Ireland: Arklow Marine Service has recently delivered an 18-metre aluminium catamaran passenger vessel to Ciaran and Mary O'Driscoll in Ballycastle Co.
'Rathlin Express' was built in just under nine months and entered service in 2009.
The vessel was designed by Marine Design International as a Class B Passenger Vessel, capable of carrying 98 passengers and is the first class B vessel to be built for the UK.
Designed and built to Lloyds SSC Rules and Council Directive 08/18/EC this passenger catamaran has a sprint speed in excess of 20 knots and a service speed of 17 knots. The main characteristics of the vessel are length overall 17.7 metres , with a beam of 6.5 metres and a maximum draught of 1.4 metres, giving a light ship displacement of just under 30 tonnes.
The all aluminium structure was delivered to the yard flat pack having been profiled in the UK prior to delivery. All materials are BS 5083 'O' complete with full Classification and Mill certification. The vessel was built under the supervision of the Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA) for a Class B ship and all the structure system were to Lloyds Special Service Craft Rules (LSSC).
Main engines are twin Scania D112 60M electronic marine engines, heat exchanged, each developing 370kW at 2,100rpm, and coupled to Twin Disc 5114A quick shift gearboxes with a 1.92:1 reduction ratio. The vessel is driven by two five bladed propellers each with a diameter of 762mm.
