Incat wins tender to build 76m high-speed catamaran for South Korean company SeaWorld Express Ferry

Tasmanian ferry builder Incat has won the tender to build a new high-speed catamaran capable of carrying up to 700 passengers and nearly 80 cars for a South Korean company.

Incat Tasmania has won the contract to build a new 76m high-speed catamaran for South Korean coastal passenger transport company SeaWorld Express Ferry.

SOME confidence might be restored to Tasmania's virus-shattered business landscape with news that Incat Tasmania has won the contract to build a new 76m high-speed catamaran for South Korea.

The new vessel has been ordered by South Korean coastal passenger transport company SeaWorld Express Ferry and will accommodate up to 700 passengers and 79 cars when it enters service on the new route between Jindo and Jeju in early 2022.

Incat Tasmania chairman Robert Clifford said the company was no stranger in Korean waters, having delivered its first vessel to the region in 1995, the still highly regarded Sunflower.

“SeaWorld Express Ferry knew immediately that taking this Incat Tasmania design and production expertise and applying it to a customised bespoke vessel would represent a significant step change for South Korean high-speed ferry operations,” he said.

Incat CEO Tim Burnell says the new ferry will be more fuel efficient that previous vessels. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

The new 76m vessel will be radically different from the 74m and 78m vessels that were the world’s first ­vehicle-carrying high speed catamarans in the early 1990s.

“With a significant improvement to both the waterline length and vessel trim compared with those earlier craft, the 76m ferry will also benefit from vastly improved speed and fuel consumption,” Incat Tasmania chief executive Tim Burnell said.

SeaWorld Express Ferry chairman Hyuk Young Lee said the business was impressed with Incat’s modern facilities, the advanced passenger safety systems, the high levels of on-board passenger comfort, and record for delivering vessels on time.

“As the leading ferry operator in South Korea it is this world class expertise that led us to select Incat Tasmania for our new high-speed service and it was an important aspect of our winning tender submission,” he said.

FAST FACTS

■ Incat 76m High Speed Craft ■ Design: Revolution Design Pty Ltd ■ Operator: Sea World Express ■ Route: Jindo — Jeju ■ Length: 75.7m ■ Breadth: 20.6m

■ Draft: 2.35m ■ Deadweight: 300 tonnes ■ GRT: 3000 tonnes minimum ■ Passengers & crew: 700 ■ Cars: 79 ■ Speed: 42 knots