VESSEL REVIEW | Hydra – Italian whale watcher hits the water

A new tourist vessel built by Marine Service, in its Massarosa shipyard, in the Viareggio area, is going to begin the whale watching season outside the Ligurian coast managed by Battellieri Golfo Paradiso, a company based in Camogli near Genoa.

Hydra is the first passenger vessel built by Marine Service, however the company has significant experience in the yacht business.

“The vessel is very well made, details are fine, more than we aspected,” said Captain Antonio Bozzo, part of the management team of Golfo Paradiso.

Hydra, which has a length of 23 metres, and a white and green livery, is a two-deck fibreglass sightseeing vessel that can accommodate 200 passengers.

On the main deck, inside the superstructure, there is an arrangement of seats and tables.

Meanwhile on the sun deck, which passenger can reach via two big stairway at the stern, we find the same seats in three rows.

Passenger can embark astern and on the bow forward which is equipped with a wide gangplank that can also receive wheelchairs.

The wheelhouse is located forward on a mezzanine and just behind it, there is a tuna tower with a small bar below.

Two MAN D 2842 LE 405 diesel engines, coupled to a pair of fixed-pitch propellers, power the vessel to a cruising speed of 19.5 knots. The engine room was designed to accommodate a hybrid diesel electric system in the future.

{tabulizer:include style[rs_eebavmpn.css] datatable[YToxOntzOjU6InRoZW1lIjtzOjk6ImxpZ2h0LmNzcyI7fQ==] id[tab_YKN9eQUQra]}

Hydra
SPECIFICATIONS
Type of vessel: Whale-watcher
Builder: Marine Service (Massarosa shipyard), Italy
Operator: Battellieri Golfo Paradiso, Italy
Length: 23 metres
Construction material: Fibreglass
Main engine: 2 x MAN D 2842 LE 405
Propulsion: 2 x FPP
Speed: 19.5 knots
Passengers: 200


Stefano Fermi

Stefano Fermi, based in Cremona, Italy, is since 1993 the publisher of the Italian work boat magazine Il Battelliere - Nautica Professionale, and since 1995 the publisher of the web magazine TuttoCrociere - Cybercruises.com. Before the editorial business he was involved, for some years, in the construction of some innovative small passenger aluminium catamarans, based on Australian designs, that were the first ever built in Italy. His relationship with Neil and Alex Baird began in 2002 with the first edition of the Work Boat Europe Exhibition.