Allyboats delivers latest ferry

Sunferries of Townsville, Queensland, accepted delivery of the 30.67m Fantome Cat from the Brisbane builder on 26 March. The newbuilding is a near sistership to Palm Cat, and takes the total number of ABA-built vessels in its fleet to two and the number of One2three designed vessels in the Sunferries fleet to four.

Delivered a full two months ahead of schedule due to operator requirements, the Fantome Cat is a real example of understanding the needs of the customer explained Roy Whitewood, director and founder of ABA. “ABA places great emphasis on providing a high level of personal service and attention to customer needs, as Sunferries discovered when we built our first vessel for them, the Palm Cat, in 2008. The result was a repeat order and we are delighted to enjoy a very positive and cooperative working relationship with Sunferries CEO Terry Dodd and his team,” Whitewood said.

During trials on Queensland’s Moreton Bay, the Fantome Cat performed well and exceeded the contract speed of 27 knots, exceeding the fully loaded contractual requirement by

1.5 knots.

The new catamaran is well appointed, being built with improvements adopted through the

operational experience gained with Palm Cat. With a strong focus on passenger comfort the cabin areas have been enhanced with carpet being fitted throughout while the ride control system is in the form of active interceptors from Scandinavian company Humphree AB.

This is in fact the first vessel in Australasia to be fitted with a Humphree interceptor system which consists of 4 x interceptor assemblies mounted on the (2 per transom) transoms to

automatically control and reduce the motions of the vessel for optimum passenger and crew

comfort in rough seas. The system also automatically maintains the optimum dynamic trim of the vessel thereby reducing the vessels resistance when operating. This results in a reduction in the fuel consumption, increase in vessel speed and subsequent reductions in exhaust emissions. During sea trials, motion reductions of 30% + in pitch and 50% + in roll were recorded.

Passengers enter the vessel through wide entrance doors on the port side amidships, or through gates aft on the port and starboard side. The Fantome Cat can accommodate 308 passengers of which 112 are carried on the upper deck that, in additional to a lounge, also offers an external sheltered area seating 61 persons.

Operationally, the Fantome Cat operates with a crew of five and is equipped with the latest

navigational aids ensuring optimum performance. The electronics package is the latest Simrad NSE range supplied and installed by the team at Ultimate Marine Power.

Two 820kW Caterpillar C32 high speed diesels each drive a five-bladed propeller to provide a service speed of 26 knots, allowing the crossing from Townsville to Magnetic Island to be completed in approximately 20 minutes. The company’s ferries regularly conduct ship to shore transfers for visiting cruise ships along Queensland’s east coast, with an average of 1,500 return passenger movements for each shore visit.