- HMAS Jervis Bay (AKR 45)
HMAS "Jervis Bay" (AKR 45) was a wave piercing
catamaran built byIncat inTasmania . During her career, the ship, built as "Incat 045" has served numerous companies as a civilian ferry, but the most prominent role of her career was during her leasing to the Australian Government from 1999 to 2001, where she was commissioned into theRoyal Australian Navy as a fast troop transport. Although a purely civilian design, "Jervis Bay" had the distinction of being the first large catamaran in the world to enter naval service.Construction
The ship was laid down as "Incat 045" in 1997, at
Incat 's shipyards inHobart, Tasmania . She was launched in November 1997. The catamaran had not been ordered by any company.Operational history
Australian civilian
The ship's first period of service was on charter to TT-Line, for service between
Melbourne, Victoria andDevonport, Tasmania . Names "Tascat", the ship ran in conjunction with the first "Spirit of Tasmania" until the new"Spirit of Tasmania" I and II entered service, at which point she was laid up.RAN
In May 1999, the ship was leased to the Australian Government for logistics and transport operations, following delays in the refitting of the two "Kanimbla" class vessels. She was commissioned as HMAS "Jervis Bay" on 10 June 1999.
"Jervis Bay" was commissioned primarily to serve as a fast sea link for Australian troops between Darwin and
Dili inEast Timor , during operation of the Australian-led INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce. The ship was capable of sailing the 430nautical mile s (800 km) in approximately 11 hours, at an average speed of approximately 45 knots, far faster than vessels of comparable size and role of theUS Navy in the region. During the two years of the ship's charter by the RAN, "Jervis Bay" made 107 trips between Darwin and East Timor, shipping 20,000 passengers, 430 vehicles and 5,600 tonnes of freight, becoming known as the "Dili Express"."Jervis Bay" was decommissioned on 11 May 2001, and returned to Incat.
European service
The ship was laid up until 2002, when she was chartered to Italian ferry company TRIS. Renamed "Winner", she operated between
Genua and Palau,Sardinia until the company's collapse later that year.The ship was laid up in
Dover, England until 2004, when she was purchased by UK cross-channel operatorSpeedFerries . Renamed HSC "SpeedOne", the ship currently operates betweenDover, England andBoulogne-sur-Mer , France. "SpeedOne" can carry 200 cars and 670 passengers.Related ships
US Navy
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HSV-1 Joint Venture (US Navy)
*HSV-2 Swift (US Navy)Current sister ships
*"Condor Express"
*"Tarifa Jet"
*"Condor Vitesse"External links
* [http://www.speedferries.com Official SpeedFerries Homepage]
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