Page 24: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2, 2005)

24 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

M/V Chenega was recently christened at Derecktor Shipyard and is scheduled to begin service in Alaska's Prince

William Sound in late spring 2005.

Designed by Nigel Gee, the vessel is the second aluminum passenger and vehicle carrying catamaran built for the state.

Once in service, it will provide daily transport between its homeport of

Cordova and the surface highway acces- sible communities of Valdez and

Whittier. The name Chenega was nomi- nated by sixth grader Emily Oskolkoff of Ninilchik School in the Kenai School

District who won a Statewide Essay contest to name the new ferry. Alaska law requires a state ferry to be named after an Alaska glacier. "The addition of the Chenega will continue to change our system," noted Tom Briggs, Deputy

Commissioner of the Alaska

Department of Transportation and

Director of Marine Operations. "While we've done a good job of providing reg- ular service to Cordova, Valdez and

Whittier, the Chenega will greatly improve access by providing these com- munities with daily service."

Captain John Falvey, General

Manager, noted the system began using fast ferries last year with the introduc- tion of the M/V Fairweather, and that the learning curve is steep. "We've gotten to the point where the crew is comfortable navigating the Fairweather and traveling at more than 30 knots - a major accom- plishment, especially during the winter," he said. "While we now have crew trained for the Inside Passage, we are going to have to adapt that knowledge to

Prince William Sound."

Gavin Higgins, COO of Derecktor

Shipyard, noted the importance of the vessel's construction to the shipyard, as well. "The Chenega, like its sister ship, the Fairweather, utilizes the latest tech- nology in building techniques and equipment. We've learned a great deal from the Fairweather's performance and have applied that to the Chenega. It's a great vessel, a true prototype for 21st century ferry travel, and one that will provide Alaska with another great, "state of the art" ship."

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Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .AMHS, State of Alaska

Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nigel Gee and Associates

Vessel Type . . . . . . . . .Catamaran, High Speed Craft

Length/Beam/Draft . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235 x 60 x 8 ft.

Passengers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250 persons

Crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 persons

Vehicle Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 large cars

Vehicle Weights . . . . . . . . . . . .270,000 pounds total

Service Speed . . . . .32 knots full load at 78% power

Max. speed . . . . .42 knots, light load at 100% power

Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .500 nm at 32 knots

Home Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cordova, Alaska

Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cordova-Whittier-Valdez

Power . . . . . . . . . . . .(4) MTU 16V595TE70 diesels

Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19,200 installed hp

Propulsion . . . . .(4) Kamewa 90S11 series waterjets

Electric Power . . .(4) Northern Lights, 185 kW each,

Switchboards . . . . . . . . . . . .Thompson Technologies

Electronics . .PMC, Raytheon, Ansul, Current Corp., . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Matrix, Hose McCann, Weir Jones

Displacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . .approx. 750 long tons

Registered Tonnage . . . . .Intl. 3,424/Domestic 1,280

Fuel Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13,400 gallons

Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DNV

Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aluminum structure, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .USCG/IMO/HSCC/DNV rules

Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Approx. $34M 3(!0).'4(%7/2,$!2/5.$9/5     MACHINERYINFO JESSEENGINEERINGCOM\WWWJESSEENGINEERINGCOM *ESSE%NGINEERINGMANUFACTURESPIPEBENDERSPIPESHOP EQUIPMENTAND0IPE3HOP ® SOFTWARE s -ATCHBRANCHANDSADDLE WITH0# "ASEDCONTROL s )NCHMETRICSELECTABLE s ,ANGUAGESELECTABLE s #UTANDBEVELPIPEFROM MMTOMM s .EWCUTS 4PCPUJD 3ADDLEAND(OLE#UTTER .%7FROM*ESSE%NGINEERING 3DWHQW 3HQGLQJ

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Passenger Vessel Report

New Alaskan Fast Ferry Christened at Derecktor

M/V Fairweather, sister-ship to Chenega.

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