The Fodico Marine Group, a vessel operator that provides logistical support services for clients in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, has expanded its fleet with the acquisition of a new landing craft.
Cape Gloucester was built jointly by Fodico Marine and Australian shipbuilder Harwood Marine to a design by Periscope Naval Architects. It is the newest of three landing craft in the Fodico Marine current active fleet, as well as the one with the greatest carrying capacity.
The vessel has steel/aluminium construction, an LOA of 44.95 metres (147.5 feet), a beam of 13 metres (43 feet), a draught of only 1.7 metres (5.6 feet), a depth of 2.4 metres (7.9 feet), a displacement of 371 tonnes, and a deadweight of 311. Vehicles and other freight will be transported on the clear working deck, which has a total area of 484 square metres (5,210 square feet).
Cape Gloucester will be operated primarily along the coast of Queensland. The vessel boasts a shallow draught and both bow and stern ramps to ensure greater operational flexibility, as the vessel no longer needs to change direction just to load and unload personnel and freight.
“It was built to accommodate road legal height (4.5 metres; 15 feet) trucks under the house in addition to having a high deck loading strength,” Leon Toy, Managing Director of Fodico Marine, told Baird Maritime. “It also boasts a sleek, modern design to fit in around luxury vessels and present itself as ‘less commercial’ in appearance.”
According to Toy, incorporating modern styling and the vessel’s unique propeller tunnel design whilst maintaining simple barge characteristics posed a challenge during the design work. Construction had meanwhile been adversely impacted as it took place at a time when Australia was still feeling the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The timeline blow-out was unfortunate but not totally unforeseeable, and the vessel was built and delivered as we intended.”
The vessel’s deck equipment consists of anchor winches. International paint was used for the exterior surfaces while Beurteaux supplied the seats.
The landing craft can house up to 90 passengers in addition to four crewmembers. The onboard facilities include a bunk area for the crew in the wheelhouse, four toilets with showers, and a galley. The owner was responsible for the interior design work in partnership with Ocean Crafters.
Tank capacities are 130,000 litres (29,000 gallons) for diesel, 156,000 litres (34,300 gallons) for freshwater, and 3,000 litres (660 gallons) for sewage.
“The propulsion setup consists of two Veem five-bladed, fixed-pitch propellers, two Yanmar main diesel engines, and Yanmar gearboxes,” Toy told Baird Maritime. “It is a standard basic setup.”
The main engines deliver a maximum speed of 12.5 knots and a range of approximately 4,500 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 10 knots.
Also fitted are two Cummins 40kVA generators and lead acid batteries. These supply power for the vessel’s onboard systems, which include Icom VHF radios, a Plastimo compass, Simrad equipment consisting of displays, radars, a depth sounder, an autopilot, GPS, AIS, and a plotter.
Cape Gloucester was built to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s DCV rules.
Cape Gloucester | |
SPECIFICATIONS | |
Type of vessel: | Landing craft |
Classification: | AMSA DCV |
Port of registry: | Gladstone, Australia |
Flag: | Australia |
Owner: | Fodico Marine Group, Australia |
Operator: | Fodico Marine Group, Australia |
Designer: | Periscope Naval Architects, Australia |
Builder: | Fodico Marine Group, Australia; Harwood Marine, Australia |
Hull construction material: | Steel |
Superstructure construction material: | Steel; aluminium |
Deck construction material: | Steel |
Plate cutting: | CNC |
Length overall: | 44.95 metres (147.5 feet) |
Beam: | 13 metres (43 feet) |
Draught: | 1.7 metres (5.6 feet) |
Depth: | 2.4 metres (7.9 feet) |
Displacement: | 371 tonnes |
Deadweight tonnage: | 311 |
Gross tonnage: | 441 |
Net tonnage: | 132 |
Capacity: | 484 square metres (5,210 square feet) |
Main engines: | 2 x Yanmar 6AYM-WET |
Gearboxes: | 2 x Yanmar YXH 240 |
Propulsion: | 2 x Veem fixed-pitch propellers |
Generators: | 2 x Cummins, each 40 kVA |
Maximum speed: | 12.5 knots |
Cruising speed: | 10 knots |
Range: | 4,500 nautical miles |
Batteries: | Lead acid |
Displays: | 3 x Simrad |
Radars: | 2 x Simrad |
Depth sounder: | Simrad |
Radios: | 2 x Icom VHF |
Satcom: | Starlink |
Autopilot: | Simrad |
Compass: | Plastimo |
GPS: | Simrad |
Plotter: | Simrad |
AIS: | Simrad |
Audio system: | Simrad |
Winches: | Australian Certified Winches |
Capstans: | Australian Certified Winches |
Paints: | International |
Seating: | Beurteaux |
Interior designers: | Fodico Marine Group; Ocean Crafters |
Interior fitout: | Toilets |
Liferaft: | RFD |
Rescue boat: | Polycraft |
Tender: | Polycraft |
Type of fuel: | Diesel |
Fuel capacity: | 130,000 litres (29,000 gallons) |
Freshwater capacity: | 156,000 litres (34,300 gallons) |
Sewage capacity: | 3,000 litres (660 gallons) |
Accommodation: | Crew cabin; galley |
Crew: | 4 |
Passengers: | 90 |
Operational area: | Queensland, Australia |