Austal launches SeaCoaster

Austal USA has launched a high speed catamaran with advanced hull form technology for the United States Office of Naval Research (ONR). The 31.2 metre vessel was built for American Marine Holdings, which has been awarded a contract to deliver and demonstrate its “AMH SeaCoaster” military vessel design to the ONR.

High speed vessels (HSV) enable significantly enhanced brigade-sized (5000-7000 soldiers/marines) operational manoeuvre from the sea by the Navy/Marine Corps team at high speed and over long range. The AMH SeaCoaster is the eighth vessel to be built at Austal’s purpose-built aluminium shipbuilding facility in the United States and was launched on 3 October. The current HSV experimentation series supports the development and refinement of missions using Network Centric principles and existing and proposed fleet modular capabilities.

The commercial sector has already developed and demonstrated a number of relevant technologies; specifically, high-speed ships (45+ kts), long range at endurance speeds (30 kts, 4000 nm), good sea keeping ability (30 kts in 4.5-5 meter seas), shallow draft (12-14 ft) and ease of rapid modular adaptability to multiple missions.

The SeaCoaster catamaran design features cavities in each hull into which air is blown with the aim of reducing resistance and thus allowing higher speeds to be obtained. Designer-inventor Don Burg expects speeds just short of 70 miles per hour. Following its successful evaluation by ONR, American Marine Holdings expects various departments of the U.S. military to decide on potential applications for the air-inducted technology and possibly order additional vessels for specific uses.