Australian naval architect Incat Crowther has announced the launch of 'Red Hook I' and 'Cruz Bay I', a pair 25-metre catamaran passenger ferries to operate in St Thomas in the United States' territory of the Virgin Islands.
Delivered by Midship Marine in Louisiana, these vessels follow on from a successful trio of UltraJet boats, also built by the yard to Incat Crowther's design.
The new vessels have a similar configuration, with a half-height wheelhouse allowing a completely open upper passenger deck.
The upper deck contains 72 seats, whilst the main deck passenger cabin is fitted with seats for 131, plus a pair of wheelchair spaces. The aft deck houses an ADA-compliant toilet and luggage racks.
As with the UltraJet boats, boarding is via fold down ramps situated on all four corners of the vessel.
Designed and built to USCG Subchapter K, these boats meet the recent updates to fire and safety regulations. Compliance with these most recent regulations requires the protection of the embarkation and muster stations from the effects of fire and flooding. To meet these regulations, these vessels are fitted with A-class structural fire protection and fire doors to the main passenger cabin.
The vessels are powered by a pair of Caterpillar C32 ACERT main engines, each producing 970kW. The vessels' required speed of 30 knots was achieved at 75 per cent MCR.
