What's the best way to avoid Somali pirates? Well, if you're traveling in a high-speed catamaran, it helps to hit the gas.
The wave-piercing catamaran Norman Arrow, built by Australian ship manufacturer Incat, recently traveled through the pirate-infested waters off the coast of Somalia en route to a new homeport in the United Kingdom. And while the ship did not encounter any pirates, the crew piloting the vessel was not taking any chances.
According to a company news release, the Norman Arrow boosted its speed from cruising speed to 30 knots -- high speed, but not maximum speed -- for the most dangerous sections off the Somali coast; the crew also secured the crew cabin, posted extra lookouts and gave small boats a wide berth. If the crew encountered pirate attack, said Captain Guy South, the plan was this: “All the crew would go to the electronics room, the fourth engine would be run up and we'd run away."
While the crew of the Norman Arrow didn't see any pirates, a ship sailing about four hours ahead on the same route was attacked with rocket propelled grenades. The crew also observed about half a dozen warships in the area, most likely belonging to the multinational Combined Task Force 151operating in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia.
Incat, which manufactures high-speed car ferries, has also seen a significant amount of interest in its ships for military missions. In recent years, the U.S. military has experimented with a number of high-speed ships; the HSV-X1 Joint Venture and the HSV-2 Swift, both manufactured by Incat, have already been used to support logistics operations in the Horn of Africa, the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia. The Swift also took part in relief operations in Indonesia and in the Gulf Coast region following hurricane Katrina. The Navy's new budget request includes funds for two more high-speed vessels.
Aluminum-hulled high-speed ships are not meant to take a beating like a traditional naval vessel (I recall Rear Adm. Jay Cohen, former director of the Office of Naval Research, describing experimental ships as "things that go fast and sink when you punch a hole in them"), but their high speed and shallow draft make them ideal for delivering supplies to primitive ports.
[PHOTO: Incat]
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