Trade-A-Boat - July 2018

Shipbuilder Austal, has

been awarded a $68 million

contract to design and

build a trimaran ferry for JR

Kyushu Jet Ferry, of Japan.

The 83m trimaran, with a

capacity for 502 passengers

and an operational speed

of 37kt, will service JR

Kyushu Jet Ferry’s key

strategic route between

Fukuoka, Japan and Busan,

South Korea. The vessel

will feature a customised

interior, developed by

respected Japanese

design house, Don Design

Associates.

Construction of the vessel

will commence in late 2018,

with services scheduled to

begin prior to the Summer

Olympic Games in Tokyo,

in 2020.

JR Kyushu Jet Ferry

(trading as ‘Beetle’) is based

in Fukuoka, Japan. The

company was founded in

2005 and operates daily

high-speed hydrofoil

services. Parent company,

Kyushu Railway Company,

was floated on the Japanese

Stock Exchange in October

2016 and today carries

approximately 315 million

passengers yearly on its

rail network in the Kyushu

region of Japan.

Two Maersk Supply Service

anchor handling vessels

are now on contract in

Western Australia.

Built in 2017, Maersk

Master and Maersk Mariner

are supporting Quadrant

Energy’s Phoenix South and

Van Gogh drilling campaign

which will initially cover

three wells for a duration of

150 to 200 days.

The vessels are

supporting Transocean’s

semi-submersible rig DD1

with supply and anchor

handling duties throughout

the campaign.

“This is a unique

opportunity to demonstrate

their state-of-the-art

capabilities such as

minimised environmental

footprint, high standard

for safety and on board

comfort for customers,” said

David Lofthouse, Head of

Commercial Asia-Pacific for

Maersk Supply Service.

Taree-based fibreglass

boat manufacturer

Steber International has

contracted with Thales

Australia to deliver five

38ft support vessels to the

Australian Government.

The vessels will be

configured as unmanned

surface vessels and mine

countermeasure support

boats. They will have a

top speed of 25kt and a

payload in excess of three

tonnes.

Steber general manager,

Alan Steber said: “The

project will provide a

variety of employment,

trades and supply chain

opportunities over the

two year build period.

“In recent times we

have ramped up our

presence in the defence

capability space with

development of the

Bluebottle range of

unmanned surface

vessels, and now this

contract is a win-win

for the Commonwealth

of Australia and Steber

International.

“We are looking

forward to future

government projects

across naval, customs,

fisheries and port security

applications,” Steber

added.

Austal trimaran ready for Japan

Maersk anchor handlers at work

STEBER

BUILDING

FOR NAVY

208 tradeaboat.com.au

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