Incat lays keel of first 112-metre cat

Tasmanian fast ferry specialist Incat has laid the keel of the first 112 metre Wave Piercing Catamaran at its new undercover construction facilities. Prefabrication work on the 112 metre catamaran has been in progress for some months and the laying of the first section of hull in the new building hall signals the countdown towards vessel completion in late-2006.

Designed to accommodate the new 112 metre catamarans and even larger vessels of 120 metres and beyond is Wilson?s building hall. The deeper and wider drydock is parallel to the equally impressive Coverdale?s building hall and takes the total undercover facility at Incat to over 50,000 m².

Although the new Wilson?s shed was actually partially commissioned in August 2001 when Incat 050 was positioned in the completed drydock, for conversion to HSV-X1 Joint Venture for the US Military, it is not until now that the first keel has been laid in the cavernous building. Incat?s Chairman, Robert Clifford, said: “With the laying of the keel of the first of our 112 metre ships, Hull 064, in this building Wilson?s is now considered complete. The jigs, cranes and other equipment required to build large craft, even larger than the 112 metre vessel, are being progressively installed in what will be the largest and most modern aluminium shipbuilding facility in the world,” Clifford said. He went on to say that “It had become apparent to Incat and others in the ferry industry that despite the impressive capacity and versatility of the 98 metre ship, particularly on the vehicle deck, it was still not large enough for some high volume ferry services, particularly those in Europe. As far back as 1998 Incat conceived that a larger vessel was required to fill this market niche for even larger high speed ferries,”

After two years research the 112 metre Wave Piercing Catamaran design, with a waterline length of 106 metres, emerged as a ship capable of meeting or exceeding all design brief goals. Today, six years after commencing its research, Incat is in a position to contract and deliver the 112 metre Wave Piercing Catamaran.

“As the keel of the first 112 metre vessel is laid, it is done against a background of eleven 96/98 metre Wave Piercing Catamarans in commercial and military service around the world, making the 96/98 metre design one of the most popular high speed ship types in modern times” Clifford said. “The Incat 112 metre draws on the principles, technology and in service experience of the Incat 98 metre yet it is also enhanced to provide significant competitive advantages to operators who need greater capacity, particularly in respect to achieving much higher levels of profitability,” he says.