The world's largest catamaran ferries, two 2,200-gt vessels, will be built for Kansai Steamship Co. of Osaka, Japan, by Nippon Kokan, the nation's only integrated shipbuilder-steelmaker and only builder of the twin-hulled ferries.
Hiroo Ikematsu, NKK's New York naval architect, said the vessels will each have a capacity for 50 large trucks, 10 small trucks, 50 passenger cars and accommodations for 450 passengers. Vehicles will be driven on and off the ferries over wide ramps.
To be built at NKK's Shimizu Shipyard near Tokyo, the vessels will have a speed of 19.2 knots. They will enter service in the fall of this year, between Kobe and Takamatsu, a distance of some 112.5 miles on Japan's Inland Sea.
Since 1960, Nippon Kokan has delivered 20 catamarans, including two exported to Burma in 1965. All of these are in the less-than-500-gt category, so the 2,200-gt vessels represent a significant advance in capacity and speed.
The Kansai catamarans will have four ballast pumps, each with a rated capacity of 450 tons per hour for rapid attainment of optimum vessel trim.
Model of world's largest catamaran ferry to be built by Nippon Kokan's Shimizu yard.