CAN SLICE CUT IT IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS? For years, U.S. ferry builders have looked abroad for the latest high-speed vessel technology. Now, a U.S. designer is aiming to “turn the tables” by penetrating the international market with its own high-speed vessel design. And the designer is not a virtual unknown. It’s defense contractor Lockheed Martin, Bethesda, Md., which generated $26.5 billion in revenues in 2002. It’s hoping that a recent agreement with the U.K.’s FBM Babcock Marine will be just the ticket to get its advanced ship technology marketed to overseas customers. While the relationship between the two companies is still evolving, they have initially agreed to jointly market and pursue international maritime business. “By working together we significantly strengthen our combined capabilities in the military and non-military markets,” said Craig Schnappinger, director of Ship Systems operations for Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors. One of the designs Lockheed Martin is aiming to leverage is its patented high-speed SLICE ship technology. SLICE is similar to traditional Small Waterplance Area Twin Hull (SWATH) vessels except that instead of two torpedo-like submerged hulls supported by short struts, SLICE has four hulls. This innovation, says Lockheed Martin, cuts drag, while still offering stability. Lockheed Martin built the Sea SLICE, a 105-foot by 52-foot prototype that showed excellent seakeeping characteristics at high speeds—35 knots—even in Sea State 5 conditions during demonstrations for the U.S. Navy. Lockheed Martin’s Tom Greer says the SLICE technology is scalable and can be configured for offshore applications, such as fast crew and supply boats or as car-carrying ferries. Greer says the company is also unveiling a design called Varicraft, which is a variant of SLICE. The propulsion plant for the Sea SLICE demonstrator was located in the front two hulls and consisted of two MTU diesel engines, each rated at 6,850 bhp, that drive 7.2-foot diameter controllable-pitch propellers via Westech reduction gears. Greer says, however, that the propulsion system could be configured based on a customer needs. For its part, FBM Babcock Marine hopes the deal will help it make further inroads into the U.S. market. It has a wide range of high-speed ferries, paramilitary vessels and specialist craft designs. Also of key significance is its shipyard in Cebu, the Philippines. The yard is currently building a 215-foot Roll-On/Roll-Off catamaran for Rederij Doeksen. Delivery is set for the end of 2004. FBM Babcock has built Bridge Erection Boats for the U.S. Army and worked with the U.S. Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Md., on refurbishing BEBs. Tell a friend: HOME