by JOHN SNYDER
Contributing Editor

The charter of the Incat 050 follows the 60-day lease of the 101 m Westpac Express by the U.S. Marines Corps III Marine Expeditionary Force. The vessel, built by Australia’s Austal Ships Ltd., is being used to transport troops, light armored vehicles, trucks and equipment from Okinawa, Japan to off-island training sites in the Pacific.

“We will demonstrate the HSV’s military utility,” said Col. Michael Godfrey, III MEF G-4 and project officer for this experimental program.

The Westpac Express is a roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry/cargo freighter vessel and a near sister to the Euroferrys Pacifica, recently delivered to Spanish operator Euroferrys.

While the ship has no berthing for passengers, it does feature airplane-style reclining seats on its upper deck. Along with 970 marines, the Westpac Express can carry 305 tons of equipment. The ability to carry such high loads is a considerable savings in time and money when compared to using military and commercial aircraft.

The Westpac Express, which can travel at speeds of more than 40 knots, is 331 ft long and has two vehicle and cargo decks with a combined 33,000 square feet of storage space.

The Incat 050 and the WestPac Express are not the Navy’s first flirtation with high-speed vessel technology. Previous efforts include Lockheed Martin’s SLICE and the stealthy Sea Shadow.

Incat has been in talks with the U.S. Navy for more than two years. The Navy closely monitored the operation of the 86 m Incat 045, HMAS Jervis Bay, chartered by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) for two years to conduct logistics operations between Australia and East Timor. During the period, HMAS Jervis Bay completed 107 trips covering over 100,000 nautical miles, carried 20,000 passengers and 430 military vehicles and shipped over 5,600 tons. Traveling at 43 knots fully loaded and 48 knots lightship, HMAS Jervis Bay usually crossed the 430 nautical miles between Darwin and Dilli in less than 11 hours. The vessel is said to have “stunned” U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet personnel during the peacekeeping operations.

Ironically, the HMAS Jervis Bay was used by the RAN while two transport ships, HMAS Manoora and HMAS Kanimbla, purchased from the U.S. Navy, were being outfitted for service.

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME?
While it's much too early to tell, the charter of the two Australian-built catamaran vessels very well could provide a glimpse of the future shape of small Navy warships. Vice Adm. Arthur K. Cebrowski, director of the Naval War College, has been one of the most vocal advocates for a change in Navy thinking. Admiral Cebrowski, who has been tapped by the Bush Administration for the new position as the Pentagon’s director of military transformation, has pushed “The Streetfighter” concept—small, speedy warships based on a catamaran hull designed for near-shore fighting.

HIGHWAY ALTERNATIVE
What could be even more interesting would be if the military charters drew attention to the potential role of fast craft as cargo alternatives to highways.

The U.S. passenger ferry industry has grown in leaps and bounds largely because municipalities and states have seen the wisdom of luring commuters out of their cars and onto ferries. The interview that follows with Tom Bertken of the San Francisco Water Transit Authority shows the Bay Area’s commitment to this course of action.
Getting commuters out of their cars is laudable. But trucks, too, cause pollution and congestion. We have previously noted the moves to create a “W95” alternative to Route
I 95 between Connecticut and the Port of New York.

Cargo carrying fast craft as an alternative to trucks could yet be “the next big thing” in marine transportation.

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