Rolls-Royce christens largest high-speed ferry built in the U.S.

Saturday, 15 November 2003

Houston, TX - Rolls-Royce Commercial Marine today helped christen the M/V Fairweather, the largest high-speed ferry built in the United States. The vessel is equipped with Rolls-Royce Kamewa Waterjets and was built by Derecktor Shipyard.

Rolls-Royce joined Derecktor Shipyard and others in ceremonies in Bridgeport, CT to formally name the ship. Mrs. Nancy Murkowski, Alaska's First Lady, led the official ceremony accompanied by Governor Frank H. Murkowski of Alaska and Governor John G. Rowland of Connecticut.

Rolls-Royce leads the world in the research, development and manufacture of high-power waterjets. We are pleased that our products have been selected to support this important project to improve transportation and enhance economic development in Alaska, said Richard Allinson, President Rolls-Royce Commercial Marine Inc.

The Fairweather is the first of two high-speed ferries built for the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS). Following the naming ceremony, the Fairweather will begin sea trials in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, San Francisco, CA and Seattle, WA en route to her final destination, Alaska. She is expected to enter AMHS service in the spring of 2004 and will be used to transport as many as 250 passengers and 35 large vehicles along the 135 nautical mile Sitka-Juneau marine highway.

The Fairweather has an aluminium hull measuring nearly 72m (235 ft) and draws 2.65m. She is equipped with four Rolls-Royce Kamewa 90SII steerable and reversible water jets absorbing a power of 3,600 kW per unit to produce a service speed of 35.5 knots.

The waterjets were built at Rolls-Royce AB, in Kristinehamn, Sweden, the sole industry facility equipped with a full marine laboratory to support ongoing research and product development. Currently, several hundred Rolls-Royce Kamewa waterjets are used in the US by commercial and navy vessels including: SeaStreak Wall Street, operating in New York City; Flying Cloud, owned and operated by the Massachusetts Steamship Authority; X-Craft, the US Navy's experimental high-speed catamaran; and the 11 meter Ridged Inflatable Boat (RIB), used extensively by the Special Operations Command (SOCOM). More than 1,550 units are installed in 20 different classes of naval vessels worldwide. Three different Kamewa waterjet families, absorbing a power of 40kW to 25MW and manufactured in aluminium and stainless steel, are available for a variety of applications.