measure of a ship's enclosed volume rather than its weight or displacement, so similar ships can have differing gross tonnages due to factors such as whether a viewing platform is fully enclosed or open to the weather. [REDACTED] Media related to Incat (ship builder) at Wikimedia Commons High-speed craft In
500-403: The rig is usually not a supply vessel cargo. Dynamic positioning (DP) is a computerised system which allows vessels to maintain a certain position or heading by controlling the thrust produced by the vessel's thrusters and propellers. As with most offshore vessels , DP is of critical importance to ensure that the vessel's position is maintained whilst loading or offloading is taking place; this
525-484: The same time, several other companies also began to build large aluminium vehicle carrying ferries. This new type of ship was revolutionary and over the next decade fast cats replaced most hydrofoil and hovercraft services as well as many monohull ferries. The success of this new type of ferry led to other shipbuilders around the world using their yards to build large vehicle carrying aluminium catamarans. However many ferry operators preferred traditional monohull designs and
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#1732790702247550-665: The ship, each crew member and worker will have at least a 12-hour shift, lasting some portion of a 24-hour day. Supply vessels are provided with a "bridge" area for navigating and operating the ship, machinery spaces, living quarters, and galley and mess room. Some have built-in work areas and common areas for entertainment. The large main deck area is sometimes utilized for portable housing. Living quarters consist of cabins, lockers, offices, and spaces for storing personal items. Living areas are provided with wash basins, showers, and toilets. The galley or cooking and eating areas aboard ship will be stocked with enough grocery items to last for
575-463: The world's largest lake, so crew transfers can be comfortably and more economically undertaken by water. Several fast catamarans have been built to transfer both crews and cargo for this market including Incat Hull 074 Muslim Magomayev delivered in 2015. The size of catamarans that can be built for this niche market is restricted by the 16.5-metre width of locks on the Volga–Don Canal that connects
600-624: The world. However the partnership was dissolved in 1988 with Clifford remaining in Hobart trading as Incat Tasmania while Hercus returned to Sydney to establish Incat Designs (Sydney), a design-only company that became Incat Crowther after a merger in 2005. Incat Crowther has no association with Incat Tasmania and its ships are built by other companies. Incat Tasmania has its own in-house design company, Revolution Design. In 1989 Incat Tasmania moved to its present location on Prince of Wales Bay , which allowed it to build larger ships, and in 1990 Incat delivered its first 74-metre fast catamaran ferry. At
625-620: Was towed 8 km from Incat's shipyard to Sullivans Cove before finishing work was done on site. In addition to ferry berths, the pier hosts a restaurant, a cafe and a number of stalls. The market for opulent motor yachts has grown rapidly in the 21st century and while the market is mostly for monohull vessels, catamarans are beginning to make inroads. Incat has released several designs ranging from 80 to 112 metres which are shown on their website, but so far there have been no orders. In its early years Incat built smaller boats and ferries with little to distinguish it from other boat yards except for
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