A high-speed craft (HSC) is a high-speed water vessel for civilian use, also called a fastcraft or fast ferry. The first high-speed craft were often

hydrofoil A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains sp ...

s or hovercraft, but in the 1990s

catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...

and

monohull right A monohull is a type of boat having only one hull, unlike multihulled boats which can have two or more individual hulls connected to one another. Fundamental concept Among the earliest hulls were simple logs, but these were generally unstab ...

designs become more popular. Most high-speed craft serve as passenger

ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

, but the largest catamarans and monohulls also carry cars, buses, large trucks and freight. In the 1990s there were a variety of builders, but due to HSC high fuel consumption, many shipbuilders have withdrawn from this market so the construction of the largest fast ferries, up to 127 metres, has been consolidated to two Australian companies,

Austal Austal Limited is an Australian-based global ship building company and defence prime contractor that specialises in the design, construction and support of defence and commercial vessels. Austal's product range includes naval vessels, High-spee ...

of Perth and Incat of Hobart. There is still a wide variety of builders for smaller fast catamaran ferries between 24 and 60 metres. Hulled designs are often powered by pump-jets coupled to medium-speed diesel engines. Hovercraft are usually powered by gas turbines or diesel engines driving

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

s and impellers. The design and safety of high-speed craft is regulated by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention, Chapter 10, High-Speed Craft (HSC) Codes of 1994 and 2000, adopted by the Maritime Safety Committee of the

International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO; ; ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating maritime transport. The IMO was established following agreement at a ...

(IMO). In accordance with SOLAS Chapter 10 Reg. 1.3, high-speed craft are craft capable of a maximum speed, in metres per second (m/s), equal to or exceeding: :

3.7 \times \triangledown^

where

\triangledown

= volume of displacement in cubic metres corresponding to the design waterline, excluding craft of which the hull is supported clear above the water surface in non-displacement mode by aerodynamic forces generated by ground effect.

HSC examples

; ; Alstom Leroux Naval * * * ;

* Auto Express 86-class ferry * Hawaii Superferry * * , world's largest civilian

trimaran A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recrea ...

* * * (Lake Michigan) * * * * * ; Buquebus * HSC Francisco ; Catamaran Ferries International * PacifiCat-class ferry ; Dakota Creek Industries * Passenger-Only Fast Ferry-class ferry ; Empresa Nacional Bazán * HSC Silvia Ana L ;

Fincantieri Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...

* HSC Gotlandia II * MDV 1200-class fast ferry ; Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding * ;

IHI Corporation , formerly known as is a Japanese engineering corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan that produces and offers ships, space launch vehicles, aircraft engines, marine diesel engines, gas turbines, gas engines, railway systems, turbocharge ...

* SSTH ''Ocean Arrow'' ; Incat * Madiba 1 - operated by falcon Marine * , one of three similar 112-metre Incat vessels on this route * * HSV-2 ''Swift'' * * ; Krasnoye Sormovo * Raketa (hydrofoil) ; Ocean Fast Ferries * OceanJet 1 * OceanJet 2 * OceanJet 3 * OceanJet 5 * OceanJet 6 * OceanJet 7 * OceanJet 8 * OceanJet 88 * OceanJet 888 * OceanJet 188 * OceanJet 288 * OceanJet 9 * OceanJet 10 * OceanJet 11 * OceanJet 12 * OceanJet 15 ; STX Finland *

Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish Shipping line, shipping line company and one of the world's largest ferry operators. It services Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Sweden. Stena Line is a ...

's HSS 1500 ; Supercat * St. Nuriel * St. Sealthiel * St. Emmanuel * St. Uriel * St. Jhudiel * St. Braquiel * St. Camael * St. Sariel * Sprint 1 ; Westermoen Hydrofoil *

's HSS 900

References

External links

The Merchant Shipping (High-Speed Craft) Regulations 2004
Ferry classes

HSC examples

See also

References

External links