HSC INCAT 059
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| Career |  |
| Commissioned: | 2002 |
| Classification: | Lloyds of London +1A1 HSLC R1 Car Ferry |
| Home Port: | Nassau, Bahamas |
| Decommissioned: | still active |
| Fate: | still active |
| General characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Displacement: | 6,464 tons |
| Length: | 97.22 m |
| Beam: | 26.60 m |
| Draught: | 4.50 m |
| Propulsion: | 4 Ruston 20 RK 270 medium-speed diesel, 38,000 bhp |
| Speed: | 40 knots |
| Safety Equipment: | 10 x 100-person life rafts, 4 escape slides |
| Capacity: | Passengers, 760 Automobiles, 200 |
| Complement: | 22 |
| Access: | Ro-Ro stern loading |
High speed catamaran (HSC) The Cat is a wave-piercing catamaran passenger-vehicle ferry. It has also operated under the marketing name The Cat since its construction.
[edit] Vessel Characteristics
HSC The Cat is a 97-metre vessel built by InCat Australia in Hobart, Tasmania in 2002 as hull 059. She is a sister ship to HSC Incat Tasmania and HSC INCAT 058, all of which are Incat98 models.
The Cat is constructed from marine grade aluminium alloys. Each water-borne hull is subdivided into multiple watertight compartments connected by an arched bridging structure with a central forward hull above the smooth water line. Each water-borne hull carries 2 engines which drive water jets mounted on the transom.
Vehicles are stowed in and between both waterborne hulls in a configuration of rising and descending decks which load from a single level transfer bridge at the stern. The main passenger deck is immediately above the vehicle decks and consists of a cafe, gift shop, children's play area and passenger seating lounges, as well as an outside observation deck that runs the width of the ship at the stern. The passenger seating lounges have overhead television monitors which play movies, or television broadcasts, as well as a continuously updated map showing the vessel's GPS coordinates.
[edit] Service History
HSC The Cat was constructed for Bay Ferries and operated seasonally in from 2002–2005 in international service from May to October across the Gulf of Maine between Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and Bar Harbor, Maine. The vessel replaced the HSC INCAT 046 which had inaugurated high speed ferry services in North America on this route in 1997, using the marketing name "The Cat"; this vessel was traded in to InCat as part of the purchase agreement for The Cat.
Starting in the winter of 2003–2004, Bay Ferries began to operate the vessel as a wet-lease charter during the off-season for the Gulf of Maine service, when the INCAT 046 had previously been laid up. From November 2003 to April 2004, The Cat was operated by Bay Ferries for Bahama Florida Express, which was an inaugural high speed ferry service between Port Everglades, Florida and the Bahamas. From December 2004 to April 2005, Bay Ferries operated The Cat between Port of Spain and Scarborough in Trinidad and Tobago for the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. This same route was served by The Cat from November 2005 to May 2006 and INCAT 046 filled in from May to October.
After the 2005 demise of the Yarmouth-Bar Harbor route's competitor, Scotia Prince Cruises, using the M/V Scotia Prince between Yarmouth-Portland, Maine, Bay Ferries secured this additional route for The Cat beginning in May 2006. For that season, the The Cat operated from Yarmouth to Bar Harbor on Mondays to Thursdays and from Yarmouth to Portland on Fridays to Sundays.
