Westpac Express capabilities

[Todjaeger]

I am looking to find out what the capabilities of the Westpac Express catamaran transport used by the US in the Pacific are. Similarly, information on the Jervis Bay that the RAN had been leasing would be appreciated.

I've been able to gather what the range and cargo tonnage was of Jervis Bay, and I have the cargo tonnage for Westpac. What I don't know is how well these vessels could transit open water. For example, Jervis Bay I believe was mostly used to ferry troops, supplies and vehicles between Timor Leste and Western Australia. A distance of a few hundred miles, but the sort of thing Jervis Bay could cover in a day. Could Westpac make it from say, Hawaii to the California? I am talking about both vessel range, as well as seakeeping.

 

[Sea Toby]

From Marine Log:

The ship has a range of 1,250 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots (over 40 mph) while carrying 400 tonnes of payload in addition to the fuel for the voyage, with a 10% fuel reserve for contingencies. This equates to the ability to transit between, for example, Miami and Panama in a day-and-a-half. Significantly greater ranges are possible at reduced speeds, without sacrificing carrying capacity.

Strategic and cost advantages at near 100% availability

During its first year the Austal TSV has covered an astounding 85,148 nautical miles (including the positioning voyage from Australia). This is equivalent to four circumnavigations of the world at the equator. All of this has been achieved at an operational availability of 99.9%, previously unheard of in military transportation circles.

"WestPac Express" can deploy a complete battalion of 970 marines with airline seating together with up to 550 tonnes of vehicles and equipment, in one lift, on two vehicle cargo decks with considerable strategic and cost advantages compared to the airlift methods traditionally used by IIMEF.

Length: 331 feet
Beam: 87 feet
Draft: 14 feet
Displacement: NOTE: 32,000 square feet of cargo capacity, designed for roll-on/roll-off
Speed: 35 knots average
Crew: 14 civilians
Range: Up to 4500 nautical miles

I wanted to add this is a great ship as a bus or airliner, it is not a transport ship with accomodations for four to eight personnel useful for a long haul.

 

[scraw]

Someone will have to crunch to numbers but from http://www.austal.com/files/delivery/military101.pdf

Fuel: 160,000 litres
Long range tanks: 240,000 litres

Fuel consumption (approx) @ 90% MCR: 5.3 tonnes an hour.

 

[Todjaeger]

Range: Up to 4500 nautical miles

Any idea on sea keeping? I see it's similar to other catamarans used as Fast Ferries, which tend to imply over-water transportation between to fairly close land masses. Examples are given for fast transportation between Japan and South Korea, is the vessel able to also safely transport cargo & personnel over longer distances, say from Hawaii to Japan or Korea? As I understand it, catamarans have improved shallow water operations due to the nature of a catamaran design. On the other hand, given the shallow draft and broader beam relative to length, catarmarans do less well in rough weather and seas than traditional mono-hulls. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Sea Toby]

It would depend upon the weather and the condition of the seas. Lets safely say that the Isle of Mann Steam Packet Company, Commodore Lines, and Bornholmstrafikken don't operate their fast ferries during the winter months in the Irish Sea, English Channel and Baltic Sea. Both companies do operate sister civilian ferries of New Zealand's MRV Canterbury during the winter months. Of course, business is better during the summer holidays than during the winter. These facts should tell a true story.

Civilian ferries have to make a schedule. Navy landing ships or sealift ships don't. The Westpac Express does have the range to reach Honolulu from Tokyo, but at a much reduced speed. And it would help if the ship skirted storms at sea.

At the Bornholmstrafikken web site I found this link to a diagram of the Hammerode. While it is not a direct diagram to Canterbury, it does show the deck arrangements of the civilian ferries. It should put to rest where the Canterbury's helicopter space will be, forward of the hangar on the fifth deck. The hangar area being the smokestack area.

http://www.bornholmferries.dk/skibene/ho/92we.aspx?_m=6