Fastship about to set sail?

Capable of transiting the Atlantic in four days, and of providing what transportation and logistics companies call a seven-day, door-to-door ?time definiteÕ delivery service between the US Mid-West and central Europe, FastShip is designed to open up new markets for seaborne transportation services.

In so doing, FastShip will, claim its proponents, successfully target the market for high value, time sensitive goods Š the fastest growing sector of the global freight business Š and compete successfully with air freight, at around a quarter of the cost.

With an outline financing package already in place, FastShip says it anticipates inaugurating its Philadelphia to Europe service as early as 2002, offering three sailings a week each way, halving the best times available on the Atlantic today.

The patented hullform was originally developed by David Giles, of Thornycroft, Giles & Company, and a very high level of installed power.

As currently configured, the FastShip is a 30,750dwt vessel with a semi-planning hullform, length overall of 265m, a 40m beam, and a 10m draught. To enable it to move through waves with a high level of efficiency, FastShip has a deep-vee hullform at the bow, and a much wider, shallower aft end with a slightly concave underwater profile.

Given sufficient installed power, Mr GilesÕ design would have a speed-to-length ratio of approximately 1, but even with around 250MW of installed power the maximum speed attainable by the design is around 45kt, says Mr Giles, and the speed-length ratio about 1.5

The propulsion system uses five gas turbines, each of around 50MW (68,000 bhp), providing a total installed power of 250MW. Each will be coupled to an as yet unspecified waterjet propulsor.