A ship of US firsts from Austal

The new Austal Auto Express 58 catamaran Lake Express secured its place in history on 1 June when it became the first fast ferry to carry vehicles and passengers in commercial service within the United States, creating a marine freeway across Lake Michigan in the process. Operating between the cities of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Muskegon, Michigan, the new ferry provides a crossing time of just 2 ½ hours, slicing in half the time it would take to drive around the southern tip of the lake, through heavily congested Chicago.

Ordered in June 2003, the vessel entered service one week prior to the start of a new high speed service in Alaska and, as such, Lake Express is the first high speed vehicle-passenger ferry to operate in the US. Another Austal vessel, the Australian-built Spirit of Ontario I, is scheduled to begin service across Lake Ontario between Toronto and Rochester, New York, on 18 June.

The establishment of the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama in 1999 facilitated the supply of advanced fast ferry technology to American transport planners and operators. This in turn is leading to renewed interest in the use of high-speed vessels for vehicle ferry operations and other short sea shipping initiatives.

The new fast ferry offers capacity for 248 passengers and 46 cars. Every aspect of its design and construction has been tailored around the specific needs of Lake Express and their new service. In the main passenger lounge four aisles separate the seating areas which provide for triple seating at the extremities and group configurations of four around centrepiece tables in the centre.

The vehicle deck, designed to suit the requirements of the customer, has the capacity to carry 46 cars. Catering for the larger cars found on American roads vehicle lanes on board are larger than normal with bay sizes of 5.2 metres by 2.5 metres. The inner two lanes offer a clear height of 2.9 metres while the outer lanes are 2.6 metres high. The maximum axle load is up to 3.5 tonnes. The 2.9 metre high forward door slides open to facilitate drive-through loading, thus keeping turnaround times to a minimum.

The catamaran is powered by four MTU 16V 4000 M70 diesel engines, each producing 2,320kW at 2,000rpm, which is sufficient for service speeds of 34 knots at 90% MCR.

“Speed trials showed Lake Express reaching a maximum of 39 knots,” said Randy Naker, of Hornblower Marine Services, which is managing the vessel?s operation for Lake Express. “Thanks to the motion control system the ride was very comfortable.” he said.

In this application, the state-of-the-art motion control system uses hydraulically actuated interceptors fitted aft to provide motion damping as well as control of running trim. The interceptors are controlled by commands from a central unit which receives motion data from an array of onboard sensors, computes the required damping forces and then issues the command signals.