HMAS Jervis Bay (AKR 45)

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HMAS Jervis Bay
Career Australia
Laid down:
Launched:	November 1997
Commissioned:	10 June 1999
Decommissioned:	11 May 2001
Struck:	11 May 2001
Status:	Returned to owners, later sold to SpeedFerries and currently operating as HSC SpeedOne.
General Characteristics
Displacement:	1,250 tons
Length:	86.62 m
Beam:	26 m
Draught:	3.6 m
Propulsion:	4 x Caterpillar 3618 diesels, 7,200 kW; 4 x KaMeWa 112 S11 waterjets
Speed:	48 knots
Complement:	25
Armament:	2 x 7.6 mm guns
Motto:	"Strive Valiantly"
Nickname:	Dili Express
Badge:

HMAS Jervis Bay (AKR 45) was a wave piercing catamaran built by Incat in Tasmania and leased by the Australian Government. Although a purely civilian design, Jervis Bay had the distinction of being the first large catamaran in the world to enter naval service.

Jervis Bay was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy for logistics operations in May 1999, due to delays in the refitting of the Kanimbla class vessels. Jervis Bay was commissioned primarily to serve as a fast sea link for Australian troops between Darwin and Dili in East Timor. The ship was capable of sailing the 430 nautical miles (800 km) in approximately 11 hours, at an average speed of approximately 45 knots, far faster than vessels of comparable size and role of the US Navy in the region. During the two years of the ship's charter by the RAN, Jervis Bay made 107 trips between Darwin and East Timor, shipping 20,000 passengers, 430 vehicles and 5,600 tonnes of freight, becoming known as the "Dili Express".

HMAS Jervis Bay was returned to her owners in May 2001; she was later sold to UK low cost cross-channel operator SpeedFerries to operate on their new route from Dover to Boulogne-sur-Mer, being renamed HSC SpeedOne.

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