Monday, February 09, 2009
Austal releases specs, interactive demo of the Joint High Speed Vessel, little sister to Superferry
by Larry Geller
It’s not a very high-tech demo, you just get to click on things and they tell you about them. But it’s interesting nevertheless. For example, the 45-degree ramp that permits loading vehicles and cargo from the stern or the side of the vessel. That would have been useful for the Superferry, wouldn’t it?
The article in MarineLog is here. They link to the Austal article, here. There are lots of pictures.
From MarineLog:
Austal was awarded a contract for the first JHSV on November 14, 2008. With options for up to nine additional ships and associated shore-based spares, the program is worth a potential $1.6 billion.
I wonder again if the Superferry is here to stay or if one day the losses won’t be worth it and it could just steal away in the night for a new paintjob and a new career.
Larry, no doubt you saw this quote from that MarineLog article:
"Though broadly similar to Austal designs such as the slightly larger Hawaii Superferry, it offers quite a few features not found on its commercial counterparts, weapons mounts among them." [Those weapons mounts are interesting, out on perches, easy targets for return fire.]
Also, JHSV-1 is about the same size as the 'Alakai' and only slightly smaller than the one people are calling the 'Koa'.
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