Page 25: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (July 1995)

No co Repairs Navy Swath Ahead Of Schedule

Norshipco of Norfolk, Va., won and completed a repair contract for a U.S. Navy Swath (Small

Waterplane Area Twin Hull) ves- sel USNS Able, T-AGOS 20.

The Swath hull type reportedly allows the vessel to accomplish its mission under the worst of condi- tions.

The Able was awarded to

Norshipco for 35 days beginning

April 17. Norshipco experienced the first obstacle to the project from the start — a full drydock schedule. After careful consider- ation, the decision was made to drydock the Able in tandem with the USNS Kanawa.

Working closely with Tidewa- ter Naval Architects, Norshipco developed an acceptable docking plan — and on April 20, the two vessels were drydocked as sched- uled.

The drydock package for the

USNS Able included an overhaul of the sea valves, bowthruster in- spections, stern seal renewals and hull coating repairs. Working as a well-coordinated team, all shops quickly completed the work items delineated in the project plan, al- lowing the vessel to undock three days ahead of schedule.

After successful completion of the first milestone, the next goal was to meet the vessel's dock trials sched- uled to May 19. To achieve this,

Norshipco would have to make ex- tensive repairs to the lifeboat dav- its, 17 main deck scuttles and two ventilation systems. Again, the shops pulled together and com- pleted the repairs ahead of sched- ule, allowing dock trials to be accomplished on May 19, and al- lowing the vessel's departure from

Norshipco two days early.

For more information on Norshipco

Circle 52 on Reader Service Card "U.K. Yards" continued from jage 22) ty of catamaran hulls.

Powered by twin Volvo Penta

IAMD 72WJ diesels, each rated at 331 kW (450 hp) at 2,600 rpm driv- ing PP140 waterjets through Twin

Disc MG 507 reversing gearboxes, she attains a top speed of almost 20 knots. To minimize noise and vi- bration, the main engines are flex- ibly mounted and have wet exhausts with GRP double chamber silenc- ers.

Berthon also placed emphasis on crew comfort aboard The Will, now at her post at Stornoway lifeboat station in Outer Hebrides in prepa- ration for lifeboat duties in severe conditions. The Severn represents a new design and construction era for the RNLI with the introduction of the very latest building materi- als which combine strength with relatively low weight. Built to main- tain a speed of 25 knots, she also has a bowthruster fitted for low speed manuverability. Highly com- plex engineering and electronic sys- tems contribute to very strict op- erational safety standards allow- ing the vessel to self-right in the event of a capsize.

Berthon director Dominic May said, "We have revelled in the chal- lenge of combining the RNLI's de- sign know-how with our in-house project management expertise. As a result, our highly skilled ship- wrights, engineers, plumbers and electricians have built a top quality boat." The team is now completing a second Severn due for delivery at the end of the summer with two further vessels on order.

The Canadian buy-out of Rod

Baker's yard Port Isaac Workboats has brought Mr. Baker a slice of a much larger boat building concern and, as he puts it, "the benefit of increased market exposure and di- rect investment in helping to up- grade facilities."

Port Isaac, renowned for the 35- ft. (10.5-m) and 41-ft. (12.5-m) off- shore range of trihedral fishing, commercial and diving boats will now be marketed strongly in the

Far East, an area where British

Columbian based Tamarine has much expertise. Tamarine vice president, Nigel Horsley said "We have acquired 100 percent of Port

Isaac Workboats but Rod Baker remains in charge having done a cash/share deal which gives him a share of Tamarine." ("Ferry Package" continued from page 22) quality.

Businessman and entrepreneur

Raymond Kalley of Competitive

Concepts was the creative and fi- nancial force behind the entire project in South Africa before relo- cating to London. "Sea Shuttle I is a full working prototype which I have brought to Europe for use on real routes over extended periods to prove the potential," said Mr.

Kalley. The craft was operated over a three month period on a 48- mile route across the Gulf of Fin-

July, 1995 land to Tallinn in Estonia, and has just returned from a shorter exer- cise on the River Elbe near Ham- burg. Kalley asserts thatSea Shuttle was a commercial success in both locations. It managed to draw the regular Finnish and Estonian com- muters away from the existing fast ferry services, which included sev- eral Russian built hydrofoils and the

Condor 9 Wavepiercer. The Elbe venture persuaded the German au- thorities that a high speed service would be profitable and that erosion was not an inevitable problem as had been feared.

Mr. Kalley believes that fast fer- ries are often overly sophisticated, too expensive and frequently un- suitable for the sea conditions they may encounter. "Boat builders ex- ert undue influence by merely offer- ing their existing technology," he said. "Sea Shuttle can help evaluate the actual requirements during ex- tended operations, particularly on new, as yet untried, routes. If an experiment proves successful we can help finance the whole project in- cluding the construction of a vessel of the appropriate capacity and speed, probably in a local yard, un- der our supervision," he added.

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