classic fast · pdf fileclassic fast ferries 5 / 2004 3 ... catamaran was acquired by ff in...

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CLASSIC FERRIES

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22 CLASSIC FAST FERRIES 5 / 2004

NEWS AND ARTICLES ABOUT CIVIL HYDROFOILS, HOVERCRAFT & CATAMARANS nEDITOR/PUBLISHER : TIM TIMOLEON n ALL ARTICLES, LAYOUT & ARTWORK PRODUCTION,EXCEPT WHERE NOTED : TIM TIMOLEON n PUBLISHED IN PDF FORMAT nWWW.CLASSICFASTFERRIES.COM n SUBMITTALS OF MANUSCRIPTS AND PHOTOS, OLD ANDNEW, AND RELEVANT NEWS ITEMS ARE ENCOURAGED! n EMAIL TO : CFF @ EMAIL.DK n COPYRIGHT 2000/2004 CLASSIC FAST FERRIES.COVER PHOTO : VENEZIA LINES' CIRR 120P SURFACE EFFECT SHIP SAN FRANGISK ALONGSIDE INROVINJ, ON THE ISTRIA PENINSULA, CROATIA IN JUNE / EJE F LODSTRÖM photo

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CLASSIC FERRIES

T O P : Iris Catamarans 3.1Maarten Tromp, owned andoperated by Fast Ferry onthe Rotterdam–Dordrechtroute, and medium-speedRiver Runner 150 Rietbaanbelonging to Waterbus inDordrechtR I G H T : Waterbus' RiverRunner catamaran passingunder the low but rathermagnificent bridge inRotterdam/MATT DAVIES photo, both

On the weekend of September 3–5, the Wereld-havendagen – World Harbour Days – were heldin Rotterdam; dubbed the biggest port in theworld. To cope with the additional passengerswishing to attend the various activities during thefestival, local operator Fast Ferry offered extrasailings on its 11-nautical mile Dordrecht–

Alblasserdam–Ridderkerk– Krimpen aan de IJssel–Rotterdam service. Introduced in late 1999, the current Fast Ferryfleet comprises a pair of NQEA Australia low-wash River Runner 200 catamarans, Piet Hein andWitte de With, and an Iris Catamarans 3.1catamaran, Maarten Tromp, built in France and

& D E V E L O P M E N T S

W o r l d H a r b o u r D a y s i n t h e w o r l d ' s b i g g e s t p o r t

b y M A T T D A V I E S

CLASSIC FAST FERRIES 5 / 2004 33

originally operated at Expo 02 inSwitzerland two years ago. The twodesigns can carry up to 150 passengersand 40 bicycles and 144 passengers and50 bicycles respectively. The Iriscatamaran was acquired by FF in Maylast year thus replacing a leased Meteorhydrofoil, owned by Heymen Shipping,which had up till then been used as areserve craft when the River Runnerswould become unavailable. Two more River Runner catamaranswere visiting Rotterdam during theHarbour Days. Belonging to Waterbusin Dordrecht and Aqualiner in Almerethese, however, are medium-speedvessels. Waterbus connects both sidesof the river Waal in the Dordrecht areacalling at Zwijndrecht, Papendrecht,Hollandse Biesbosch and Sliedrecht.Aqualiner, which is part of the DoeksenTransport Group, introduced a RiverRunner 150, Aqua Runner, built in theNetherlands by Damen Shipyards underlicense to NQEA in January 2000 onthe 10-minute crossing linking Almereon the man made island of Flevolandand Huizen. Also present in Rotterdam inSeptember was one of Connexxion FastFlying Ferries' three Voskhod-2Mhydrofoils, Catharina-Amalia. Deliveredin 2002, this is normally to be found onthe operator's Velsen Zuid/IJmuiden–Amsterdam commuter route. n

Aqualiner operates its River Runner 150 Aqua Runner between Almere on the island ofFlevoland and Huizen, some 25 kilometers east of Amsterdam. The company, which is partof the Doeksen Group, plans to extend the service to central Amsterdam next year, thusconnecting with Connexxion Fast Flying Ferries' hydrofoil service to Velsen Zuid in westHolland /MATT DAVIES photo

One of Fast Flying Ferries' distinctively painted Voskhod-2M hydrofoils, Catharina-Amalia, paid a visit to the World Harbour Days in Rotterdam during the first weekend ofSeptember. The vessel is normally to be found on the 13-nautical mile commuter route

linking central Amsterdam and Velsen Zuid/IJmuiden on the North Sea coast.Hydrofoils are not entirely new to Rotterdamers though. Meteor hydrofoils have operatedharbor tours and longer trips on the River Waal to Germany, and Fast Ferry used one of

them as fill-in for its River Runners before it acquired the Iris catamaran last year/MATT DAVIES photo


Three catamarans of rather differentdesign and with equally differentbackground have re-entered service withGreek operators in recent months. Hydra Cat, belonging to newlyestablished operator Saron Cat, is a 34mvessel built in Sweden and Singapore byMarinteknik Verkstads and FaireyMarinteknik Shipbuilders. Delivered to theMalaysian International Shipping Corp. in1987, the Marinjet 34 CCB, as it was thendesignated, was originally configured as acrewboat carrying up to 70 personell and12 tonnes of cargo on aft deck onoffshore duties on behalf of ShellPetroleum. Since its arrival in Greece

B E L O W : Originally configured as a crewboat, the modified Marinteknik 34m Hydra Cat isseen here alongside in Piraeus in June /NIKOS THRYLOS photoB O T T O M : Also rebuilt and idling in Piraues between duties earlier this year is Eurofast 1,the sole Ulstein UT 905 catamaran built /ALEKSI LINDSTRÖM photo

three years ago the catamaran has hadquite a lot of work done to it in order tobecome a high-capacity fast ferry; theoriginal saloon has been extended and anupper saloon added as has a sun deck ontop of this. The vessel entered servicewith Saron Cat out of Piraeus this year. Also having been extensively modifiedsince it was launched in Norway sevenyears ago is Eurofast 1. The sole of thetype built, the UT 905 was completed in1997 by Ulstein Mekaniske Verksted asUlstein Turbiner. A test craft, thecatamaran originally had a LOA of 38m,accomodated 206 passengers and wasfitted with Eurodyn gas turbines andUlstein WJ 630 waterjets. As such it was

C a t a m a r a n s r e - e n t e r s e r v i c e i n G r e e c e

Passengers disembark from Westamaran 4200 Superjet in Mykonos on July 31st /NIKOS THRYLOS photo


operated by Hardanger SunnhordlandskeD/S in 1999 as part of the test program.The engines have since been replaced by apair of Caterpillar diesels, the hull hasbeen strecthed by 2m and passengercapacity increased to 267. Owned byEuroseas Shipping, Eurofast 1 is operatedout of Piraeus to the Saronic Gulf islandsof Poros, Hydra and Spetses. Although renamed and sporting a neweye-catching paint scheme this year, thelast of the trio, Westamaran 4200Superfast, has not had any such drasticchanges as described above made to it

since it was last operating as Jet One, atleast not to the casual observer. However,the vessel, built in Sweden byOskarshamns Varv, has recently spentsome unscheduled time in the shipyardfollowing an incident in May 2003 inwhich the starboard hull started taking onwater during an evening crossing fromSantorini to Heraklion in heavy seas andForce 7–8 winds. None of the 166passengers and 10 crew on board was lostor injuried in the incident or during theevacuation. Contrary to Hydra Cat and Eurofast 1,

the Westamaran was ordered by anddelivered to a Greek consortium, Sea JetShipping, and entered service in Greece,as Sea Jet 1, in 1995. It was later takenover by one of the shareholdingcompanies, Strintzis Lines, which alsointroduced a second Westamaran 4200,and subsequently sold to another Greekcompany, Aegean Jet Maritime, in 2002. This summer Superfast has beenobserved on various routes, includingRafina–Tinos–Mykonos, in the westernCyclades and Piraeus–Syros–Tinos–Mykonos–Ikaria–Samos. n

. . . a n d H F D a c q u i r e s t w o F l y i n g C a t 4 0 m v e s s e l s i n G e r m a n yGerman operator Förde ReedereiSeetouristik has sold its pair of KværnerFjellstrand FlyingCat 40m catamarans HanseJet and Hanse Jet II, built in 1996 and 1997,to Hellas Flying Dolphins of Piraeus, Greece.To be renamed Flying Cat 5 and Flying Cat 6,they will join four other passenger-onlycatamarans currently part of the large HFDfleet of hydrofoils and catamarans; anotherFlyingCat 40m, one Austal Ships 48m andtwo FBM Marine TriCat 45m and 53mvessels. Since 2000 Hanse Jet has been based insouthern Europe and operated by FRSaffiliate company FRS Iberia across theStraits of Gibraltar, but the catamaran hasalso been leased to other operators forseasonal services across the Adriaticbetween Italy and Croatia. In addition, inFebruary this year Hanse Jet was used in amercy mission following the earthquake inMorocco, transporting medicine andprovisions to the port of Al Hoceima some250 kilometers east of Tanger. Hanse Jet II originally entered service in thesouth Baltic, as Baltic Jet, and was latertransferred to the Cuxhaven/Hamburg–Helgoland route. This past summer it

operated to the popular duty-free islandfrom Germany's North Sea ports ofBremerhaven and Cuxhaven. Another development involving FRS Iberiais the charter of Incat 78m wavepiercingcatamaran Thundercat I. The vessel had beenlaid up in Malta for almost three years whenthe charter was signed in August.

Renamed Tarifa Jet, the 580-passenger130-car vessel was introduced on theoperator's Tarifa, Spain–Tanger, Moroccoservice on August 28. Already on theroute was Kværner Fjellstrand JumboCat60m vehicle-carrying catamaran Tanger Jetand with a scheduled crossing time of only35 minutes FRS now offers a basictimetable of departures every 60 minutesfrom either port. Tarifa Jet was built in Australia byInternational Catamarans Tasmania in1995 and originally delivered to Cat Linkin Denmark as Cat-Link I. Since itsdeparture from Danish waters in 1998,the 78m wavepiercer has had a vagrantyet quiet life having seen only short-livedemployment with The Cat in the UnitedStates in 1999 and Ventouris Ferriesacross the Adriatic in 2001, the rest ofthe time having been idling in variousports in the US and Europe. Incidentally, remaining laid up in Valettais another Incat 78m wavepiercer,Thundercat II. The first 78m completed byIncat, in 1994, this, too, was last in servicewith Ventouris in the Adriatic and hasbeen unemployed since fall 2001. n

Kværner Fjellstrand Flying Cat 40m catamarans Hanse Jet (above) and Hanse Jet II wereacquired by Hellas Flying Dolphins in Greece from German operator Förde ReedereiSeetouristik earlier this month /ANDERS AHLERUP photo

Incat 78m wavepiercing catamaran Tarifa Jet has been leased and operated by FRS Iberiaacross the Straits of Gibraltar since August /FRS IBERIA photo


The first of three Rodriquez CityCat 29catamarans ordered by Brazilian operatorBarcas S/A was recently launched at theRodriquez Cantieri Navali do Brasil yard inRio de Janeiro. The second is nearingcompletion also. The 29m single deck vessels carry 200+passengers and are to enter service on an8-nautical mile route linking Rio and Charitas.In addition to the CityCat 29s Rodriquez willalso be building seven medium-speed CityCatcatamarans for Barcas, the first of which hasnow also been completed. The order for the ten catamarans andformation of the Brazilian company was firstannounced by Rodriquez in spring 2001. n

M A I N P I C T U R E : The first CityCat 29 for Barcas S/A was lowered into thewater at the end of July ... A B O V E : and the construction hall at the RodriquezCantieri Navali do Brasil premises in Rio. The vessel to the left is the first ofseven medium-speed double-ended catamarans ordered by the same operator

/RODRIQUEZ CANTIERI NAVALI photo, both

F i r s t B r a z i l i a n C i t y C a t 2 9 l a u n c h e d b y R o d r i q u e z

Don't miss our 2nd edition

T H E H Y D R O F O I L Y E A R SN o r w a y

www.classicfastferries.com

October 8 / 2003

For the first time, the historyof all of Norway's hydrofoils

in commercial service puttogether in one volume.

Lavishly illustrated, with themajority of photos seldom or

never before published.24 pages


. . . a n d A l i l a u r o g e t s f i r s t C i t y C a t 4 0

The first of three CityCat 40 catamaransordered by Alilauro, Maria Celeste Lauro,was handed over to the Italian operator ina ceremony at the Rodriquez PietraLigure yard this month. The second unit,Maria Sole, is expected to follow inNovember and the third, the name ofwhich is yet to be decided, in February2005. Maria Celeste Lauro has a length overallof 39.7m and beam of 10.5m and is fittedwith a pair of Caterpillar 3561 B dieselsand Kamewa 71 SII waterjets. The

reported cruising speed, 33 knots, is somethree knots faster compared to the detailsgiven at the time when the order wasannounced last fall. The passenger capacityof the twin deck design has been in-creased as well, by twenty to a total of350 passengers. The CityCats represent a new chapter inthe fast ferry histories of both Alilauroand Rodriquez. Apart from a Seagull 400catamaran delivered to Caremar elevenyears ago, these are the first catamaransbuilt by one of Rodriquez's Italian yards.

They are also the first domestically builtcatamarans ever ordered by Alilauro; infact, none of the vessels currently in theAlilauro fast ferry fleet of five catamarans,eight hydrofoils and five monohullsoriginates in Italy. A fourth Rodriquez CityCat 40 is underconstruction in Italy. A low-density variantcarrying 269 passengers, this was orderedby Bahamas Ferries, based in Nassau, alsolast November and is due for delivery inJanuary. n

Maria Celeste Lauro is the first of three City Cat 40s ordered by Alilauro and built in Italy by Rodriquez Cantieri Navali / ALILAURO photo

Another recent addition to the Alilauro fleet is Super Flyte.The 45m monohull was built in Australia by WaveMaster International in 1992 andacquired from Boat Torque Cruises in Western Australia last year. It is seen here in Capri in September this year / LEONARDO LELLA photo

n e w sB E C O M E P A R T O F T H E F U T U R E F A S T F E R R Y H I S T O R Y – S H A R E Y O U R W I T H R E A D E R S O F C L A S S I C F A S T F E R R I E S

t o d a y a n d t o m o r r o w


The Conseil Général de la Vendée hasplaced an order with Norwegian fast ferrybuilder Fjellstrand for two FlyingCat 46catamarans. The contract, valued at€ 19.2 million, includes a fixed delivery forone vessel with an option for one more. Itis expected that the option will beexecuted as the project and investments inrelated infrastructure are based on a twovessel operation, Fjellstrand reports. The acquisition was based on a publictender and the contract was awarded toFjellstrand following thorough evaluationby CGV of price and technical perform-ance of bids received from builders inEurope, Singapore and Australia. To be introduced between Fromentine,on France's Atlantic coast, and Port-

Joinville on Ile d'Yeu, the first vessel willbe delivered in September 2005 with thesecond arriving about a year later. Theywill be identically laid out, carrying 442passengers on two decks and up to 6 carsor 22 containers for light cargo, baggageand bicycles in a large enclosed area aft onmain deck. The FlyingCat 46 has a length overall of45.5m and beam of 11.6m. The Frenchcraft will be powered by quadruple dieselsand waterjets and have a service speed of32 knots and be fitted with the FjellstrandMDS stabilization system. They are beingbuilt according to the IMO HSC 2000,Category B, regulation. Currently under construction at Fjell-

strand are two FlyingCat 46 catamaransfor domestic operator Troms Fylkes D/S.These are expected to enter service innorth Norway later this year and early2005. Already this December however aFlyingCat 40 will be delivered byFjellstrand to SPM Express SA foroperation in the French territory of SaintPierre and Miquelon, off the south coastof Newfoundland, Canada. The contractvalue here, Fjellstrand reports, is € 26million. The FlyingCat 40 has a length overall of41.1m and beam of 10.5m. The SPMvessel will have twin diesels and waterjetsand be operated at 31 knots. n

F j e l l s t r a n d b u i l d s t h r e e c a t a m a r a n s f o r F r e n c h o p e r a t o r s

Marin Marie, the FlyingCat 40m catamaranacquired in French Polynesia by ConseilGénéral de la Manche in 2003, has notbeen alltogether succesful since its arrivalin France and introduction into servicebetween Normandy and the ChannelIslands. Following an extensive refit at Cher-bourg, the catamaran collided with two

fishing vessels in the port of Granville onits first visit there. Although the catamarangot far less damaged than the other twoboats, a trip to the shipyard had to bemade. Not long thereafter Marin Marie hitthe quay in Jersey and had to be pulledout of service and taken to Cherbourg,where it remains. Filling in for Marin Marie this summer

was another FlyingCat 40m, Locmaria 56,belonging to Socièté Morbihannaise deNavigation (see CFF 1/2004). Delivered toSMN in 1998, this is normally operatedfurther west in France out of Quiberonand Lorient to Belle-Ile-en-Mer during thesummer months. n

& D E V E L O P M E N T S

FlyingCat 40m catamaranLocmaria 56 in the port ofLorient. This past summer itwas also operating betweenFrance and the Channel Islands/ JACQUES LEGANGNEUX photo

Artist's impression of thetwo Flying Cat 46

catamarans ordered forservice on France's west

coast/ FJELLSTRAND photo


- A Fast Ferry Foto Fair.

SEM Marina in Split operates a fleet of three Westamaran catamarans, W86 Komiza and For, andone Westamaran 95, Broc, built in Norway by Westermoen Hydrofoil/Westamarin in 1973–75 andacquired from other operators in Scandinavia and Gibraltar between 1998 and 2002

/NEVEN JERKOVIC photo, both


To some people fast ferries are something you do for a living. To others they're somethingyou catch. Either as in travel on, or as in travel to in order to travel on – in other words,

a fascination or hobby. Croatia and the north Adriatic is the perfect place if you want to sample the smaller andmedium-size passenger-only fast ferry segment. Some of the vessels are not-so-classic while

others are, and in a not too distant future may be part of a time that used to be. There'severything... hydrofoils, catamarans, monohulls and surface effect ships, and in addition afew larger car-carrying designs operate cross-Adriatic services between Italy and Croatia.

Of course, not all hydrofoils and catamarans etc. are in one place or run all the time. Sodon't expect to cover the entire Croatian shoreline from Istria in the north to Dubrovnik in

the south, including all the islands of the Dalmatia archipelago, in just a long(summer)weekend. Especially since you would also want to do and see some of the other

things the country has to offer besides fast ferry spotting. There are several more vessels in the area than the following pages suggest. Owned by

Croatian, Italian and Slovenian companies, in the region of 35 fast ferries can be foundaround Croatia, about 30 of which are active during the high season operating either on

domestic services or to/from various Italian ports. Thus, not included here and countingboth operational and laid up craft (passenger-only) are at least seven Kometa and

Kolkhida hydrofoils, two Westamaran 86 catamarans, two FlyingCat 40m catamarans, one Fjellstrand 38.8m catamaran, one FlyingCat 46 catamaran, one Harding

Verft 28m catamaran, one WaveMaster 34m catamaran, one Marinteknik41CPV, one Yamaha 2910 catamaran, and two Rodriquez 47m

monohulls. So a Part 2 of this photo report is likely to happen

in an upcoming issue. n

B O T H P H O T O S : E J E F L O D S T R Ö M


Jadrolinija based in Rijeka in the country's northoperates six catamarans of five different designs, all

of which purchased from other operators.Westamaran 95 Olea was originally delivered by

Westamarin to Alisur in Spain in 1981, as AlisurAmarillo, and arrived in Croatia from France ten

years ago/JACQUES LEGANGNEUX photo

Two 41m catamarans built in Singapore by FBMMarinteknik Shipbuilders in 1991 were acquired byJadrolinija in the Philippines in 2001. 41CPV Juditaoriginally entered service with Hongkong MacaoHydrofoil as Lusitano/JACQUES LEGANGNEUX photo

P H O T O S O N P A G E 1 0 : Last year Venezia Lines introduced two leased Cirrus CIRR 120P surface effect ships builtin Norway in 1990, San Frangisk and San Pawl, linking seven towns in Croatia and Slovenia and Trieste and Venice in Italy.In the top picture San Frangisk is seen alongside at Rovinj and the main photo shows San Pawl arriving in Venice, bothJune this year /EJE FLODSTRÖM photo, both


Top Line, based in Portoroz,Slovenia, introduced a pair offormer Canadian Kolkhidahydrofoils, Adriatic Joy andVenice Carnival, in the northAdriatic two years ago. Thissummer they were transferredsouth to the Dalmatianarchipelago and operated jointlywith long-time hydrofoil operatorAtlas, which owns three Kometasand two Kolhidas as well as aRodriquez 47m monohull./NEVEN JERKOVIC photo, both

Another jointoperation is that

between Top Lineand Commodore

Cruises whichowns Marinteknik41MPV Dora. The

monohull wasoriginally named

Iris andintroduced

between Italy andGreece by

Kvarner Express in1990.

/EJE FLODSTRÖMphoto


Till the next time...

One of the most recent acquisitions by a Croatiancompany of a fast ferry previsously operated inanother country is the CIRR 27P catamaran MalaLara. An FRP design and the only of the type built,by Cirrus and Brødrene Aa, Norway, it originallyentered service with Saltens D/S in north Norway in1985. When acquired by Luca Tomic earlier this yearit was named Hidle and owned and operated byStavangerske – incidentally, the company logo ofwhich remains on the vessel, right behind thewindows of the passenger saloon/NEVEN JERKOVIC photo

Kolkhida Mirta built in 1985 by Ordzhonikidze andowned by Kvarner Express is sitting high and dry in

Rijeka in north Croatia in August this year/JACQUES LEGANGNEUX photo


SHOTOFTHEMONTH

As reported on page 6–7, the first unitsof the new Rodriquez City-Cat 29 and

CityCat 40 catamaran designs areabout to be delivered to Alilauro andBarcas by Rodriquez's yards in Italy

and Brazil. These are the second and third high-

speed catamarans ever built byRodriquez, with the only other being a

Seagull 400, Achernar, delivered by theMessina yard to Caremar in Napoli in

1993. This twin-deck design has a lengthoverall of 43.25m and beam of 10.9m

and is fitted with a pair of MTU 16V396TE 74L diesels and Kamewa 71 SII

waterjets. The Seagull appeared at atime when Scandinavian, Australian

and Singapore yards were already, orwere about to become, well-

established builders of catamarans.Also, traditionally Italian operators

would choose hydrofoils or monohulls. In more recent years however

catamarans primarily on the second-hand market have been imported. This

may all be about to change.

A B O V E : The sole Rodriquez Seagull 400 catamaran built, Achernar,approaches the Molo Beverello terminal in Napoli in September last year.../ PIETER INPIJN photo

B E L O W : ...and the vessel as viewed from behind /TIM TIMOLEON photo

classic fast · pdf fileclassic fast ferries 5 / 2004 3 ... catamaran was acquired by ff in...

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