Van Diemen is a fast, seaworthy patrol/SAR boat for Tasmania Police designed by Global Marine Design (GMD) of Perth.
Strongly reminiscent of Western Australia’s magnificent lobster fishing boats, this all-aluminium, gyro-stabilised police craft is strong, seaworthy, long ranging and really looks the part.
She will be a welcome sight to survivors being searched for and rescued and an ominous one to miscreants. She will also look after her crews very well.
"It was a special design project for us as we believe the boat pushes the boundaries for offshore capability, sea keeping, crew comfort and safety," Jayden Mair, Managing Director at GMD, told Baird Maritime. "It’s rewarding knowing that the boat is on patrol, making a real difference to the safety and security of Tasmanian waters."
Mair added that Van Diemen was designed and built to a comprehensive specification prepared by the Tasmania Police. Packaging the desired equipment (plus the optional gyrostabiliser) and achieving the desired layout while managing weight, performance, and sea keeping proved to be an "interesting design challenge" in his view.
We believe the boat pushes the boundaries for offshore capability, sea keeping, crew comfort and safety.
"This design project really drove home the value of in-house computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, which we use for all new designs and allowed for accurate performance prediction (the vessel is approximately half a knot faster than predicted). CFD also informed trouble-free placement of transducers and sea chests."
Mair added that the year 2024 saw GMD complete several design projects as well as the launch of some high profile vessels in addition to Van Diemen.
"The current year has started well for GMD with good demand for our services, although there exists an air of uncertainty in some industries." Mair told Baird Maritime.
In Mair's view, crewed maritime security vessels are being introduced with an increasing emphasis on crew comfort and fatigue management. Van Diemen is an example of this, having been fitted with a gyrostabiliser and a comfortable fitout ideal for long patrols.
We can expect to see many more uncrewed patrol vessels in the near future.
"Reducing fatigue is proven to improve the safety of the crew as well as the overall effectiveness of the vessel to perform its patrol and rescue duties, so it’s a win-win," said Mair.
"With the rise of autonomous vessels, we can expect to see many more uncrewed patrol vessels in the near future. These vessels allow operators to extend their circle of influence with minimal drain on resources."
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